Traditionally, point of care settings have struggled in providing effective messaging to patients, notably hampered by the cost and scale of setting up physical displays and reference material at individual offices.
Use of digital technology at health facilities to connect with patients is seeing results. Data service providers are leveraging IP address targeting with the aim of improving the patient experience at doctor’s offices and other public places.
With an average wait time of 20 minutes or more at the doctor’s office, targeted messages and advertisements are now being served to waiting room patients while they browse their smartphones.
- Many doctor’s offices offer Wi-Fi “Smart Zone” networks in their waiting room so patients can connect and browse the web, opting-in to ads in return for the service
- Through IP targeting, advertisements can be delivered to the patient’s smartphone browser and through app games
The data collected at healthcare centers is subject to privacy and compliance, however, some data can be used to create intelligent messaging campaigns delivered to desired office locations. Lymphoma, migraine and pediatric drug companies have reportedly piloted Wi-Fi targeting at point of care facilities. Some in-field reports suggest pharma and healthcare companies are using this new delivery method to increase sales, with pilot campaign results for prescriptions written driving a 1.5x sales increase, combined with a 10% brand halo effect.