P12: Are Innovative Formats of Communicating Medical Information Appealing to Healthcare Professionals?

Poster Presenter

Marie-Ange Noue

Senior Director, Head of Scientific Communications
EMD Serono
Canada

Objectives

This research investigates if innovative formats are appealing to healthcare professionals (HCPs), which types they prefer and why, and their impact on locating specific information compared to the traditional text-based format.

Method

Five hundred HCPs were surveyed via a third-party market research firm. Participants were given examples of innovative formats and asked for their preference. Their ability to locate information in the various format types was also assessed. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data.

Results

A total of 200 physicians, 100 pharmacists, 100 nurse practitioners, 50 registered nurses and 50 physician assistants completed the survey. Overall, HCPs prefer the following formats to receive information: all written text (49%), minimal written text with tables or figures (47%), and written text with interactive navigation (47%). Healthcare professionals presented with an infographic and a traditional SRD preferred the infographic (66%) compared to the traditional SRD (34%); HCPs shown a visual SRD and a traditional SRD preferred the visual SRD (57%) compared to the traditional SRD (43%). Overall, infographics as well as visual SRDs were preferred for use of tables/figures/graphs, ease of navigation, readability, conciseness, and suitability for sharing with patients; while traditional SRDs were preferred for level of detail. For each scenario presented, the navigable SRD was preferred by a majority of HCPs; however, when asked about the format to communicate information to their patients, the infographic was the most preferred.

Conclusion

There are a variety of innovative formats that have been piloted by Medical Information services within the pharmaceutical industry Medical Information Services. While more innovative formats such as infographics and visual SRDs were preferred to the traditional SRD due to use of tables/figures/graphs, ease of navigation, readability, conciseness, and suitability for patients, traditional SRDs are preferred for their level of detail. In the end, the majority of HCPs preferred the navigable SRD which allowed for better navigation of the more traditional SRD format. Infographics may have a role in assisting with the communication and education of a patient by the HCP. One limitation of this survey is 53% of the respondents had over 20 years in practice, and may perhaps not be as embracing of more innovative formats as early in practice respondents. Overall, innovative formats need to merge the ease of navigation and use with the level of detail that the HCP needs and wants.