Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) are no longer just “support” staff for physicians. These clinicians are now taking on much bigger roles in patient care, including the ability to prescribe medications without physician oversight.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the already growing trend of expanding NPs’ and PAs’ scope of practice. Now, five years on, their influence in healthcare decision-making is stronger than ever. For healthcare and pharma marketers, this shift represents a massive opportunity. Marketing campaigns that remain primarily focused on physicians may be overlooking a crucial audience of prescribers who have a direct impact on treatment decisions.
What does the expanded scope of practice look like?
NPs and PAs have varying levels of autonomy state to state. In some states, NPs have full practice authority, which means they can carry out most primary care clinical activities without physician oversight, including diagnosing patients, ordering tests, prescribing medication and even run their own independent practices. In other states partial or full physician oversight is required.
PAs still generally require a formal collaborative agreement with a physician, but in general their profession is moving towards greater independence. There is even a push to change the name of their role from Physicians Assistant to Physicians Associate, in recognition of their expanding responsibilities and essential role in medical care.
Why healthcare and pharma marketers need to pay attention
Since NPs and PAs are playing an increasingly central role in clinical decision-making (and in many states, NPs are even prescribing medications themselves), it is absolutely essential to target them in marketing strategies.
What’s more, NPs and PAs tend to specialize in particular population groups. For example, NPs often provide care for children and families, older adults and pregnant women. On the other hand, PAs have the flexibility to transition between different medical specialties without requiring additional certifications.
This means that these clinicians have a deep understanding of the needs of the patients they care for – and so they are a particularly valuable audience for targeted healthcare campaigns. Furthermore, with worsening physician shortages across the country, NPs and PAs are filling critical care gaps, especially in rural and other underserved areas at risk of becoming healthcare deserts.
How to best target NPs and PAs
Given these shifts, healthcare marketers need to rethink their approach to engaging NPs and PAs. Here are some key considerations when crafting your marketing strategy:
- Continuing Medical Education (CME) and resources: One of the most effective ways to reach NPs and PAs is through relevant educational content that aligns with their clinical interests. They value research-backed insights, up-to-date clinical guidelines and educational tools that they can pass along to patients.
- Tailored content and messaging: Messaging should be carefully crafted to reflect their evolving roles and expanding responsibilities. Outdated terminology such as “mid-level providers” or “physician extenders” can be off-putting and diminishes their professional identity. Instead, using inclusive terms like “clinician” or “prescriber” acknowledges their expertise and helps establish a more meaningful connection.
- Digital engagement: Engaging NPs and PAs means meeting them where they are. These professionals are highly active on platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook, so a strong social media presence is essential for outreach. There are dedicated Reddit pages for Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants which are highly active. Leveraging professional networks and forums like these provide opportunities to understand the day-to-day pain points of these providers, engage in deeper discussions and craft even more personalized campaigns.
- Peer-to-peer influence and conference presence: With nearly half of NPs and PAs saying they want to receive digital conference-style content, campaigns featuring timely clinical content and virtual learning opportunities are particularly valuable for this group. Increase brand visibility by partnering with key opinion leaders and influencers within NP and PA communities and participating in professional conferences.
PurpleLab: your secret weapon for targeting NPs and PAs
So, how do you track down the NPs and PAs who are most relevant to your campaigns? That’s where we come in.
PurpleLab’s HealthNexus platform empowers you to refine your marketing strategy by leveraging real-world data (RWD) to identify and engage NPs and PAs with precision. With our advanced analytics, you can:
- Segment NPs and PAs separately or within your HCP audience for hyper-targeted campaigns.
- Pinpoint where they’re practicing, their patient demographics and prescribing behaviors.
- Analyze prescribing patterns, including competitor medications and generics.
- Optimize campaigns in real time with actionable, data-driven insights.
Want to harness the full potential of real-world data in your next healthcare marketing campaign? Get a demo today and discover how PurpleLab can help you reach the clinicians driving today’s treatment decisions.