The Evolution of Marketing Research in Healthcare: From Doctors to Patients in Pharma

In the early 20th century, healthcare marketing was simple—pharmaceutical companies focused on developing new drugs, while sales reps visited doctors to promote them. There was little formal research, and patients were not part of the conversation. Everything revolved around what doctors’ thought was best for their patients. Marketing research was minimal, relying primarily on informal feedback from doctors, with little patient input. As scientific advancements began accelerating, the demand for new treatments was so vast that companies could easily find and fill niche markets without needing to compete directly.

After World War II, the healthcare industry boomed. Companies began to invest in more structured marketing efforts and started conducting surveys with doctors to understand their needs and preferences. Physician surveys became a critical tool for understanding what doctors wanted in their prescribing options. This era saw the formalization of "detailing" – where reps visited doctors to discuss new drugs and collect insights. But still, marketing was all about the physicians, not the patients.

The 1970s marked the arrival of market research firms specializing in healthcare. These firms collected vast amounts of data on prescribing trends, drug efficacy, and patient outcomes. Suddenly, healthcare companies had access to data on prescription trends, patient behaviors, and doctor preferences. During this period, the focus began to shift slightly toward understanding patient preferences.



For example, a study published by the Journal of Chronic Diseases in the 1970s highlighted how simpler treatment regimens led to higher adherence rates, indicating that convenience was a key factor. Companies started conducting focus groups and patient interviews to gather these insights, paving the way for patient-centered marketing.

The Digital Revolution and Direct-to-Consumer

(1990s-present)

The late 1990s brought a game-changer. In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relaxed regulations on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, allowing pharmaceutical companies to advertise prescription drugs directly to US patients. This opened the floodgates to a new era of patient engagement by the pharmaceutical companies. Suddenly, patients were front and center. Companies began running TV and print ads campaigns targeting patients directly, encouraging them to ask their doctors about specific treatments. The success of these ads was monumental.



At the same time, the rise of the internet and digital tools allowed companies to conduct online surveys and run patient-focused research with more speed and efficiency. Digital research tools like email surveys and online focus groups allowed companies to gather real-time feedback from patients, revolutionizing how marketing strategies were developed and adjusted.

The Marketing Research Shift in pharma and MedTech

The evolution of healthcare marketing research reflects a broader shift in the pharmaceutical industry: from a product- and doctor-centric model to a more patient-centered approach. While marketing once relied heavily on feedback from physicians, it now prioritizes understanding patient needs, behaviors, and preferences through advanced data analytics.



However, this shift applies more distinctly to pharmaceutical marketing research than to MedTech. In the MedTech industry, marketing research practices are evolving to follow pharmaceutical trends, but patient-centricity is less prominent. Instead, MedTech marketing must consider a range of key stakeholders beyond physicians, including biomedical engineers, pharmacists, administrators, and finance professionals, whose insights are critical to decision-making in complex healthcare environment.