10 Healthcare Dinosaurs that digital technology will make extinct

In today’s blog, Brandy Gonsoulin, project manager at STINSON Brand Innovation, says "These days it’s not enough to know your market; you must also be adapting to it.  And if you really want to position yourself, you also have to be predicting it.  Most of all, you could be actually shaping it."  Here are her observations on digital media.

Digital media is a trend that we can all see shaping the industries around us and is affecting how our industries work.  You can’t read a business or marketing article without media being mentioned.  I think that the biggest effect is going to be how it changes the healthcare market.  Take for instance the traditional detail rep.  Most reps currently pocket around brochures detailing the drug profile, key benefits, etc.   I don’t even need to get into the “print is dead” conversation; we all know where that one is going.  Pretty soon “someone” (wink, wink) is going to develop the proprietary digital-based rep detail tool that will become standard industry practice for rep detailing.  Patient medical records will soon be electronic and the days of your childhood doctor’s office experience will be ancient.

If we want to be the movers and shakers, we need to acknowledge that the digital wave is going to continue to change how our industry functions.  Where can we predict healthcare going?  And with that, what sort of communication models will we need to adapt or better yet, create.

Writer Jonathan Richman recently highlighted 10 healthcare practices and predicted their eventual demise.

I’m curious to see which ones will come true.

1. 10 Healthcare Dinosaurs that digital technology will make extinct
2. Pharma Brand Facebook Pages — 2-3 years
3. Paper “detail” aids — 3-5 years
4. Single-purpose medical devices — 5 years
5. Pharma Brand Websites — 5-7 years
6. Paper prescriptions — 5-7 years
7. Massive healthcare portals — 5-7 years
8. In-Office Doctor Visits — 8-10 years
9. Paper medical records — 8-10 years
10. Clinical trials — 15-20 years
11. Healthcare Privacy — 25 years