At the heart of every healthcare interaction is a conversation between patient and provider. Sometimes brief and sometimes life-changing, these conversations are also critical moments to positively support a health journey with much-needed direct-to-consumer (DTC) and provider targeted education. 

Point of Care (POC) messaging is often fragmented, but it doesn’t have to be. Too often, the disconnect stems from operational gaps or a failure to prioritize the channel early in planning. The result is content that speaks to providers or patients, but not both—and rarely in ways that are coordinated, contextual, or responsive to the actual flow of care.

That fragmentation is not inherent to the channel. In fact, with the right strategy and modern POC partnerships, the Point of Care offers one of the most effective environments for delivering connected, timely, and high-value communication. It is uniquely positioned to bring providers and patients into better dialogue by delivering the right information, in the right format, at precisely the right time.

When well executed, POC campaigns don’t just reinforce brand messaging. They connect the dots between earlier exposures and upcoming decisions that can translate brand relevance into real, actionable understanding within the clinical conversation. Messaging can now move fluidly with both patients and providers across settings, triggered by context, demographics, or clinical markers, and designed to support a more integrated, high-trust care experience.

As the 2025 POC NOW Summit underscored, bridging these divides starts with integration. When healthcare and marketing professionals align across the full spectrum of POC channels, brands deliver messaging that is consistent, clear, and deeply human.

In this article, experts share how more unified messaging can bridge communication gaps and support real conversations, shared decisions, and better outcomes. (Watch the original POC NOW session in full here.)

Unify Patient-Provider Messaging for Stronger Outcomes All Around

Building rapport matters in care delivery. But beyond sentiment and experience, much depends on creating communication that is clear, trustworthy, and grounded in the patient’s real context. Effective healthcare communication helps people understand what is happening to them, what they can expect, and what decisions lie ahead. It also supports patients after they leave the exam room by helping them and their support systems navigate diagnoses, treatment options, and next steps with greater confidence.

Still, clarity alone is not sufficient. Communication must also serve as a bridge. It should connect patients and providers, conversations to decisions, and lived experience to clinical guidance—and vice versa.

Ultimately, effective POC communication should:

• Help clinicians clearly and efficiently convey essential information
• Support patients and caregivers in understanding conditions and treatment options in accessible terms
• Enable more productive and aligned conversations between patients and providers
• Encourage two-way dialogue and equip patients to ask questions and take informed next steps
• Maintain continuity across specialists, settings, and care teams

Today, patients are more informed and involved in their care than ever before. The demand for unified, integrated communication is immediate:

“We know that ultimately, unified messaging will lead to positive patient outcomes. When we have disconnects between DTC and HCP messaging, it can lead to some real challenges for our patients. Understanding how important this is and hearing it from the perspective of a nurse, patient, or caregiver, and tailoring our messaging accordingly—being a true resource at their time of need—is so important.” 

Tim Noone | SVP of Engagement Strategy, CMI Media Group

Aligning Messages Means Aligning Care (and Impact)

Even when information is accurate and well-intentioned, it can fall short if it isn’t delivered in ways that resonate with patients in their specific context. People may not know what to ask, how to interpret what they’re told, or how to apply it to their daily lives. Providers, working within limited time and often without full visibility into a patient’s understanding or current state, cannot always anticipate what hasn’t been said or absorbed. Care happens in a deeply human context, shaped by countless factors that influence how information is received, both in the moment and after the patient has left.

Point of Care content offers a way to strengthen these interactions. It reinforces key messages, supports recall, and encourages dialogue that might not otherwise take place. For patients, it can extend the care window through take-home or shareable materials, translate complex information into more accessible terms, and foster shared understanding with caregivers and care teams—especially when navigating multiple providers or transitions in care.

For providers, it serves as a companion to clinical guidance, offering a consistent and credible reference point patients can revisit after the appointment. It can help reduce information overload by pacing follow-up content over time, streamline conversations, and create room for more personalized engagement within limited care windows. POC materials also make it easier for care teams to provide reliable answers during digital visits or asynchronous exchanges, while widening access through varied formats.

This kind of support isn’t limited to physician-patient encounters. It extends across the care journey—from digital follow-up materials to interactions at the pharmacy, where patients often face critical decisions without direct access to their provider. For example, someone filling a new prescription may not know what questions to ask or that pharmacists typically don’t have access to their medical records. POC materials in these settings can prompt timely questions, reinforce information shared earlier, and help patients make better use of the expertise around them. Pharmacists, in turn, may find POC resources valuable in providing guidance, offering in-bag education, and supporting adherence.

“You’re not just taking on the challenge of educating a patient, you’re also educating the HCP on something that they may not know yet. If they’re not ‘speaking the same language,’ the physician is not fully identifying their patient when the patient walks through the door.”

Tim Noone

When designed with intention, POC content benefits the full care team. It positions patients to be stronger self-advocates and helps them participate more meaningfully in their care. At the same time, it supports providers by aligning communication, reinforcing clinical decisions, and fostering clarity in a system where time and continuity are limited. This alignment strengthens trust, improves outcomes, and amplifies the clarity providers work hard to deliver.

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Unified Messaging Matters Right Now

Healthcare’s continuing digitalization, and increasingly fragmented care journeys have only heightened the need for coordinated communication. This is especially true for patients who have limited access to consistent, in-person, system-based care. Those relying on urgent care, retail clinics, telehealth, or pharmacy visits often navigate care episodically, without a primary care provider to connect the dots. In these cases, clear, aligned communication can be the difference between confusion and continuity.

A unified approach ensures that communication supports informed decision-making across the care journey—aligning patients and providers, connecting points of care, and reinforcing shared understanding at every step.

• Bridge knowledge gaps: Consistent information helps patients and disconnected providers better understand conditions and treatment options across health journeys.
• Empowering self-advocacy and community: When patients, caregivers, and providers have access to information that puts them on the same page, patients and providers can feel more confident asking questions, being proactive about health changes and behavior, and participating in care decisions.
• Support adherence: Reinforcing key points across channels could increase the likelihood that patients will follow through on recommended actions, and have active support from those with access to easily shared information or understanding.

Healthcare marketers and brands have a tremendous opportunity to build stronger healthcare knowledge, networks, and paths. Taking a holistic approach to message alignment, early and frequent collaboration across marketing and brand teams can ensure that campaigns are more strategically deployed, speaking to and integrating information in ways that empower every player in the care journey.  

Is Your Message Retention Healthy? The Roles of Health Literacy, Natural Language, and Patient Trust

The effectiveness of your messaging is not determined by positioning or timing alone.   Health literacy, natural language, trust, and emotional receptivity all influence whether information is absorbed, remembered, and ultimately used in decision-making. 

Health Literacy Drives Health Outcomes

For many patients, health-related content is made inaccessible by complex terms, layered concepts, or assumptions about what they already understand. Even well-meaning attempts to simplify content can miss the mark if they are not grounded in real-world literacy levels or tested. (And physicians, who frequently know their communities and patient sets, can help evaluate whether or not something is truly intelligible.) 

Health literacy—defined by the National Institute of Health as “the ability to find, understand, and use health information and services” (NIH, 2025)—is a significant public health challenge. Nearly 9 in 10 adults in the United States struggle with health literacy at some level (CDC, 2025), and this gap disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. Low health literacy is linked to reduced use of preventive care, difficulty managing chronic conditions, and worse overall health outcomes.

But the challenge is more than cognitive. Health conditions themselves, or the stress and emotional weight of the care journey, can impair how patients receive, focus on, and retain even the most accurate information. In other words, the issue isn’t whether information was communicated—it’s whether it was calibrated to be understood and applied in the moment it matters.

To address this, messaging must be built not only for accuracy, but also for accessibility and uptake. Effective communication at the Point of Care is not simply a delivery mechanism. It is a critical determinant of whether patients feel empowered, adhere to treatment, and trust their care teams (American Medical Association, 2024).

The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy emphasizes that everyone has the right to health information that can be both understandable and actionable.  For POC communication to meet that bar, it must reach patients where they are, using language they naturally understand—and content that reflects how people actually process information during the care journey.

Simple Solutions: Patient Advocates and Natural Language

The American Medical Association (AMA) recommends that all patient education materials should use:

• Easy-to-read language that breaks down complex medical concepts 
• An active voice with familiar wording and relatable content that feels natural to the audience 
• Short sentences and simple syntax
• Accurate information that affirms patient values 
• Favor of simple, everyday terms and avoid medical jargon

Speaking to people in ways that resonate can be easier when we work within communities.  Involve community groups, patient advocates, plain language experts, or focus groups to help design and test materials. Your providers can also be invaluable as a resource. Getting real-world perspectives can enhance the readability of content, potentially improving patient understanding and adherence to guidance and treatment. 

This challenge doesn’t fall solely on the patient. In high-churn settings—such as urgent care clinics, pharmacy-based clinics, or retail health environments—providers may only see a patient once. Without an established relationship or full clinical history, even experienced HCPs face challenges in assessing what a patient understands, needs, or is ready to hear. In these contexts, Point of Care materials serve a critical role. They help deliver clear, accessible information before the encounter begins, reinforce conversations during the visit, and support follow-through after the patient leaves.

HCPs are increasingly encouraged to confirm patient understanding at every stage of care. But to do so effectively, they need tools that translate clinical guidance into actionable, patient-appropriate language. Well-designed POC materials support this effort by structuring key health conversations, reinforcing guidance, and easing the communication burden in time-limited settings.

“[Become] strategically pinpointed to fill the gaps to educate the public. If you have access to knowledge, access to the therapeutic, and understand how to navigate the healthcare system, you have an avoidable death. It’s as simple as that.”

– Rochelle Prosser (Founder, Orchid Healthcare Solutions)

As Rochelle Prosser, founder of Orchid Healthcare Solutions, notes:

“[Become] strategically pinpointed to fill the gaps to educate the public. If you have access to knowledge, access to the therapeutic, and understand how to navigate the healthcare system, you have an avoidable death. It’s as simple as that.”

Rochelle Prosser | Founder, Orchid Healthcare Solutions

Build Trust Through Empathy and Cultural Sensitivity

Trust is not one-size-fits-all. Cultural resonance can make a difference. Point of Care content can be a powerful lever for building trust between providers and patients—when it addresses real-world barriers and reflects the identities of the communities served. 

Patients from diverse backgrounds are more likely to actively participate in treatment and report greater satisfaction when they perceive their provider as culturally sensitive (EBSCO, 2025). Patients who feel their cultural identity is understood are more likely to trust their provider and follow care recommendations. Inversely, language barriers or cultural disconnects could also serve as obstacles or lead to misunderstandings when it comes to provider-driven communications. 

Cultural relevance doesn’t require generalization. It requires strategy. As digital tools and AI capabilities advance, POC content can be hypertargeted based on factors like practice location, language, and demographic data. This overcomes demographic-specific barriers, addressing important social and cultural factors that influence health behaviors. Materials can be tailored to specific populations based on real needs, social and cultural structures, and experiences.  (Get insights on marketing to Latinx Audiences)

Rethinking POC Management Across Functions and Partners

Aspirations are easy to name. Execution is harder. But forward-looking brands are returning to the fundamentals. It is no longer enough to focus on reach or message volume. To drive better outcomes, we must respond more directly to modern patient needs, clinical realities, and the diversity of experiences across the healthcare system.

Building that kind of impact requires more than message-level fixes. It takes a shift in how Point of Care content is planned, aligned, and supported across teams. Stronger communication, grounded in shared intent and developed collaboratively, helps patients stay on track even as their care journeys become more fragmented and the volume of health information grows more chaotic. It also supports providers, whose time is limited and whose workflows are evolving.

We need to go with the patient. We need to meet the provider where they are. And we need to bridge the healthcare gaps that neither side can solve alone. The path forward begins with better marketing alignment and a more integrated approach to POC planning.

Point of Care is often treated as a late-stage tactic, filled with resized or repurposed content built for another audience. But that shortcut weakens the very communication we count on to reinforce decisions and support adherence. Functions like brand, creative, media, analytics, and compliance all sit within marketing, but they often work in sequence, not together. And when external agencies or POC partners are brought in late, the opportunity to create real alignment across the care journey is lost.

As the American College of Medical Affairs (ACMA) noted,

“Cross-functional collaboration is the process of combining expertise from various departments to work toward a shared goal… In the pharmaceutical industry, collaboration is not only beneficial but also essential.”

ACMA

Managing POC holistically means rethinking not just timelines, but intent. When strategy, development, and delivery are aligned from the start, POC communication can do what it is meant to do: bridge the conversation between patient and provider, build trust, and support decisions at the moments that matter most.

As Melissa Martin observed at POC NOW,

“I think it first comes down to understanding the holistic role of media across the board. To be effective at Point of Care, we have to look holistically at how we’re talking to the consumer. It starts with the consumer.”

Melissa Martin | VP of Media Strategy at Synergistic

That clarity of focus—on the patient, the provider, and the context in which decisions are made—is what allows truly aligned POC communication to deliver value across the care experience.

The Human Element Is the Strategy

Experts at the POC NOW Summit agreed: we should never reduce marketing effectiveness to outcomes data alone. What moves people, patients and providers alike, goes beyond the messaging syntax. It is how it’s delivered, when it lands, and whether it feels made for the person experiencing it. The impact of communication depends on more than optimization. It depends on trust, understanding, context, and emotional readiness—all powerful capacities within the POC channel.

Keeping track of the human element is both a strategic consideration and an ethical one. In the real world, where patients face cognitive overload and providers manage tight workflows, messaging that is clear, culturally aware, emotionally attuned, and well-timed cuts through the chaos and drives better action. And that is made even more powerful by being positioned within care contexts where education and support can make a real-time impact other channels cannot.

“We cannot leave behind open and honest conversations with real human beings. We are creating the materials we’re putting in front of real human beings. [Messaging the right way] profoundly affects the work that we do.”

Christian Bauman

For POC marketers, the takeaway is clear: the campaigns that perform best are those designed for real people making real decisions in high-stakes moments. That requires creative alignment, behavioral insight, holistic thinking across audiences in the care journey, and a commitment to context that goes beyond templated strategy.

“It starts with the consumer. To be effective at Point of Care, we have to look holistically at how we’re talking to the consumer.”

Melissa Martin

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The strongest marketers working in the Point of Care today are returning to foundational principles:

• Use plain language and an empathetic tone. Keep information actionable, accessible, and human.
• Design with lived experience in mind. Representation isn’t a trend. It’s a trust-builder.
• Create space for dialogue. Enable interaction, not just consumption—especially when providers are involved.
• Equip the care team. Providers need tools and language that support decision-making and patient education.
• Balance performance data with lived feedback. Let metrics and human insight shape one another, not compete.

Marketers who take the time to unify content across teams, tailor messaging to real-world dynamics, and respect the emotional and clinical realities of the care journey will not just create more effective campaigns. They will help reshape the role of marketing within healthcare—less about persuasion, more about participation. The Point of Care isn’t just another channel. It is where alignment becomes action, and where the work of communication becomes part of the work of care.