Research carried out by Amplifica Digital
According to Law 14.338/2022, the digital leaflet does not replace the leaflet in paper unless Anvisa authorizes it. The adoption period will also be defined by ANVISA (ART 2).
In order to understand a little more the scenario and the status of the digital leaflet implemented in different websites of the pharmaceutical industries in Brazil, we had the opportunity to visit 101 companies.
The results of our survey were as follows:
Excerpt from the digital leaflet law:
- 3 The digital package leaflets referred to in item IX of this article must be hosted on links authorized by the competent federal health surveillance agency.
- 4th The inclusion of information in digital format by the competent federal health surveillance agency or by the product registration holder in a single format will not replace the need for its presentation also in printed package insert format, with all the necessary information in accordance with the regulation of the federal health surveillance agency, observing the identical content available digitally, including in relation to accessibility standards for people with disabilities.
Some industries, 101 evaluated, they still don't have some kind of leaflet on the site or at least they weren't found during our research.
How was our search process?
We simulate a normal internet user navigating to the industry website.
When accessing the pharmaceutical industry's website, we look for the products or similar section, and then try to find more detailed information about the drug/insert either in text/html or in pdf.
In our research, we identified that 29% of the 101 pharmaceutical companies evaluated still do not have any type of package leaflet on their website..
Analyzing the 75 pharmaceutical companies out of the 101 evaluated that have some kind of digital leaflet on their website, we have the following result:
excerpt from the law
- 6 The digital leaflet referred to in item IX of § 1 of this article shall have, at least, the following characteristics:
I – complete and up-to-date content, identical to the printed leaflet;
II – format that facilitates reading and understanding;
III – possibility of converting the text into audio and/or video
Some pharmaceutical industries direct the user to a digital leaflet on the ANVISA website…
During our research, we identified that in some pharmaceutical industries (very few, it is worth mentioning), when internet users locate some information about the product, they are directed to the ANVISA website. However, the following question arises: is it valid to direct users to the ANVISA website when clicking on the product? Now, I'll let you answer. 😉
marketing aspects
Considering what is mentioned in the law, we must have complete, up-to-date content that make it easy to read and have possibility of conversion of text into audio and/or video, Some criteria were analyzed in our research:
- Ease of entering the industry website
- Loading speed
- Page/design/ux/ui experience
- If it had audio/video/pdf/text/html
- Technical analysis of remarketing pixels from the main digital media
What we brought to this research was just the analysis of whether or not there was some type of leaflet on the website in text/html/pdf/audio/video format.
Have the leaflet on a controlled site
It is interesting that the digital package insert is in a territory controlled by the company. In this way, it is possible to have all the tracking of the user's behavior with a certain product on the site. In addition, it is important to have processes for controlling versions/updates and redirecting links. (because if you eventually change the structure of the site, you can quickly redirect to the new page, without losing thousands of printed packages that already have a reading code.) Imagine having to reprint new packages because the website link has changed? Or when the consumer reads the code on the packaging, does the message appear on the cell phone screen that that url does not exist?
Digital performance & demand generation
Understanding that the medicine consumer is anywhere in the world, it is important to have assertive tracking in accordance with the LGPD so that it is possible to create marketing actions.
pixels/remarketing
Having all the remarketing pixels of the main digital media (Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn Ads, etc.) configured will help to grow the consumer base so that it will then be possible to create different digital marketing actions.
We are not talking about offering medicines here, we know that it is not allowed for the industry to do so.
But content open to the general public, yes, it is possible.
Digital performance actions that can be done when you have control and all settings are present on the website/product pages:
- Distribute content open to the general public about pathologies
- Distribute content from patient program websites
- Distribute health/well-being content according to the age group of the patient who consumes a certain type of medicine.
- Brand and Branding Awareness actions
Follow more about the Digital Bull in our live held on 15/02/2023 with Rodrigo Klein from T2 Software and Ricardo Verza from GS1.
Click here to access the Live recording!
Conclusions
The digital leaflet must have at least the following characteristics:
I – complete and up-to-date content, identical to the printed leaflet;
II – format that facilitates reading and understanding;
III – possibility of converting the text into audio and/or video
When we talk about the digital experience, we must think of each medication consumer in a unique way. For example:
- If a medicine, which is more consumed by a certain age group, for example, over 60 years old, is it interesting to have a digital package insert only in texts and with small fonts on the website? In this sense, it is important to consider how the page experience should be for this consumer.
- If we are talking about medicines for a younger audience, what should the page experience be like for this audience?
- How to further improve the medicine consumer journey by taking digital content targeted to help their health to have longevity, for example?
The digital leaflet is a complement to the printed leaflet, whether or not there will be a replacement only future will tell and this is not the focus of this text.
We need to think about how to add even more a positive experience with brands, directing and including the consumer in a digital journey that is beneficial.
