Interactive content for HCPs, printed and measurable

What makes interactive content for HCPs different from a brochure?

A printed brochure tells the doctor what fits on paper and then goes quiet. Interactive content for HCPs keeps the paper but connects it to digital content: an NFC chip in the page, often combined with a QR code for phones without NFC. A tap opens a mobile page in the browser, without an app or login, with whatever the printed space could not hold, such as a short mechanism-of-action video, an interactive quiz, a study summary or a form.

The second difference is feedback. A brochure ends at the dispatch list. An interactive piece reports how many copies were opened, which content was viewed and which actions followed. This is the basis of print attribution: comparing what happened with the mailing to what happened without it.

Which rules apply to interactive pharma content for professionals?

In the EU, Directive 2001/83/EC sets the basic rules for advertising medicines. Prescription-only medicines may not be advertised to the general public (Article 88), which is why promotion goes to healthcare professionals. Advertising to people qualified to prescribe or supply must contain essential information consistent with the summary of product characteristics (Article 91), and documentation handed over as part of promotion has to state when it was drawn up or last revised and be accurate, up to date and verifiable (Article 92).

Two further articles matter for physical materials. Gifts and benefits to prescribers are only allowed if they are inexpensive and relevant to the practice of medicine or pharmacy (Article 94). Free samples may only go to people qualified to prescribe, in limited numbers and on a written, signed and dated request (Article 96). How a digital sample request meets that requirement in a given country is a question for your regulatory team.

National law and industry codes come on top, for example the Heilmittelwerbegesetz in Germany or the prior ANSM authorisation (visa PM) in France. The digital layer of an interactive piece is promotional content like the print itself, so it belongs in the same approval workflow. Updating it after printing is possible, but each change needs approval. The background is summarised in our glossary entry on HCP marketing.

How do you measure interactive HCP materials under the GDPR?

Measuring a mailing and tracking a doctor are two different things. Counting how many pieces of a campaign were opened, which video ran and how many sample requests came in is aggregated campaign data. It answers the questions marketing and brand teams ask most often without identifying anybody.

Recipient-level data is a separate step. A doctor’s name, practice address and specialty are ordinary personal data under the GDPR, and direct marketing can be a legitimate interest (Recital 47). Once taps are linked to a named recipient, that recipient has to be informed and can object to direct marketing at any time (Article 21). Many pharma teams therefore start with aggregated measurement and only add named data where the doctor fills in a form or has agreed to it. The setup is described in detail on GDPR-safe pharma direct mail.

On the Let’s interact platform, data is hosted in the EU, no personal data is read from the phone when someone taps, and form submissions such as sample or meeting requests can be passed to a CRM through an API. Which CRM fields are filled, and under which legal basis, is decided by you.

Which interactive HCP materials have pharma and medtech companies used?

Pfizer sent gynaecologists in Austria an interactive mailing for a new oral contraceptive, with a product video, a quiz and a simplified sample order. Novartis used printed invitations for an asthma webinar series that showed the programme, took registrations and later opened the recordings. BD presented a new medication dispensing system to hospital users with explainer videos, a quiz and a meeting request.

Merz equipped its field force with a desk display that explains a complex mechanism of action through video, product information and augmented reality. seca followed up with selected congress contacts through a premium box containing an interactive paper on BIA measurement. More examples from medicine and medtech are collected on the healthcare page.