Solutions

WhatsApp Business API for Pharma & Physician Communications

While pharmaceutical organizations and the healthcare sector have been becoming increasingly more digitalized, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that accelerated the need for much faster adoption and agility, including digital communication channels between pharma organizations and healthcare professionals.

The healthcare sector, together with hospitals, physicians and nurses started to leverage WhatsApp when governments put a halt to face-to-face meetings and consultations. At the same time WhatsApp automation, a service called WhatsApp Business API was launched, a swift, simple and secure way to engage with stakeholders.

Now WhatsApp has more than 2 billion active users globally, making it the undisputed global market leader in the field of instant messaging. WhatsApp has seen a 40% increase in usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

WhatsApp Business API for Pharma engagements with doctors

WhatsApp Business API is an all-new experience in medical business communication between pharmaceutical organizations, hospitals and physicians. Through a verified business profile, MSLs of a pharma company can share medical information, showcase study results, congress materials, offer services and engage with physicians.

Such a chat app-based approach to state-of-the-art user experience is an ideal fit for pharma, enabling it to offer a personalized service to often busy physicians for multiple use cases.

Pharma use cases for WhatsApp Business API

Medical community engagements

  • MSLs peer medical discussions
  • Engage on studies & publications
  • Register and follow-up on congresses & events

Commercial Engagements

  • Marketing messages
  • Commercial updates

Patient advocacy groups

  • Patient services & tools
  • Support information
  • Secure peer environment

Logistics

  • Delivery services
  • Status information
  • Settlement

Patient services

  • Patient services & engagement
  • FAQs & newsletters
  • Scheduling & reminders

Helpdesk

  • Customer & patient support

Opt-in management for WhatsApp & beyond

The first step towards being able to engage with healthcare professionals over WhatsApp is getting them to confirm their profession and to opt-in. An opt-in is when a physician agrees to receive messages over WhatsApp from a pharma company. This must be collected before personal or broadcast messages to physicians are sent using WhatsApp.

FFI Ventures provides solutions that collect following opt-ins:

  • Comply with applicable law
  • Clearly state that a person is a healthcare professional opting in to receive messages from a pharmaceutical company, not only through WhatsApp but any relevant physician channel managed by the company
  • Comply with adverse events reporting process by using strictly defined channels
  • Agree on company privacy statements & rules of engagement on WhatsApp channel

The user experience to get a physician through the opt-in process is made smooth and simple, while abiding by the guidelines. Physicians can swiftly accept opt-ins by clicking buttons when following a step-by-step process.

For pharma companies, WhatsApp can be one of the most effective methods to reach healthcare professionals as the majority of physicians are active on the messaging platform. WhatsApp Business API is a swift, simple and secure way to engage with a broad variety of healthcare stakeholders.

Channel and data integration​

Integrate with Pharma online and offline ecosystem to build a truly integrated customer experience. Options to connect Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms and synchronize opt-ins and data.

  • Channels and platforms
  • Services
  • Offline activities
  • Data

How FFI Ventures can help

We’re a leading healthcare strategy and healthcare solution provider with deep therapeutic areas know-how. We support medical and commercial organizations in their multi-channel communications to physicians and patients using innovative solutions, that include the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

FFI Ventures services for WhatsApp Business API:

  • Strategic assessment of WhatsApp Business as a channel with clear purpose and value measurement
  • Ensures compliance, data privacy & GDPR regulations are followed
  • Prepares WhatsApp playbook for pharma organizations
  • Setup of entire WhatsApp Business API design, processes, templates & engagement content
  • Acts as a data processor for pharmaceutical organizations
  • Maintains & tailors WhatsApp Business API solutions for pharma teams such as medical, commercial and corporate functions.
  • Provides data analytics and insights generation; implements learning
  • Launches integrated campaigns to drive traffic to WhatsApp channels, including medical congress materials and 3rd party HCP platform engagements
  • Ensures agile, scalable, and cost-effective Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions