Omni Know-How
December 8, 2025
As healthcare delivery continues to evolve, several clear trends will influence how pharmaceutical brands engage healthcare professionals (HCPs) in the year ahead. The common themes: greater precision, clearer context, and a deeper understanding of the realities of clinical practice.
1. Contextual Engagement Will Become Essential
The challenge is not message creation—it is delivering information in the right context. With HCPs moving between electronic health records, point-of-care technology, journals, email, and emerging professional communities, knowing where and when they are most receptive is becoming critical.
Recent studies show that:
- HCPs spend their time online in short, intermittent sessions rather than long research periods.
- Engagement rates are higher when information aligns with workflow or identified learning windows.
Understanding these contextual patterns—not just channel preferences—will shape strategy in 2026.
2. Two High-Value Moments Will Drive Impact
Next year, expect greater focus on two moments that consistently influence professional behavior:
- Learning moments: Conferences, journals, email digests, and clinical education consumed between patient visits. These moments favor curiosity, exploration, and new information.
- Clinical decision moments: Real-time patient care, where information must be concise, relevant, and directly applicable.
HCPs need different information in these two contexts. Treating them interchangeably leads to lower relevance and lower uptake; tailoring to each will become a priority.
3. Data Will Shift From Descriptive to Predictive
Most brands have access to large datasets. In 2026, the emphasis will shift toward using this data to predict receptivity, not simply measure activity.
Advances in AI will support:
- More accurate identification of learning vs. decision moments
- Stratification of HCPs based on behavior patterns, practice environments, and preferences
- Continuous refinement as new signals and channels emerge
The ability to move from retrospective insight to prospective planning will be a defining capability.
4. Scale Will Become a Source of Certainty
Large-scale program data is revealing consistent patterns in how HCPs engage. That scale provides statistical confidence, enabling more reliable forecasting of outcomes. In 2026, this type of validated pattern recognition will become increasingly important.
5. New Channels Will Mature Rapidly
HCP participation in general search, professional social platforms, and peer-to-peer digital communities continues to rise. Next year, organizations will shift from “testing” these channels to integrating them into structured engagement models.
Early indicators show:
- Medical search queries increase year-over-year.
- HCP activity in professional social spaces is growing at double-digit rates.
- Peer-led digital communities are expanding influence in learning moments.
The opportunity lies in understanding how these environments shape information-seeking and decision support.
Looking Ahead
In 2026, the brands most likely to succeed will be those that:
- Use data to predict receptivity rather than react to it
- Tailor information to real clinical and learning contexts
- Integrate emerging channels based on evidence, not assumption
The direction is clear: greater precision, stronger behavioral insight, and approaches grounded in the daily realities of healthcare professionals.