Meet the Patient with Study Communication

When creating ads for a clinical trial, let’s first consider this question:

What is the average reading level of an American Adult?

The answer is 7th-8th?grade.?

Based on a statistical analysis of a representative sample of the population, American adults have achieved…WAIT. Study teams, clinops executives, and everyone else: your patient-facing communication cannot read like this.

Patient centricity has sailed on as a buzzword, but we all just nod our heads when it’s mentioned on a panel instead of practicing it. If people can’t understand what you’re saying, study communication is not patient-centric.

Find writers who can translate study protocols into short messages with plain language. There are even some companies who offer this as a service! You may go so far as to include casual language or colloquialisms.?

Using casual language is a form of patient centricity because it acknowledges that we are coming to the patients’ turf and meeting them there. It may not be appropriate in all circumstances, but we must remember that direct-to-patient ads are happening on digital channels that patients are choosing to spend time on. They are not on a medical forum—they are on Instagram or Pinterest. By meeting them linguistically, we establish some extra credibility because the study itself is seen as being run by humans, not empty lab coats. We can get people’s attention with ads, then let the study website and consent process do the heavy lifting.?