The Diagnosis: Why pharma brands are turning to DOOH

It’s time we diagnose the real problem—advertising today does not look like it did five years ago. Back then, we were in the full swing of the COVID-19 pandemic, with people stuck at home and healthcare needs surging. Now, consumers are determined to make the most of their freedom while still keeping a close eye on their health.

For healthcare marketers, that shift has created new ailments, including:

• Navigating HIPAA compliance, especially accommodating privacy considerations when targeting and remarketing. 
• Increased protection of patient health information (PHI) makes it difficult for advertisers to determine demographic and psychographic information to help with audience targeting.
• Breaking through the noise of competitors offering “high-quality patient care” through the same advertising mediums.

Fortunately, there’s a new prescription on the market: Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) at the Point of Care (POC).

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The Treatment Plan: Contextual targeting in action

The treatment plan prioritizes contextual targeting, allowing digital out-of-home to seamlessly reach patients in doctors’ offices, hospitals, health clinics, and pharmacies.

One of the most significant advantages of DOOH at the point-of-care is its brand-safe environment. Unlike social or digital channels where pharma ads risk appearing alongside unrelated or even harmful content, POC placements are located in spaces where healthcare is already the focus. Doctor’s offices, pharmacies, and health clinics provide a distraction-free setting where patient attention is heightened and trust is inherent.

This trust is amplified by alignment with medical professionals. When patients see a message in a doctor’s office or pharmacy, it carries more credibility. According to the Solomon Partners 2025 Point of Care Report, 82% of patients value health information at their doctor’s office or hospital. It feels less like an ad and more like a recommendation delivered in partnership with the healthcare system. Pharma brands that advertise at the point of care see significantly stronger engagement compared to traditional digital campaigns.

Context is everything. A patient in a dentist's office is already thinking about their dental health, so a campaign promoting a new dental treatment is not only relevant, but timely. 

Beyond awareness, POC DOOH delivers targeted reach and measurable outcomes. Campaigns can be activated by specialty, geography, or even time of day, ensuring messages land with the exact audience they’re meant for. And unlike many legacy channels, DOOH provides verifiable metrics on impressions and engagement, giving marketers confidence that their media dollars are driving real impact.

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Quick Checkup: real-world data reports prove DOOH is successful for healthcare marketing

The proof is in the data. According to the Solomon Partners 2025 Point of Care Report, digital POC advertising is not just effective, it’s one of the most measurable and impactful channels in healthcare marketing.

• Trust & Education: 91% report that POC advertising supports them in becoming more active in their own care.
• Behavior Change: 58% of patients who notice in-office ads ask their physician about the advertised treatment, and 34% actually receive a prescription for a newly advertised drug.
• Measurable Outcomes: 68% of patients have requested a pharma brand after being exposed to POC marketing, and 65% indicated a willingness to switch brands based on POC messaging.
• Proven ROI: In one case study, POC advertising accounted for 35% of new patient starts while representing just 14% of the total media spend.

These numbers demonstrate why point-of-care DOOH isn’t just another media buy—it’s a performance driver that can be directly tied to prescription lift and patient outcomes.

Together, third-party research and industry leadership confirm that DOOH at the point of care is delivering the kind of results pharma marketers need: credible, measurable, and behavior-changing impact.

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The Prognosis: Why POC DOOH is the future of pharma marketing

The prognosis is clear: digital out-of-home is the future of pharma marketing. Circling back to the original pain points, the number one issue is complying with HIPAA. Fortunately, DOOH is the perfect solution to abide by HIPAA laws while still reaching the correct audience. 

CEO and Co-Founder of Screenverse, David Weinfeld, shared his thoughts in a feature with Chain Drug Review: “Unlike the privacy concerns swirling around digital and social, programmatic DOOH complies with regulatory requirements by leveraging a one-way communication format that doesn’t include clickable call-to-actions, thus bypassing the typical issues digital ads face when linking to additional information.”

Sharing advertisements through digital screens at POC locations also ensures that patient health information is secure since the targeting is based on physical location and not individual patients.

Screenverse OOH inventory at the point of care

Reaching patients in trusted healthcare environments is powerful on its own, but Screenverse takes it a step further with a curated network of point-of-care media owners and a robust database of over 5,000 audience segments, allowing for precision targeting. This means pharma brands can not only place ads in the proper context but also ensure those messages reach the exact audiences they care about most.

• TouchSource: Digital directories and displays in medical office buildings, ideal for reaching patients, visitors, and healthcare professionals while they navigate appointments.
• Screenverse Health: Healthcare-specific venues such as pharmacies and doctors’ offices, where messaging directly supports patient education and treatment awareness.
• Vertical Impression: The largest elevator advertising displays in the market that connect with patients, visitors, and healthcare professionals through placements directly inside hospitals, specialty clinics, urgent care centers, outpatient surgery centers, and more .

Advertisers can bundle multiple networks together under a single deal ID, allowing them to mix and match inventory based on what makes the most sense—ultimately ensuring seamless campaign activation. All things considered, it seems pretty simple what the solution is to launching a standout healthcare marketing campaign.

Ready to pick up your prescription for success? 

The evidence is clear: DOOH at the point of care is the prescription pharma marketers can count on. It checks every box that matters, it’s brand-safe, contextual, measurable, and scalable.

As healthcare marketing budgets continue to shift away from crowded, privacy-challenged channels, DOOH at the point of care is positioned to capture more investment. With programmatic buying and data-driven targeting advancing rapidly, brands have even greater control over who they reach and how they measure success.

Now that you have the prescription, Screenverse can walk you through exactly how a healthcare-focused DOOH campaign could look. Contact us for the full rundown.