Innovation and market expansion highlighted as key health PR trends for 2016

PR professionals have predicted that innovation and expansion will be two of the main trends reshaping the healthcare and pharmaceutical comms sector in the coming year.

Experts from agencies Golin Health London, Red Door Unlimited, Pegasus, Hanover, GCI Health and Incisive Health have given their predictions for the key developments that will shape the comms landscape in 2016.

There was a consensus among the professionals that new approaches to PR will emerge into the mainstream this year, including the emergence of content creation as a more prominent speciality, a renewed focus on storytelling, a broadening of skillsets and a new move towards patient centricity.

The market itself is also likely to expand, with new entrants into the healthcare space leading bigger agency groups to invest in healthcare comms for the first time. The growing financial challenges facing the NHS is likely to increase the need for innovation in the sector.

Finally, it is also anticipated that new technology innovations will have an impact, with the influence of mobile and digital health continuing to grow and data becoming a vital tool. This will help agencies to use their budgets more efficiently.