Authors: Jenny Fletcher – Marketing Director, Mike Pepp – Senior Commercial Consultant, Sam Hope – CEO, Beyond Blue
Over the holidays, an article caught our eye: Trust Gap: Why Patients Turn to TikTok Instead of Pharmaceutical Messaging by the Global Healthy Living Foundation’s Seth Ginsberg. Although it focuses on chronic illness, it echoed themes we explored in our own work, “The Power of Words”, particularly around why patients increasingly look beyond traditional healthcare channels for guidance.
People are making significant health decisions based on who else feels most relatable, trustworthy, and emotionally attuned to them. Often these can be in peer-to-peer environments, and what is becoming more apparent is that pharma isn’t always in the room when those conversations take place.
As online platforms continue to dominate the health information landscape, we thought this was a good moment to revisit a few core ideas from our original paper, ideas that feel more relevant now than ever.
1. Being truly present matters more than ever
One of the strongest points in the GHLF article is the need for pharma to show up where patients actually are, not just where regulations feel comfortable.
Patients are often having real, messy, soul-searching, analytical, and investigative conversations in podcasts, in wellness forums, and yes, on TikTok. They’re asking questions, sharing anxieties, comparing experiences. And wellness brands have mastered the art of stepping into those spaces with empathy, optimism, and a sense of shared purpose.
In “The Power of Words”, we highlighted how wellness brands speak with people, not at them. They help people imagine what better could look like and invite them into a community rather than a campaign.
Pharma and HCPs can adopt some of that thinking – without compromising scientific rigor. Show up, be human, and speak to people’s needs, not at their symptoms.
What this means for pharma
Move from broadcast to facilitated connection. Consider formats that allow for safe, moderated interaction, such as a nurse- or HCP-led Q&As, peer stories, or community spaces where patients can reflect and validate one another. Credibility grows when the connection feels real.
2. Patients are searching for someone, or something that they can trust
Trust is the currency of modern healthcare communication. According to the GHLF piece, pharma is often losing out not because it lacks facts, but because it lacks authenticity.
Wellness brands don’t talk about compliance, they talk about self-improvement. They help people feel like they’re choosing progress rather than following orders. That framing works because it’s empowering.
In our own research, we found that patients want partners, not overseers. They want not only to feel understood, but also advice that aligns with their goals, lifestyle, and identity.
HCPs remain one of the most trusted forces in healthcare, and pharma can empower them to strengthen that trust by making information clearer, more actionable, and more human.
What this means for pharma
Give HCPs simple, patient-centered explanations that make scientific/clinical points personally meaningful. Support them in having conversations grounded in patient aspirations, not just protocols. In doing so, HCPs become amplifiers of trust rather than being dispensers of information.
3. Patients want evidence early on in their treatment to show it is working
A recurring theme in both articles is that people crave early signs that their treatment is “working”. It’s human nature to seek out early proof of efficacy. Wellness brands have tapped into this desire for seeing early proof brilliantly by creating daily rituals, micro-milestones, and progress cues that reinforce belief and adherence.
In contrast, pharma often focuses on long-term outcomes or abstract clinical endpoints. These longer-term outcomes are, of course, helpful, but not always immediately motivating.
What this means for pharma
Identify micro-benefits tied to the treatment mechanism – the small signs or sensations patients might notice early.
Turn guidance into action scripts – simple, repeatable steps that help people feel productive and engaged (“Track your energy today”, “Ask your doctor this at your next visit”).
When progress feels visible, confidence grows.
4. Compliance and ethics are non-negotiable
Let’s be clear: none of this means relaxing scientific standards. In fact, trust depends on more rigor, not less. But rigor doesn’t have to mean rigidity.
Pharma can borrow from wellness communication models while still grounding everything in evidence. It can be warm and truthful. Inspirational and responsible.
What this means for pharma
Shift the conversation from instruction to partnership. Embed scientific evidence within narratives that reflect shared values, humanity, and purpose.
5. Moving toward a shared understanding
We sit at the intersection of patient behavior, scientific evidence, and communication strategy. It’s a space that lets us clearly see both the opportunities and the guardrails.
But this is not a closed conversation. Far from it.
If the industry is going to empower patients safely, without creating “disastrously empowered” ones, then multiple perspectives are needed.
We’d love to hear yours.
How should pharma evolve to meet patients’ needs while staying grounded in evidence?
Where do you see the line between being empowering and becoming overwhelming?
Join the conversation – because patients are already engaging in it.