Health Communication: Relevance Over a Flood of Content in Everyday Practice

The use of artificial intelligence is dramatically accelerating the production of specialized medical content. At the same time, mounting administrative and patient care pressures are reducing the time available in medical practices and clinics. Healthcare professionals are increasingly filtering out general information without reading it. In the podcast “Forward Pharma Trialog,” , three representatives from associations, industry, and clinical practice analyze what targeted professional communication might look like—communication that supports day-to-day care rather than overwhelming it with content. They are our driving force.

An overview of the viewpoints:

‍The Medical Practice: Harald Müller-Huesmann (Oncologist and Chief Physician)

In everyday hospital life, the sheer volume of emails, mail, and digital messages requires careful screening. Generic cover letters or topics outside our field are immediately set aside. What matters is immediate clinical relevance, absolute subject-specific expertise, and reliability. Despite the growing number of digital options, authentic, personal interaction remains the most effective foundation for building trust and absorbing information.

“The biggest challenge of all is getting a doctor’s attention. Time is the most valuable resource we have. Sometimes my trash can is the biggest conference.”

Harald Müller-Huesmann

‍

‍The Industry Perspective: Nico Renner (Pharma Marketeer)

Automated content generation carries the risk of further increasing the burden on the target audience with irrelevant volume. The real progress brought about by AI therefore lies not in the quantity of text produced, but in precise segmentation. AI must be used to filter data and provide medical specialists with exactly the information that offers demonstrable added value for their field of expertise.

“With AI, you can generate so much content (...) We should instead use AI to filter more precisely who really needs which information.”

Nico Renner

‍

‍The Association's Perspective: Alexandra Negt (Online Communications, vfa)

Broad-based communication strategies have become obsolete in specialized discourse. To generate awareness, channels and content must be extremely finely tailored to specific areas of interest. In addition to testing new formats and platforms for younger target audiences, editorial quality control is becoming increasingly important: industry portals and associations must act as reliable filters to separate unverified AI-generated content from well-researched facts.

“We simply have to let go of the idea that ‘one size fits all’—that doesn’t work anymore. We really need to stay focused on the issue at hand.”

Alexandra Negt