The health care marketing industry will interact differently with customers in the future due to digital marketing, said Adam Schechter, former president of global human health at Merck. Schechter said the industry was behind in transforming to digital, but others disagreed.

BBDO's new campaign for CVS touts the brand's purpose-driven initiatives, including its ban on tobacco that started five years ago, its "Beauty Mark" pledge last year to make advertising more transparent and its new third-party testing of vitamin and supplement products. A spot showcases how the retailer is making it easier to "Treat yourself well."

Marcus Wesson, Dailey's chief creative officer, says diversity is "a systemic problem" in advertising that needs a holistic fix. "It seems as though when people hear the word 'general market,' unless you specify diversity, they won't offer it on their own," he says.

Amid all the attention on federal policies impeding medical marketing -- especially attacks on direct-to-consumer broadcast advertising -- don't forget those testy state rules popping up to limit prescriber education and collaboration with industry.

Several states, including Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey and Vermont, pile onto the federal "Sunshine Act" restrictions and reporting requirements for gifts and payments to doctors and other prescribers; Philadelphia also considered, then rejected, a similar proposal last year. So it's important for industry to pay close attention to what is happening at the state level.

For example, New Jersey announced revisions to its largely unrealistic rules last week. Importantly, although New Jersey kept the $10,000-per-year cap on payments related to consulting, promotion and education events, it raised the dollar limit for educational dinners from $15 to $30. While such meals will not be lavish in New Jersey, they now are possible. Also note that New Jersey allows disease state promotional events as well as certified continuing medical education.

The Coalition for Healthcare Communication works with its allies to resist these state barriers to collaboration, but the beat goes on, and must be monitored. Stay tuned.

-- John Kamp, Washington Counsel, Coalition for Healthcare Communication

Researchers from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative interviewed health care executives and experts and found that all of the respondents agreed that patient matching rates for an effective health data exchange aren't where they want them, which could lead to patient safety issues and delays in care. When asked about the impediments to improved patient matching, respondents cited a lack of data standards and perceived costs of solutions, and a majority of participants said creating a unique patient identifier could help address cost issues.

Google has unveiled additional digital ad space in Gmail, Images, YouTube and Discover. Facebook, meanwhile, is warning advertisers of less effective targeting after it launches its new privacy feature called Clear History.

Instagram users will soon see a redesigned Explore page featuring Stories and shortcuts to IGTV and shopping with tabs that can be used to access content and videos related to art, travel and food. "We want to provide a more immersive experience so people can actively engage with content and be more specific about what they want to discover," says Will Ruben, Instagram product lead for discovery.

Marketers had high hopes for acquiring new customers and prospects with Facebook's Lookalike Audiences, but some are reporting diminishing results, which may be attributed to algorithm changes and curtailed usage of third-party data. "We don't feel it works anymore unless you can build that audience on the pixel -- but in that case, your website has to provide enough traffic to make it accurate, especially as you don't want to base that Lookalike Audience on older visits to keep pace with your market," says Digidust CEO Pierre-Olivier Carles.

High-wage earners are spending less time with media and devoting more money to experiences, while lower-income consumers turn to technology to fill entertainment needs, writes Jodie Huang. "[W]hile it's prudent to focus the most on content that's relevant to your target audience, knowing that they have different media habits, there are also opportunities to help close the gap by offering additional benefits to lower-income groups," Huang writes.

Coalition Executive Committee Member Sharon Callahan, CEO, TBWA\WorldHealth and chief client officer, Omnicom Health Group, described her many years as a member and the former chair -- and first woman chair -- of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication's executive committee in a May 15 podcast interview with Medical Marketing & Media's (MM&M's) Senior Editor Larry Dobrow. In the interview, Callahan explained the Coalition's role in responding to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' mandate that drugs' wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) be included in direct-to-consumer television ads, stating that "the Coalition is a really important organization, because it's our voice in Washington." Read more.

Exactly how do laws get crafted or regulations finalized in Washington in the year 2019? Kay Holcombe -- a former FDA official, a key staffer in the Senate and House, and senior VP of BIO -- will share her informed perspective at this year's Coalition for Healthcare Communication Rising Leaders Conference on Healthcare Policy. Jim Davidson -- a lawyer, chair of the Advertising Coalition, an entertaining speaker and, according to Reuters, "one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington" -- will be the keynote speaker, discussing the "marketing tax" threat. This fourth-annual conference will be held May 21-22 at the National Press Club in Washington. It is a unique program zeroing in on how policy issues affect our industry, and is designed specifically for executives and rising stars in advertising, marketing, medical communications, publishing and digital media. Read more.