Time to stop talking about patients

The pharmaceutical industry tries hard to communicate how it works to the benefit of patients.  There is a constant desire to be, and appear to be, 'patient-centred' or 'patient-focused' which can be seen in much of the industry's communications, both verbal and written.

Author: Offical US Navy Imagery
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/5759131308/

In my experience advising in this sector, this comes from a genuine commitment to improving people's lives rather than anything cynical, though of course it is recognised that there is a potential benefit to companies' images.  There is a great sense of teamwork in pursuit of this worthy goal which makes working in pharmaceuticals uniquely rewarding and that feeling would not be there if such communications were merely spinning.

Nonetheless, I have a criticism to make of this language - talking about patients misses out the public.

Now, you might be thinking, patients are the part of the public that benefit from medicines.  Well yes, but this misses out a fundamental point.  Patients are members of the public that happen to be ill at a particular point in time.  The rest of the time they are just members of the public, and don't think of themselves as patients.  In fact, most people don't like to think of themselves as potentially ill at all.

So, apart from those who suffer from long-term or chronic illnesses, communications from the pharmaceutical industry about patients are just not relevant to people.  And yet when they do fall ill, they will benefit enormously from the industry's products.  Even without falling ill, the public purchases those products through the taxes that support the NHS so they are a significant stakeholder group whichever way you look at it.  And pharmaceutical companies generally don't talk to them.

My prescription?  Start talking about the general public.  And to the general public, within the bounds of the regulations that apply.