Jan 31, 2025
What the Latest IQVIA Research Tells Us About HCPs and Email Engagement
Email Is Not a Lead Channel—But It Is a Useful One
One thing is clear in IQVIA’s research: HCP engagement today is inherently omnichannel. No single channel dominates. Email shows up alongside social media, search, field engagement, and independent education platforms as part of a broader ecosystem.3
This reflects a consistent theme throughout the report: success depends less on channel ownership and more on relevance, trust, and timing.⁴ This is an important reframing.
Email is not the destination—it’s the connector.
Email Plays a Role in Discovery, Not Just Delivery
When we look at how HCPs discover medical content, email notifications emerge as a useful (though not dominant) discovery mechanism. ⁵
In the section on searching for medical information, “email notifications” appear alongside search engines, professional forums, and even generative AI tools. Email isn’t leading the pack, but it’s clearly still part of how clinicians find what matters to them.6
More interestingly, IQVIA highlights generational differences:
“HCPs born before 1990 find email notifications more useful than those born after 1990—46% vs 39% rate them ‘critical’ or ‘very important,’ respectively.”7
For mid- to late-career clinicians, email remains a meaningful touchpoint. The implication is straightforward: segmented, audience-aware strategies outperform one-size-fits-all approaches—especially when it comes to channel mix.
Email Works Best as a Signal, Not a Content Dump
Time pressure is a dominant theme throughout the report. The number one barrier to accessing medical education remains lack of time, with IQVIA noting:
“Time and cost factors are the biggest challenges experienced by HCPs in accessing educational content.”8
In that context, volume-driven approaches don’t just underperform—they actively work against engagement.⁹ Email, when overused or overloaded, quickly becomes part of the noise. Used differently, though, it aligns well with HCP preferences for efficiency and autonomy. Email works best as a signal: a short, relevant prompt that points clinicians toward high-value content, rather than trying to deliver the full educational experience in the inbox.
In practice, that means email is most effective when it directs HCPs to:
expert-led insights
short, bite-sized educational formats¹⁰
congress highlights or curated takeaways¹¹
Trust Matters More Than the Channel
The findings reinforce a critical point: trust in the source matters more than the channel itself. HCPs consistently report higher trust in independent and expert-led education than in pharma-owned content.¹²
As the report states: “HCPs have high trust in both the opinion of medical experts and educational content sourced via independent publishers. In contrast, just 20% express the same about pharma-led content.”13
Email can support trust—but only when it acts as a bridge to credible sources, not a promotional endpoint.
Email Belongs in an Omnichannel Strategy—Not at the Center of It
IQVIA repeatedly emphasizes the need for coordinated, omnichannel engagement:
“To sustain relevancy and impactful engagement… it will be important to focus on delivering the right content, in the right format, at the right time for HCPs.”14
Email supports this model best when it:
complements other channels
adapts to audience needs and career stage
respects time constraints
enables self-directed engagement
Used this way, email becomes a facilitator of scientific exchange, not a blunt marketing tool.
The Takeaway for HCP Engagement Leaders
The IQVIA research doesn’t argue for more email. It argues for smarter email.
For teams focused on meaningful HCP engagement, the implications are clear:
Email still has value—especially for certain demographics7
Its strength lies in signaling, not saturation
Trust, relevance, and expert alignment matter more than frequency12
Email works best as part of a broader educational ecosystem14
In an era where attention is scarce and credibility is paramount, email’s role is quieter—but still important. When thoughtfully deployed, it helps HCPs find what matters most, without asking for more time than they can give.
References:
IQVIA (2025). Advancing Scientific Exchange, Introduction, pp. 1–2
IQVIA (2025). Executive Summary, pp. 2–3
IQVIA (2025). HCP Engagement Channels Overview, pp. 4–7
IQVIA (2025). Engagement Effectiveness Drivers, p. 5
IQVIA (2025). Searching for Medical Content, p. 9
IQVIA (2025). Content Discovery Channels, p. 9
IQVIA (2025). Content Discovery by Demographics, p. 9
IQVIA (2025). Barriers to Educational Access, p. 24
IQVIA (2025). Content Saturation and Engagement Fatigue, pp. 18–20
IQVIA (2025). Preferred Educational Formats, pp. 26–28
IQVIA (2025). Scientific Meetings and Post-Congress Content, pp. 30–34
IQVIA (2025). Trust, Credibility, and Content Sources, p. 25
IQVIA (2025). Trust in Pharma-Led Content, p. 25
IQVIA (2025). Omnichannel Engagement Principles, p. 38
