Phreesia Urges Pharma to Rethink Media Privacy Practices

As privacy regulations tighten and digital media strategies grow more sophisticated, pharmaceutical marketers are being challenged to rethink how they connect with healthcare professionals and patients. According to Industry Voices: Navigating Privacy in a Rapidly Evolving Landscape, a report from Phreesia, pharma media must now operate in a world where consent, transparency, and trust are non-negotiable.

For those working in life sciences marketing and media, this shift represents both an operational challenge and a strategic opportunity.

Pharma’s Pivot to Consent-Led Engagement

According to this latest report the traditional digital media model – built on third-party data and audience lookalikes – is losing its relevance in healthcare. Pharma brands are now prioritizing privacy not simply to comply with HIPAA-adjacent laws or new state-level mandates, but because consent-led engagement is fast becoming the only viable path forward.

“People have a right to privacy when it comes to their health data,” says David Linetsky, SVP of Life Sciences at Phreesia. And pharma media leaders are responding in kind, developing content-rich environments where patients and providers willingly opt in.

Leanne Smith of CMI Media Group emphasizes this point: “At the end of the day, everyone we work with wants to build trust with patients… it gives people more trust in the company and the marketing that they’re receiving.”

In pharma media, that trust starts with the quality of the audience and the clarity of the consent.

Context and First-Party Data Come to the Fore

Pharma marketers are leaning hard into first-party data, increasingly sourced through loyalty programs, educational portals, point-of-care platforms, and contextual media environments. This data isn’t just more compliant – it’s also more actionable.

Gregory Stull, SVP at PHM, underscores the media value: “The first-party data framework sets us up in a much better place with privacy… it’s more effective from a measurement perspective.”

The report contends that the return of contextual targeting is giving pharma media teams new tools to drive relevance without reliance on invasive tracking. Campaigns that align messaging with content (e.g., serving cardiology messaging in a cardiologist’s waiting room or alongside relevant medical content) can prove to be both effective and privacy-forward.

As Italia Mombello of Greater Than One explains, engagement strategies that start with context and include opt-in elements like qualification questions (“Do you or a loved one suffer from XYZ?”) allow for meaningful targeting without crossing the privacy line.

Agency-Vendor Alignment Now Starts with Privacy

Media buyers, strategists, and brand managers are now expected to evaluate partners not just on audience reach or innovation – but on their privacy posture. Compliance is part of the brief.

“Data privacy is a critical practice within media management today” says Jo Zmood, Managing Director at OMD USA. From RFPs to onboarding, agencies are integrating privacy criteria into vendor vetting and demanding transparency around data handling, consent frameworks, and compliance infrastructure.

For in-house teams, privacy-by-design is becoming table stakes. Agencies like Klick Health have dedicated privacy teams – such as Klick Trust – that monitor both internal practices and partner ecosystems.

Training is also front and center. With state-by-state laws constantly evolving and no unified federal standard, teams are increasingly using the GDPR framework as a benchmark for best practices.

Media Strategies Must Be Sustainable, Not Situational

What comes through most strongly in Phreesia’s report is that privacy is no longer a campaign-specific consideration – it’s a persistent, strategic function of pharma media planning.

Jack Vance of IPG Health says it clearly: “These undertakings are no longer just about regulatory compliance; they fundamentally change how clients approach customer engagement in a way that drives both trust and performance sustainably.”

Opting out of complex jurisdictions, as some vendors have done, is no longer seen as tenable. Pharma companies, especially those focused on equitable access, are looking for media partners that offer compliance across the board – and the confidence to scale programs across all markets, regardless of legislation.

Danielle Lynch, VP of Client Experience at Phreesia, adds, “You can still market in a way that is compliant and reaches the right patients at the right time. You don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater just because it’s confusing.”

Final Thoughts from Solli

In the competitive and compliance-driven world of pharma media, privacy is emerging as a defining advantage – not just a legal hurdle. The leaders profiled in Phreesia’s report make one thing clear: the future belongs to media organizations and partners that are transparent, adaptable, and committed to patient-centric practices.

At solli, we see privacy-forward pharma marketing as a sign of industry maturity—where trust, brand value, and performance meet. Marketers who lean into contextual strategies and compliant partnerships won’t just stay ahead—they’ll deliver smarter, more sustainable campaigns.

To access the full report click here.