• by Les Luchter , August 27, 2024

“It’s not breaking news to say that healthcare in the U.S. is complicated,” Pfizer declared this morning. So the pharma giant has launched PfizerForAll.com, a platform it says will help “improve the entire healthcare journey from start to finish.” PfizerForAll also propels Pfizer into the world of telehealth and D2C marketing, following Eli Lilly into that territory.

As outlined in a Pfizer video, the new platform assists consumers in “finding treatments, talking to a doctor” and “booking vaccines.”

PfizerForAll offers consumers four tools that “leverage the power of digital health to help make things as quick and convenient as we can for those seeking care, when they need it”:

1. Help with COVID-19, flu or cold symptoms, including such features as $35 virtual care visits via UpScriptHealth, in-home medication delivery vis Alto Pharmacy, scheduling of physical doctor appointments via Zocdoc, and ordering and delivery of at-home COVID and flu tests via Instacart.

2. Scheduling of vaccines (including Moderna) for COVID, flu or RSV at local pharmacies via VaxAssist, a tool launched by Pfizer last December that includes CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens in its network.

3. Migraine management, also with doctor appointments via UpScript or Zocdoc.

4. Ways to “save on your Pfizer medications and get support,” including co-pay cards, affordability programs and live customer support.  

In a press release, Pfizer boasted that PfizerForAll “works within the existing healthcare system and through a growing network of partners to simplify access via established channels and to close gaps in care.”

The company also said that PfizerForAll has “the potential to address a broader range of needs and conditions” beyond respiratory conditions and migraines.

“People often experience information overload and encounter roadblocks when making decisions for themselves or their family in our complex and often overwhelming U.S. healthcare system,” Aamir Malik, Pfizer’s executive vice president, chief U.S. commercial officer, said in a statement. “This can be extremely time-consuming and lead to indecision or inaction – and as a result, poor health outcomes.”

Pfizer pointed to a recent poll by the American Academy of Physician Associates in which 65% of Americans said coordinating and managing healthcare is overwhelming and time-consuming and 73% felt the healthcare system is failing to meet their needs, along with an Experian study finding that most patients want more digital options for managing their care.