So don't judge me for this, but I let my 7-year-old daughter watch reality TV. She loves a YouTube channel where a girl opens boxes (also referred to as a "haul") of American Girl doll stuff that arrives in the mail. She opens a new box on every episode, explaining the contents in painstaking detail. Although I don't understand it as my daughter does, I put it in the category of "harmless" and worry about other things.

In just the last year, Millennials (adults ages 18-34) have become the largest generation in the U.S. labor force, officially surpassing Gen Xers, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center. The healthcare industry needs to take notice, as this group of young people presents new and distinct challenges.

Digital marketing in healthcare organizations has historically lagged behind other industries. Over the past two decades, we have seen a steady rise in the complexity of digital marketing from the variety of devices to the complexity of application interfaces. More recently, devices have gained capabilities. We've seen specialty devices, such as Fitbit and other wearables become popular, creating an explosion of personal data to drive personalized experiences. Despite this growth, it's the non-healthcare companies who have capitalized on these trends - and healthcare has lagged behind.

One of the biggest challenge pharma marketers face is how to improve patient adherence. Approximately 34% of patients will never fill their first prescription, let alone follow through with a refill. In the age of the smartphone, when everyone is constantly connected to their devices, it makes sense for us to find ways to bring adherence tools into the pockets of patients. Mobile apps that aim to improve medication adherence and post-diagnosis care are becoming more and more popular. But what does it take for an adherence app to really make a difference?

Is patient-centricity a real thing? At the point of care, when the patient and their care team come together, what does patient-centricity really mean?

In this age of rapid healthcare delivery, the big C can be overlooked when it comes to caring and communicating with cancer patients. The C I'm referring to is Compassion. In fact, there's another C here - the Caregiver - they also seek compassion when interfacing with their oncology healthcare team.