When HIV/AIDS emerged in the U.S. in the late 80’s, governments around the world grappled with ways to understand, address and reduce the impact of the infection on populations. Several U.S. presidents attempted initiatives to address the alarming pandemic. At last, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases developed a combination antiretroviral drug treatment – medicines in simple pill form – which reduced the impact of the condition to such a degree that those with the virus and its complications could hope, even expect, to achieve a normal lifespan. It’s considered one of the great success stories in medical research.
For these critical medicines in pill form, delivery by mail was by far the most efficient way to establish care relationships and deliver them to hard-to-reach populations. These may be groups in remote geographical areas or those segregated from society by their social or economic situation or both. The nature of severe illness often creates a barrier – even ostracization – which compounds the difficulty of receiving or providing life-saving care.
In 2012 a small group of business, technology and medical professionals launched a nonprofit, HarborPath Inc., to create a single source for application and medication fulfillment for uninsured or underinsured individuals living with HIV/AIDS. HarborPath Inc. became an effective Patient Assistance Program administrator with an online portal through which to qualify these patients and deliver the donated medicines through a mail-order pharmacy.
HarborPath Inc.’s one-stop-shop solution is gaining the attention of Federal and state health organizations, pharmaceutical companies, medical centers, caregivers and patients for use in facilitating cost-effective treatment for other life-threatening and/or chronic conditions such as hepatitis C, COPD and diabetes.
To further address these underserved markets, HarborPath Direct was established to assist private sector pharmaceutical companies get lifesaving medications into the hands of chronically ill patients rapidly.
The parent company, HarborPath Inc., approached Chapel Hill’s Rivers Agency for help in creating a new, separate branding strategy and messaging platform to educate and recruit organizations whose missions are to improve the health of multiple additional uninsured and underinsured patient populations. Both are designed around PHI and HIPAA protected information that allow HarborPath to stay compliant with all HIPAA regulations.
Rivers crafted language for both the for-profit and nonprofit arms of the organization, HarborPath Direct and HarborPath Inc., to help reach broader audiences, demonstrate the value the platform may have in multiple disease states and gain more private industry and federal contracts. Rivers tweaked both websites to improve functionality and tracking and is supplying public relations support to help expand the delivery of improved care across the spectrum of chronic disease.
At Rivers, we have an extremely diverse client roster and enjoy overcoming creative and technological challenges to deliver effective, memorable communication. We especially enjoy helping brands that are doing good in the world. Brands like HarborPath.
Rivers Agency is the premier marketing firm for Raleigh, NC, Chapel Hill, NC, Durham, NC and Carrboro, NC.