Building Understanding in Washington: Advancing the Role of Point of Care in Health Education

When U.S. policymakers consider healthcare marketing, the conversation often centers on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. But DTC healthcare ads don’t always carry the best reputation—many believe that DTC healthcare advertising can sometimes be incomplete, biased, or confusing. As a result, all DTC advertising risks broad scrutiny from lawmakers, whose goal is to ensure healthcare communications remain informative and unbiased.

What’s often missing from those discussions is the crucial educational role of Point of Care (POC) communication—the compliant messaging that helps patients and healthcare providers make informed decisions in the moments before, during and after receiving or providing care.

Unlike other forms of healthcare advertising, POC is widely trusted as a health information source by patients. In fact, 90% of patients consider POC media a trusted source of health information, ranking just behind their physician’s direct advice.

Communications at the POC strengthen conversations between healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients, enabling shared decision-making that leads to better education, early detection and improved adherence.

Our belief in the power of POC inspired several of POCMA’s members to travel to Capitol Hill in October to meet with Congressional offices. Their mission: elevate the conversation with policymakers on how Point of Care connects patients and healthcare providers to trusted, science-based information that supports health literacy, adherence and outcomes.

Our delegation met with 17 offices across both chambers of Congress to highlight how Point of Care differs fundamentally from traditional DTC advertising—and why preserving this distinction is critical for public health.

Closing The Health Information Gap

One big reason why POC differs from traditional DTC advertising is that it helps close the health information gap with credible information. This is one of the key points we wanted to establish with policymakers during our visit.

The healthcare information landscape is changing rapidly—patients now navigate a vast landscape of health information before arriving at the doctor’s office. And there’s a growing concern among patients about the reliability (or lack thereof) of this health information.

While providers are the gold standard when it comes to credible health information sources, the average primary care visit lasts just 15–20 minutes. PatientPoint’s study found that 1 in 3 patients still leaves appointments with providers confused—a gap POC helps close.

Physicians must rely on tools that reinforce communication beyond conversation. POC media acts as an educational partner—enhancing clarity, recall and confidence after the visit.

A Moment That Matters for Healthcare Policy

With this information about POC’s value in hand, the POCMA team arrived in Washington at a pivotal time. Policymakers are revisiting healthcare communication standards as part of broader debates over the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda and new FDA regulations governing DTC advertising.

“As an association, we recognized that we had a responsibility to participate in these critical conversations happening on Capitol Hill about healthcare communication,” said Nicole Divinagracia, President of POCMA. “While other industry groups are advocating for DTC advertising as a whole, our role is distinct, we need to ensure policymakers understand that Point of Care is a separate channel within the healthcare communication landscape, one that delivers education at the critical moment when patients and providers are making health decisions together. As the only trade association dedicated to Point of Care, we’re uniquely positioned to educate lawmakers on this channel’s value. As discussions around potential DTC regulations continue, it’s essential that lawmakers recognize POC’s unique educational value and protect this trusted channel that strengthens the provider-patient relationship.”

“Walking through the halls of Congress and the Senate was an inspiring experience,” said Linda Ruschau, Chief Commercial Officer at PatientPoint. “Meeting directly with legislative staff and hearing where their leaders are focused offered valuable perspective. While many offices were familiar with the broader DTC conversation, what stood out to me was how open they were to a more nuanced discussion about the unique value of point of care.”

Inside the Hill Meetings: Making the Case for Patient Education

The bipartisan meetings took place against the backdrop of a U.S. government shutdown, which unexpectedly created space for deeper, more productive conversations. Without packed schedules, many House and Senate staffers welcomed the chance to engage in thoughtful discussions about how the healthcare communication landscape is evolving.

POCMA’s representatives explained that POC media is an educational channel that delivers FDA-reviewed, privacy-compliant information in healthcare environments. It complements physicians’ guidance, equipping patients to ask better questions and make informed choices about care, cost, and adherence.

The Message That Resonated

For many congressional staffers, these meetings were the first time they’d heard of Point of Care as a distinct channel. Several expressed surprise when they learned that the digital screens and educational materials they’d seen in healthcare settings were part of a structured, compliant system designed to support provider-patient communication, not replace it.

“It was eye-opening to learn that many of the policymakers we met with weren’t aware of point of care as a distinct communication channel,” said Ruschau. “Once we explained how point-of-care media informs and empowers patients—while equipping physicians with trusted tools for more meaningful conversations—most we met with quickly recognized its value. Many expressed support for ensuring point of care continues to be viewed and protected as an educational channel. John Kenyon, Senior Vice President & Managing Director at Targeted Media Health, echoed Linda’s sentiment about our meetings: “I was not surprised to hear that most congressional representatives we met had not delved deeply into POC as a unique channel. [But] they were generally supportive of the channel once they understood the controlled messaging environment that POC provides.”

Affirming the positive response from lawmakers and their staff once they learned more about the channel, Meghan Sarli, Chief of Staff to the CEO at PatientPoint, shared that “every policy maker and thought leader with whom we met came to appreciate that Point of Care is an important educational opportunity for the provider and patient that positively affects health outcomes.”

The conversations brought forward a consistent theme: Point of Care is where trust, education and outcomes intersect. And reinforced the need for continued education of policymakers about the unique value of messaging at the POC.

A Unified Industry Voice Encouraging Ongoing Engagement & Dialogue with Washington

For POCMA and its members, presenting a unified message was key to the Hill visit’s success. “There was tremendous value in presenting a unified voice to lawmakers,” noted Lisa Prowker, SVP, Messaging Operations at ConnectiveRx. “As each of us shared the critical role that POC companies play in improving health outcomes, it was encouraging to see a shared recognition of the unique and essential contributions these communication tools make to improve awareness and education in healthcare.”

Kenyon also noted the momentum the meetings generated for continued engagement: “I feel they appreciated the sessions and applauded POCMA for getting out in front of any potential changes to the current policies. Many welcomed POCMA as future resources as things evolve. This was a solid first step in staying ahead of the changing health policy landscape. Clear next steps are to align with the Physician Caucus and several of the major HCP associations.”

Why This Advocacy Matters

By meeting directly with lawmakers and key staff, POCMA and its member organizations ensure that conversations around healthcare communication are informed, nuanced and educational for patients and healthcare providers.

Without this education, there’s a real risk that well-intentioned reforms aimed at curbing DTC advertising could inadvertently restrict POC content—limiting patient access to trusted information delivered in the most critical moments of care.

The Road Ahead

POCMA’s advocacy in Washington is just beginning. Building on the success of this year’s Hill visits, we plan to:

• Continue educating key healthcare committees and regulators about the POC channel’s public health value.
• Launch new educational campaigns to raise awareness of POC’s compliance and impact.
• Collaborate with member organizations to define and promote best practices in POC education and measurement.

Reflecting on the visit, POCMA President Nicole Divinagracia shared, “The response from lawmakers was overwhelmingly positive once they understood how Point of Care works. They recognized that these materials don’t persuade, they empower. POC helps patients understand complex topics, ask better questions and stay on treatment, and for providers, POC serves as a trusted educational tool that reinforces their guidance and strengthens the conversations happening in the exam room. That’s something everyone in healthcare can get behind.”

POCMA’s Commitment: Protecting the Future of Education at the Point of Care

At its core, this work reinforces POCMA’s mission—to protect and advance the role of Point of Care media as a trusted, educational channel within the healthcare ecosystem.

As healthcare policy continues to evolve, POCMA will remain a proactive voice in Washington—ensuring that the Point of Care is recognized as a vital part of the education and empowerment infrastructure that drives better health outcomes for all.

POCMA’s Washington visits occurred with help and guidance from Olsson Frank Weeda (OFW Law) which serves as POCMA’s policy partner.

Learn more about POCMA’s advocacy initiatives and how we’re working to protect education at the Point of Care here.

¹ M3 MI Physician Sources & Interactions + Digital Insights (2025)

²Time to Care: Primary Care Visit Duration and Value-Based Healthcare, Berk, Steven I. The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 133, Issue 6, 655 – 656

³PatientPoint’s Patient Confidence Index, a national study exploring how patients view trust, technology and their healthcare experience demonstrated that 83% of patients trust their doctor and the information they provide, and that patients trust providers 4.5× more than government and 4× more than AI chatbots.