No matter how experienced you are in science communication, getting through to Australian doctors is tough. Calling them stubborn misses the point. They’re smart, dedicated, and care deeply about their patients. This care males them careful thinkers. They often question ideas that work elsewhere.
From country GPs in Broken Hill to cancer doctors at Peter Mac in Melbourne, they tend to resist copying global trends, they want to see how new ideas fit their world. And that world is often a long way away from the boardrooms of Boston, Basel or Bengaluru.
That’s a big problem for global pharma companies. Marketing teams, excited by trial results and American experts, often don’t understand why their campaigns fall flat in Australia. Local doctors frequently are unmoved by what a leading clinician in Frankfurt thinks. They want to see data from Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and know how a drug works in their system.
This gap shows up clearly in rare diseases and cancer care. A melanoma doctor in Perth may know about new treatments, but knowing isn’t enough. If gene tests aren’t available outside big cities, or if a treatment needs hard-to-get state approvals, then the data doesn’t matter.
So, what works? At London Agency, we think the answer is local and practical. First, get real peer-to-peer advice from people who know what it’s like here. Local experts who’ve run the trials are best.
Second, the message must match the setting. We run small events, roundtables, boards, CPD talks where doctors can ask real questions. These help to build trust, whilst communicating the facts. That trust is worth more than a quote from a global expert.
Third, tackle the system barriers. We’ve helped Queensland GPs access hepatitis C drugs and Victorian pediatricians roll out new vaccines. These wins came from listening, spotting problems and fixing them.
We write summaries that deal with PBS rules, build toolkits for ANZ clinics, and host meaningful talks between pharma firms and local doctors.
Australian doctors aren’t stubborn. They’re wise. And that’s a big chance for pharma companies willing to really listen.
