Finding and shortlisting specialist health PR agencies
By Palin Communications
Why a specialist health PR agency?
Healthcare PR is the art of health-related storytelling to drive tangible impact and value. Medical issues and healthcare developments are often complicated, and they happen in a highly regulated environment. So health PR seeks to find clarity in complexity by translating technical information and medical developments into compelling, personal stories. These stories are then used to drive earned media value and social media engagement to educate communities and trigger action.
This might involve framing a news story about the government reimbursement of an innovative new medicine. Or it could mean developing and launching a new disease awareness campaign that brings a focus on a particular condition or issue.
What distinguishes professional health PR practitioners is their ability to translate a development, regulatory milestone, medical issue, corporate challenge, lifestyle sponsorship or emerging disease into a compelling story that gets attention. They do this by developing news packages or social media assets comprised of ambassadors, external spokespeople, patient groups, new data, and (most importantly) case studies with lived experience that help personalise the message.
If you’ve got a communications need that is related to a health promotion campaign, a disease awareness program, a new product launch or medical issues management assignments, then you are likely to need a health-focused PR agency to help you manage it. Because if you have that kind of brief, and you are a medical company, a hospital, a not-for-profit organisation, a medical college or a medical device company, then you will need to tell your story in a compelling, compliant and commercially valuable way.
The medical publication “Australian Doctor” asked pharmaceutical companies in mid 2026 what they wanted from their health-focused communications agencies. The answer: “Strategic clarity, reliable service, a genuine partnership and the confidence that comes from knowing a client’s world as well as they do.”
That’s what you are looking for when you are shortlisting to find the ideal health specialist PR agency
What specific skills and capabilities does a health-focused PR agency bring to your project?
An agency that focuses exclusively in the health sector and has a long history of successful health-related projects will bring a number of important specific capabilities to your project.
Regulatory fluency and industry knowledge: The agency will understand that being compliant is just as important as being creative or compelling. They will know how the different codes apply to different kinds of projects and be able to speak with clarity (based on experience) about their implications for various health-related scenarios. They will understand the impact of these codes on the development of workable communications strategies that underpin campaigns.
Health-related news sense: This is more than just having relationships with journalists who cover health stories. This is about knowing what kind of stories will trigger their interest, how to package those stories up for editorial consideration and how to hit editorial KPI’s in a way that maximises your chances of getting a return on your PR investment.
Stakeholder management experience: Successful campaigns require the engagement and buy-in of influential 3rd parties. This might include medical specialists, professional associations, patient groups, individual case studies, celebrity ambassadors and others. Health agencies understand that good PR is driven by what others say about your issues – and they’ll have experience in helping clients to manage that.
Crisis and issues preparedness: The health sector is highly regulated and issues-rich. A health specialist agency will have handled communications programs related to regulatory changes, approval knock-backs, scheduling challenges and negative clinical research. These are all important capabilities that should form part of your shortlisting criteria as you go about developing a short list of health PR agencies.
Sourcing suitable health PR agencies
Like most searches, where you start will help maximise your chances of finding what you need.
Some helpful sources as a place to start include:
The “Find a PR consultancy” page on the website of the Australian PR industry body, called “Communications and Public Relations Australia” (CPRA). If you go to this page and select health as both the specialty and industry, it will generate some agencies for you to review who claim to have health-focused expertise.
Medical industry bodies – like Medicines Australia, Consumer Healthcare Products Australia, AusBiotech and Medical Technology Association of Australia – have all had experience with health-focused PR agencies and many of their members will know of the best agencies in that space. They are worth contacting and consulting as you develop your initial short list.
Experienced communications and marketing colleagues are likely to have had experience with health-focused agencies in their careers. They are worth consulting.
One of the challenges in using general AI or Google searches to identify agencies is that these searches will sometimes generate references to agencies that include “health” as one of their practice areas without having a dedicated specialist team or exclusive focus on healthcare.
So a simple initial checklist in identifying a health specialist PR agency (as opposed to a generalist agency) would include:
Does the PR industry body recognise them as a health focused agency?
Are they known to the key industry body in the relevant sector (ie, prescription medicines, OTC products, biotech or medical technology)?
Do the senior marketing and public affairs people among my colleagues know of them as an agency?
This will give you some reassurance as you develop your short list.
Distinguishing health specialist PR agencies
Attribute | Health specialist PR | Consumer or general PR |
Main objective | Translate technical regulatory developments or clinical info into relatable stories that drive earned media and social engagement | Build awareness of brands and/or help trigger product sales or service adoption |
Primary audience | Consumers and HCP’s via health journalists, news reporters, mainstream media and relevant medical publications | Consumers, buyers, general consumer mdi |
Key channels | News media, health focused social media, radio, breakfast and morning TV. Medical publications for HCPs | Lifestyle media, new product sections, lifestyle blogs, brand activations |
Main evidence | Notice of changes confirmed by regulatory bodies, new clinical data | New product information or photography, market trends, consumer sentiment |
Regulatory environment | Highly regulated with marketing codes depending on focus, including Medicines Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the Medical Technology Association of Australia, AHPRA. | Moderate regulation. Australian consumer law, advertising guidelines |
Spokespeople and third parties | Credible external medical experts for independent commentary and context. Case studies for first person story-telling and perspective from lived experience | Brand ambassadors, lifestyle influencers, company executives, industry association spokespeople |
Key success metrics | High profile earned media focused on health issues, diseases and new treatment options. Increased awareness of diseases and conditions | Referral traffic, brand engagement |
Shortlisting your preferred genuine health-only PR agencies
Once you’ve accepted the benefits of health-only specialisation in communications agencies and generated a few agency names for consideration, what criteria will best help you refine that list further?
Some helpful criteria is likely to include the following:
Evidence of projects in your sector: Can the agency demonstrate successful case studies in your specific sector? Did they manage to “move the dial” by implementing a relevant, impactful campaign?
People responsible for those projects still part of the team: Agencies will sometimes claim expertise which is really carried by senior people who have now moved on. Do the people who have the demonstrated track record of developing the strategy for (and running) successful campaigns still work at the agency? If not, then that expertise being put forward is worth less.
Evidence of total specialisation in health: The aim is to focus on agencies that have a genuine exclusive focus on healthcare rather than just a general interest in the sector. Does their expertise reflect that exclusivity?
Evidence of sensitivity regarding compliance and regulations. Health is highly regulated. Agencies who specialise will understand the importance of compliance and how costly non-compliant activity can be. They are likely to have developed blogs or commentary around compliance issues, to help educate the market place about the importance of compliance. They will not be proposing non-compliant activity or making non-compliant suggestions in the early stages of meetings or calls.
Relationships with groups and stakeholders outside of their direct client contacts. If agencies have worked in healthcare for extended periods then they will have inevitably developed relationships with patient groups, not-for-profit organisation and professional associations. The existence of such relationships and a familiarity in talking about them helps distinguish health-only agencies from general consumer agencies.
Palin Communications: A team dedicated exclusively to health-related projects
Palin Communications is a boutique, specialist agency focused exclusively on health, medical and wellness PR across pharma, biotech, OTC products medtech, and health charities.
We’re a Senior-led team with deep public health, clinical and regulatory expertise.
We’ve run award-winning projects in pharmaceuticals, medical reimbursement, medtech, OTC issues and health-related awareness days.
We live and breathe health PR projects and the people who work here all share a passion for better health that is reflected in all our work. We have a set of well-honed service standards that we apply across a range of communications functions. The aim is always to ensure great outcomes for clients and the highest possible impact from campaigns.
If you are considering including us on your PR agency shortlist, we’d love for you to get in touch. Please email hello@palin.com.au and one of our senior team will be in contact with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a health PR agency and a general consumer PR agency?
A health PR agency will deliver a level of “regulatory fluency” that balances the need to develop compelling messages with the importance of being compliant in a highly regulated sector. They will have strong contacts in health-focused organisations and health-focused news reporters and producers. If your brief is health-focused, they’ll understand it immediately and likely have done something very similar to it in the past.
When should a healthcare or pharma company engage a specialist PR agency during a product launch?
If you are a healthcare organisation or a pharmaceutical company, you should really have an existing, ongoing relationship with a health specialist PR agency. If engaging a new PR agency for a specific product launch, most PR agencies ideally need 3 - 6 months' notice.
Can a health PR agency communicate directly to consumers about prescription medicines in Australia?
Information about prescription products is intended to be delivered by healthcare professionals in Australia and communications with the general public by manufacturers can only happen in specific circumstances. These circumstances are described in the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct Section 10.1, which outlines the circumstances in which companies can engage with consumer media and issue “Product-specific Media Statements”. They mainly relate to “announcement/s of a new product or new indication registration, new public funding such as a PBS listing, or a change to public funding.”
What key criteria should a Head of Communications include in an RFP for a health PR agency?
An RFP should ask agencies to demonstrate relevant, successful work in your sector and confirm that the people responsible for that work will be part of your account team. Other important criteria include specialist health communications expertise, experience navigating medical compliance and regulatory requirements, and established relationships with relevant medical bodies, healthcare professionals and industry stakeholders. Recognition through respected industry awards, such as the PRIME Awards or Health Industry Hub Awards, may provide further evidence of an agency’s capabilities, although it should be considered alongside its experience, team and proposed approach.
