Patient centricity is the act of designing a service or solution around patients, collaborating with them on the decisions, and understanding their needs before the action. It is a much-discussed and written about concept in the past few years. 

  • “We put patients first” says AstraZeneca
  • ”…making a remarkable impact on people’s lives through the innovative medicines and solutions we create together.” Abbvie declares
  • “Inspired by patients, driven by science” the motto of UCΒ
  • Novo Nordisk is stating that “We create value by having a patient-centered business approach”

And the list goes on… Most of the pharma companies like to express loudly how patient-engaged they are, and a loud noise around the “Patient” is rising from everywhere in the pharma industry. 

But how exactly are pharma companies going to achieve to “Put patients first..”? Here are a few suggestions:

  1. The company should embrace and inspire the patients in order for them to feel that their needs and insights matter and would be taken into serious consideration. A relationship based on trust could provide the companies with more personal and honest insights from the patients’ side.
  2. Digital health and AI, are great tools in order to empower patients, improve their experience, and give quicker outcomes. Real-world data could provide a better understanding of some disease characteristics and highlight patients’ unmet needs. Pharma companies would be engaged in a direct dialogue with the patients receiving live feedback and insights at the time they need it. Wearables, connected devices, mobile applications, sensors, and digital platforms are some of the ways that patients could “connect” with the pharma companies, leaving the traditional “through the physician” approach to look archaic. Companies can also benefit from easier and faster patient recruiting in clinical trials, and earlier intervention if needed.  At last digital therapeutics could enable the patient to feel in control of their personal information and be part of the decision-making process.
  3. Patient advocacy groups, community organizations, clinicians and physicians, non-profit organizations, etc. are great sources for companies in order to achieve a better understanding of patient news. Creating a deep and meaningful collaboration and partnership with them could enable pharma companies to recognize actual patient needs and work towards concrete solutions.
  4. Pharma companies can benefit also by developing collaborations within the industry. Companies could share data in order to improve collective thinking and understanding, resulting in developing faster treatments for the patients. Furthermore, pharma companies can learn a lot from companies from other industries (retail companies, fashion industries, consumer technology, etc.), whose philosophy is based on the consumer experience and have taken customer centricity one (or many more!) step further. Pharmaceuticals could ask them for advice or even training courses for their employees. 
  5. Pharma companies should put together teams dedicated to patient-centered care initiatives in order to ensure that the company’s innovative strategies capture actual patient needs. Patient engagement lead is a newly created role within the Pharma Industry but is already proving to be a vital one. 
  6. The patient-centric approach within the pharma company should be integrated into all parts of the drug development process. For example, the patients could offer insights very early in the drug development or even be involved in other areas such as Regulatory. 

It is evident that “Patient Centricity” is in every Big Pharma’s mind at the moment. Let’s all hope that this will be translated soon into outcomes that will change the Pharma Industry at its core.

 

#patientsfirst #patientcentricity #patientcentered #digitalhealth #empowerpatients #pharmacollaborations #customercentricity

Sources:

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/life-sciences/patient-centricity.html

https://pharmaphorum.com/views-analysis-digital/achieving-patient-centricity-in-a-digital-health-world/

https://pharmaphorum.com/views-analysis-patients/patient-centricity-in-pharma-predictions-for-2020-and-beyond/

digital health patient centricity patients