Patient centricity focus group

Customer centricity for physicians: a linear approach

Physicians see themselves in a central role, together with the patient. In their view, they are the main point of contact between pharma and the patient and are responsible for the patient's continued care.

Patients expect to get the best (coordinated) treatment at any time. Also, multiple parallel diagnoses result in multiple concomitant treatments and medications, each with their own efficacy and adverse effects, prescribed by different treating specialists, physicians, and caregivers.

They see themselves as the key to making the above happen. But they agree that today's focus is still too much on treating the disease rather than treating the patient. They recognize a couple of hurdles on the way to get there:

The pressure on them to perform impacts the time they can make available to support the patient one-on-one.
Pharma could support them to perform better with more comparative data that would give them more transparency on what is the best treatment for each condition.
Also, more data on the interaction of concomitant treatments for parallel diagnoses

“The patients want more information but can’t get more information. Therefore, the relationship between patient and physician is critical. Physicians should let the patient feel that they can ask anything they need to know.”

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Digital tools

Both patients and physicians feel that there is a need for more relevant information. Once again, we see the linear view of the physician versus the holistic view of the patient.

The physicians see themselves as the central point of contact for the patient. It is the physician who has access to the different data sources, and so it should be the physician who gives relevant information to the patient in a transparent way. Physicians believe that pharma can better support them by using digital tools. Today, some pharma companies do this, but there is still room for improvement.

The patient's side wants more information about the drugs they are taking, about the side effects, the procedure of the cure they are following, etc. The patient does not, per se, expect all this information to come from the physician. Pharmacies were mentioned as best practices here. They personalize their engagement with their customers much more than pharma. They create applications with which they can communicate with them and tailor the offer to their needs.

"I see way too few organizations making use of ‘contextual education’. E.g., When I’m diagnosed, I will immediately get an explanation of what that diagnosis means."

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Trust

Another thing we saw very clearly during this round table was the fact that patients have lost trust in pharma and healthcare. Without trust, the concept of customer-centricity loses its value.

It is hard to put the finger on the exact cause of this mistrust. One thing is for sure: COVID has only made this mistrust more visible, but it was already there even before COVID started. Pharma’s quick response to the virus has many people questioning Pharma’s general interest in helping the public. Suddenly, things moved very quickly because of political and economic interests. With many rare diseases, this is not at all the case. These people feel left out, and they feel monetized.

Patients also feel that, apart from COVID, there are a lot of pharma companies that act like they are customer-centric, but in reality, they are not. Patients think it is difficult to distinguish genuine actions, in which the goals truly are becoming more patient-centric, from actions where the sole scope is ROI. When the latter is the case, surveys of pharmacies can even be perceived as a tool to sell more drugs instead of an attempt to understand the patient better. There is also a lot of misleading information out there, which does not help.

"If everyone is in the race to find a COVID-19 trial, hasn’t anyone embarked upon exploring a treatment for my condition?"

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Context

The issues we have just described are worth our attention. We should try to resolve them where we can, thereby improving the patient experience. Because it is the patient at the end of it all. What the patient must go through is tough, exhausting, and sometimes never-ending.

Customer-centricity is a complex concept with many truths. In this conclusion, we want to point out that there is not one correct solution to the problem. How can it be? The problem is defined differently depending on who’s answering. Where you stand is where you sit.

"There is a spectrum of types of patients. Some are active, some are passive."

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Conclusion

The path to customer centricity in pharma presents diverse challenges. Patients prioritize holistic care and stakeholder collaboration. Physicians aim for a central role but need support and transparent data via digital tools. One thing is for certain: rebuilding patients' trust in healthcare is crucial, and recognizing diverse patient experiences is key to enhancing their journey.

We invite you to reach out to Trilations for innovative solutions that can help pharma become more patient centric, ensuring a brighter future for healthcare. Learn more about our services here.

Any questions?

For more information, contact Cedric, our Senior Marketing Lead, Healthcare Strategies.

Talk to Cedric