Patients today have never been more informed, empowered, and involved in their health. Just take a look at what’s out there:
The Internet offers an abundance of accessible, up-to-date medical information at patients’ fingertips
Mobile health applications and devices provide real-time, accurate data on patients’ health status, enabling them to monitor their disease state and manage their health on their own
Social health networks allow patients to rate and review their experiences as a healthcare consumer and point one another towards optimal health solutions
With their increased knowledge and power, patients are starting to expect and demand more for their healthcare. Therefore, in order to gain and retain customer loyalty, pharma companies must be responsive to patients’ wants and needs, and offer products that patients perceive as valuable. Companies can go a long way towards meeting these objectives by providing personalized treatments and contributing to positive patient experiences.
Patients expect personalized treatments
Personalization is a predominant expectation of patients. Consumers have become accustomed to products being customizable, and they want the same when it comes to their healthcare. In other words, they want their therapy to be designed specifically for them and tailored to their individual needs. Consumers are no longer content with the conventional approach taken by pharma companies. Under this approach, all patients are regarded as the same, and products are developed with the intention of treating all patients with the relevant disease without considering the individual patient. Consequently, individual patient differences that affect treatment response tend to be overlooked, and certain patients will likely be poor candidates for the treatment and not benefit from its intended effects. An example of this point is illustrated by recent research findings that suggest that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines currently on the market may not target the HPV strains prevalent in women of certain ethnicities and therefore may not offer them adequate protection.
As the limitations of a “one treatment fits all” approach become increasingly apparent, pharma companies are moving towards developing more tailored therapies. This shift is facilitated by advances in science and technology over the last several years that have enabled the use of molecular, genetic, proteomic, or other individual-specific data to classify patients based on characteristics that affect their response to a treatment. This capability makes it possible to customize therapy to individual patients and their particular disease characteristics.
The movement towards personalized therapy is illustrated by the recent developments in cancer treatment. Conventionally, all cancer patients are presented with the same treatment options – radiation, chemotherapy, or surgery – irrespective of their distinct cancer characteristics. But cancer therapy is changing as genomic sequencing of tumour cells has allowed the identification of the specific mutations associated with tumours. This enables the development of therapies that target those tumour-related mutations, and a number of such therapies are already available. A benefit of these targeted therapies is that they allow cancer treatment to be tailored based on the patient’s individual mutations and cancer subtype. There is evidence that cancer patients on targeted therapies may experience better outcomes than patients on conventional therapy.
As more pharma companies move towards personalization, we can expect to see increasingly improved therapy for all patients.
Positive patient experiences increase product value and improve patient loyalty
To achieve customer loyalty, pharma companies must provide products that patients perceive as valuable components in their overall health management. While improving the efficacy of a treatment can increase its value, value is not determined only by medical outcomes and clinical endpoints. Rather, the value a patient places on a product is also largely based on whether it contributes positively to the health experiences that make up the patient’s journey. These personal experiences are the basis for patients’ health decisions and spending. It is therefore important for pharma companies to be informed on how their products influence the patient experience.
While clinical trials acquire important data on efficacy and safety, they do not usually collect information on the patient experience. Moreover, there are often important differences between the conditions under which a drug is administered in clinical trials and the way it is taken by patients in everyday life. For example, clinical trials usually prohibit concurrent therapies and interventions, whereas they are allowed or recommended in non-trial settings. Also, because of strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, the study population may not be representative of the patient population. Taken together, clinical trials may not accurately represent the real experiences of patients receiving the treatment in the context of their actual health regimes.
Insight into the patient experience can be better captured by “real-world studies,” which examine patients undergoing treatment in real-life, non-experimental settings. Real-world studies can be conducted in various ways, such as through surveys or observational studies, and data related to compliance, satisfaction, quality of life, and use of other medications or healthcare services should be collected. These data help portray the patient’s actual, real-life experiences with treatment. Companies that evaluate their products based not only on clinical trial results, but also on patient experiences, will be able to deliver therapies that are more valuable to the patient.
Customer loyalty is crucial to the success of pharma companies. If pharma companies are truly invested in gaining the loyalty of patients, they need to adapt to their growing knowledge and power, and respond to their increasing demands and expectations. This means taking on a personalized approach to drug development and making positive patient experiences a priority. Companies that take these important steps will rise above the competition.
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