When we talk about patient health, there is no denying that modern customers are no longer passive participants in their health journey. They demand answers, more control, transparency, connection, and personalized care throughout their experience. Moreover, the growing emphasis on preventative care and holistic approaches toward healthcare and wellness has compelled both healthcare professionals and pharma industries to develop plans and procedures that enhance healthcare experiences for their customers.
Importance of Customer Experience
Healthcare has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. With the onset of technology, the adoption of telemedicine, remote health monitoring, digital health tools, and increasing customer participation, companies are gradually adapting strategies that align with patient-centric principles and deliver value.
In parallel, the pharma industry is also experiencing challenges and opportunities, particularly in the areas of drug discovery and development, clinical trials, biotechnology, and rising competition. As companies, stakeholders, and providers are investing in the research and development of breakthrough solutions for rare diseases, accessing the right patient pool becomes crucial. Here, patient centricity becomes a strategic imperative that helps pharma companies gain valuable insights into patient preferences, needs, and behavior toward specific drugs.
By placing patients at the center of care, pharma companies can develop targeted treatments and gain a competitive advantage.
Touch Points in Patient Journey to Improve Customer Experiences
Patient journey is a term that encompasses all aspects of healthcare – from the first interaction to post-treatment. Touchpoints in the patient journey are specific interactions between healthcare providers and patients, between pharma companies and patients, or between healthcare providers and pharma companies. These touch points play a significant role in shaping the overall patient experience.
By personalizing patient journeys and focusing on the following touchpoints, pharma companies can effectively enhance customer experience.
Pre-Treatment
Awareness and Education
All healthcare journeys begin with awareness and identification of disease. However, there are many treatments where information is not as easily accessible, and patients often experience uncertainty, anxiety, and lack of support. This phase often lasts throughout the initial diagnosis and the initiation of treatment. Pharma companies, by providing accurate, up-to-date, and easy-to-understand educational resources about the condition, all available treatment options, and their side effects can help patients make informed decisions about their health.
During Treatment
Access and Affordability
Ensuring medical services are easily accessible to patients is one of the key considerations in delivering patient-centric care. It encompasses several aspects, including the identification of biomarkers, drug development, trials, pricing, supply chain management, and distribution networks. Moreover, access to digital health technologies such as telemedicine, wearables, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and health apps enhances patient engagement. Pharma companies can also leverage tools at the disposal of pharmaceutical consulting firms to form R&D strategies and solve challenges related to drug commercialization and delivery.
Patient Assistance Groups and Community
During treatment, patients often seek emotional support and guidance from providers, peers, and those who have gone through similar experiences. By facilitating access to patient support groups and online forums where individuals can connect with others, pharma companies can help foster a sense of belonging and build a safe space for patients to express concerns and seek guidance.
Post-Treatment
Follow Up and Feedback
The post-treatment phase is just as crucial as any other. Even as patients transition out of their treatments, they still require ongoing support and monitoring to ensure the effectiveness of the treatment and drugs. Pharma companies can establish channels of support as well as stay connected with the patients to gather treatment feedback to improve their products and clinical trial designs and approach drug delivery from an informed standpoint.
While pharma companies can do all that and much more, they still need to work intentionally toward improving customer experiences.
This is how pharmaceutical companies can begin to work intentionally:
- Identifying current needs
- Embrace digital innovation
- Measure performance in real time
- Identify customer experience loopholes by leveraging data insights
- Connect through empathy
- Redefine processes
- Foster collaborations with customer experience consulting to develop data-driven engagement strategies to improve patient journeys.
Initiating patient-centricity is a notable change, and these approaches hold a lot of significance for pharma companies. They can help during clinical trial recruitment, retaining participants, and identifying events during trials, as well as during product launches.
