the secret to true patient centricity parke ip

BBBy Jeff Parke

THE SECRET TO PATIENT CENTRICITY

For the past couple of years, patient centricity has been a major buzzword in pharma. And these companies need to make a concentrated effort to ensure

its new approach was more than just lip service.

By Jeff A. Parke June 2016

BEST PRACTICES FOR BIG PHARMA

Jeff A. Parke White Paper June 2016

1 Jeff Parke https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkejeff

Abstract: For the past couple of years, patient centricity has been a major buzzword in pharma. And these companies need to make a concentrated effort to ensure its new approach was more than just lip service. It seems everywhere you turn, patient centricity is there. Sometimes the term is “patient-focused” or “patient-centered.” Either way, the concept is top-of-mind in all corners of the healthcare industry, as it should be. But because it is being used in so many different areas, the term “patient centric” has become a broad, almost catch-all term. Does it mean longer doctor visits, personalized gene therapy, big data collection and analysis, interactive electronic health records, new clinical trial designs? This paper describes how we can use psychology, increased experience and business models to improve relations between pharma and patients. It’s clear that pharmaceutical companies are working to embrace patient centricity and figure out where it fits into their organization. Many pharma companies have actually changed its structure, creating the role of Chief Patient Officer. Responsibilities of the CPO include elevating the perspective of the patient and finding better ways to incorporate the unique priorities and needs of patients and caregivers. So what can the biopharmaceutical industry draw from this spectrum of patient centricity concepts? What are the core principles? Core Principles: 1) Regular Contact – Relationships are not built in a day; they require long-term contact and trust built over time. There is no time limit on patient centricity. We must deeply invest in health consumers, meet them where they are, provide the information they need for adherence and progress and ensure an exchange that feels authentic. We must communicate, communicate and communicate. 2) Patient Perspective – Research has shown that we learn from stories, that our brains are actually hardwired to remember complicated information when we hear that information in the form of a



story. Data can only take us so far. To be truly patient-centric, we need to emphasize the experience of patients, individually and collectively, not just the numbers they represent. Pharma must raise awareness. 3) Open Innovation – This approach requires listening to patients needs and wants and solving the problems they present in the best ways possible for them. As an industry, we have the resources at our disposal to create both online and off-line solutions that make lives easier, experiences better and connectivity a real part of what we do. INSPIRATION Where can we look for inspiration to apply these concepts? In the consumer space, we see great examples of patient centricity’s close cousin, consumer centricity. Working with the principles outlined above, innovators have created new markets, launched successful products and programs, built brand loyalty and increased consumer engagement, all based on what their consumers want and need: Anyone who has ever needed a cab but had no cash or desire to stand in the pouring rain trying to flag one down knows why Uber is growing at such an explosive rate. Uber meets its customers where they are using geo-location, ensures cash-free ease of payment automatically via the app and communicates through a very simple interface that is active and engaging. You can see your car heading to pick you up on the map and know exactly, to the minute, when it will arrive. So when we integrate patient centricity, it’s really about listening to the experiences of our customers and internalizing them throughout the organization to create better products and services, better engagement and adherence, and relationships that last. We undertake these efforts to improve the lives of our customers and the health of our businesses, in harmony. So, what is the best way to create shareholder wealth is by focusing on patient health. So, how exactly does a pharma company create patient-centric growth? This as the million dollar question that pharma companies ask. While pharma has progressed substantially in its efforts to become patient-centric over the past years, the industry still hasn’t yet reached the tipping point – where it becomes a growth platform. Most pharma companies have patient centricity integrated into their visions now. They may even have a patient-centric department. Many are listening more to patients and creating programs that help patients. The opportunity lies in moving companies beyond words and projects to a deeper cultural change. Being patient-focused should not be limited to specific initiatives or programs for patients; it’s a way of thinking, believing and acting. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE In my experience, I have seen that companies using their business primarily for making money - not as a way to save lives – continue to be conflicted between human and financial outcomes, which diverts away from a focus on growth. When patient centricity is seen narrowly as a cost of doing business, it will not be prioritized, measured and cascaded throughout the organization. Patient-centric growth will require companies to take a significantly big leap, which involves holding employees responsible for delivering on patient outcomes. Pharma needs to get into the business of exceeding customer's expectations. While



pharma is saving and improving lives, we still have not been empowering our people with this sense of purpose. This purpose-driven mindset is not only highly engaging for pharma employees, but it also creates the common ground required to engage healthcare providers to partner with pharma to serve patients. FINDING THE ‘SWEET SPOT’ While pharma is creating a patient-focused culture, a key ingredient is teaching their people how to find the ‘sweet spot’ - the place where everyone wins; patients, HCPs, healthcare systems and their organizations. Unfortunately, most employees do not know how to find the sweet spot or are conflicted between what management is saying from a corporate philosophy perspective and what they are being measured on. The key challenge for leadership is to train people on how to achieve the right balance of value or hire people with a talent for it. Moving forward, pharma needs to gain back our trustworthiness by authentically being patient-focused in everything we do. While there is no single bullet to address patient centricity, there are steps to help companies reach their goals: 1) Create a culture of patient centricity in all departments and teaching employees how to find the ‘sweet spot,’ where patients, HCPs, society and your company all win. 2) Instead of training employees how to ‘sell,’ teach them how to engage ethically through partnerships to deliver better health outcomes. 3) Aligning incentives with HCPs’ and patients’ interests by rewarding improved patient outcomes. 4) Becoming more attuned to the challenges of patients and HCPs such that we can find ways to create delight. 5) Culture and community—the focus on us as an organization. How do you ensure that everyone in the organization has a true understanding as to how their job impacts patients? What is it that they can do to improve patient outcomes? How can we work together in all parts of our organization to be much more patient-centered in everything we’re trying to accomplish? 6) Engaging patients in a meaningful way so that patients can inform the work we are doing within the organization. It’s about actively listening—not just around a product—but for what it is that patients need. It entails using social media; talking to individual patients; working with patient advocacy groups; and making sure that we gain patient input to understand their needs. This allows us to meet patients’ needs and be certain that our products fit into their lives. This is the most important part of a focus on patient centricity. It concerns what patients feel, our impact on their outcomes and, frankly, where the rubber hits the road—where we’re making a difference. Conquering diseases requires pharma companies to first regain the trust of industry partners and redouble their efforts at building new and meaningful partnerships. All of this is points toward a future in which the focus is truly on patient centricity, empowering patients and improving their outcomes. We



want to ensure that we are soldiers for the patient’s will, and be sure that everything we do is focused on improving patient outcomes. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL One size does not fit all. Some patients like apps, some want to engage with a nurse, some want to use the Internet. Others want to use smartphones. We’re working to link patients to the best mechanisms for engaging them specifically and identifying what resonates best—and that changes for each patient. For instance, patient needs when first diagnosed are different from their needs 10 years later—and vary over time. We’re thinking about different ways to customize our approach and testing different models now. It’s important to have the insight from individuals, it’s important to have the insights from patient advocacy groups, it’s important to have the insights from what I call the unaffiliated patients, the patients who are there in social media. It’s important to make use of your standard market research, which is a much larger dataset. And to really have that kind of insight and understanding it takes time, it takes a lot of different inputs from different sources of patients. You also have to capture the different nuances between different patients in order to be able to customize. For instance, how you talk with a patient with type 1 diabetes versus type 2, a patient in North America versus someone in China, a patient who’s 40 years old versus 65 years old, will require a different approach. CONCLUSION The bottom line is to know that in order to customize patient services and solutions, deep insights must be developed. It is not just one survey, one session or one focus group. It’s an organizational commitment to gain patient insights over time and over a variety of different patient groups. Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. —Dwight D. Eisenhower

the secret to true patient centricity parke ip

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