How Innovations in Digital Health make One-on-one Engagement Possible

July 13, 2015

Megatrend #8: Achieving Long-term, Sustainable Growth Starts with Meeting Patient Expectations 

Relating to each patient as an individual may seem far-fetched to many pharma companies today, but innovations in digital health make such one-on-one engagement possible. Social and digital efforts must meet three primary criteria: identify segment-specific needs, provide real benefits, and be designed to actively engage the individual.¹

The next generation of patient support programs will shift away from soft marketing efforts to services that involve analytics and metrics, empowering patients to manage their own care and adherence, while also building loyalty and maximizing the lifetime value of each customer. Fifty-nine percent of online consumers expressed interest in these types of pharma-sponsored services.^{2, 3}

Effective use of digital health tactics opens up the traditional sales funnel, making it easier to engage more patients higher in the process – at the awareness and consideration phases – and using that influence to drive choice and build competitive advantages.

A comprehensive patient engagement platform (PEP) provides a systematic approach that supports “triple aim” business objectives: improved patient care experience, better clinical outcomes, lower total cost of care. A PEP provides value to patients, HCPs and payers by leveraging “smart” devices (e.g., wireless blood pressure monitor, activity and sleep wristbands), patient tools (e.g., behavior modification tools, physician guidance) and physician tools (e.g., EMR, clinical decision tools), and integrating these elements with communities of interest, personalized content, customer insights, and analytics from payers and respected third party sources.⁴

Mapping the expected patient experience allows pharma to understand the drivers of that experience and design a PEP to meet or exceed those expectations. Those firms viewed as trusted providers of information and resources to patients who have started on the digital journey to better health – companies that actively engage with patients online – will be rewarded with patient loyalty. Effective PEPs will satisfy internal and external patient needs, making patients feel safe, allowing them to be in control, and letting them develop a sense of trust in the relevance and value of the engagement.

The trend is a product of an evidence-based research study undertaken by the Healthcare Division in Valtech to map the pharmaceutical landscape of digital mega trends. The research study provides essential insights on how Pharma companies could utilize digital engagement to break down stakeholder barriers, impact stakeholder behaviour and demonstrate more cost-effective outcomes. The research study is based on information from 100+ trusted sources and has resulted in the identification of 14 mega trends.

Reach out to gain an understanding of how to execute on the underused digital opportunities

The Healthcare Division in Valtech has developed an analytical framework that can identify the engagement potential of your brand.

Please contact Healthcare Director Conny Carlzon for further advice or to set up an informal meeting.

Sources:
1. Boston Consulting Group. Peter Goldsbrough et. al. (2012). The Digital Dimension of Healthcare. Report of the Digital Innovation in Healthcare Working Group 2012. www.bcgperspectives.com
2. Vertic healthcare. Mads Krogh Petersen (2013). How Digital is Reinventing Everything in the Healthcare Industry. www.vertic.com
3. Manhattan Research. Monique Levy et. al. (2014). Pharma Multichannel Marketing Outlook: 14 Trends to Drive Growth in 2014. www.manhattanresearch.com
4. Booz and Co. Anu Gupta et. al. (November 2013). Digital Health: A Way for Pharma Companies to Be More Relevant in Healthcare. www.booz.com