Description
I sat in on a webinar that was so on point that it surprised me. In addition to industry surveys and content development Deloitte has been doing a series of industry webinars – https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/dbriefs-webcasts/series/industries/health-sciences.html. The latest was “At the heart of health care: When patients become engaged power players”. I was expecting the usual outlook based on the Deloitte perspective on where the industry should go. Instead, this was a very frank discussion balancing the direction the industry should take along with the realities of where the industry really is. For example:
- Pharma understands the need to provide services to patients beyond access; the need is to provide co-ordinated services to support behavior change. However, open the industry is to this there is little action due to legacy systems, internal silos/duplication of existing efforts, digesting the need to disrupt the current business model
- The industry is putting in place systems to remind patients of appointments, apps to be connected to the member’s managed care provider, improve convieince of managing care. But, patients/people really simply want to have a solid interaction with their health care provider – take the time to talk; and access to unbiased, balanced information about their diagnosis and condition. In other words, the myriad of branded apps is not helping patients the way they need.
- The reluctance of the industry to understand the value it could provide by connecting patients with their ecosystem – the community in which they live and/or communicate. This is where the influence is to support healthful behaviors, not just with the formal healthcare system.
Take a look at this deck from the event. It was a pleasure to hear the perspectives of Heather Neslson, Leslie Read, and Ryan Myers. Refreshingly realistic but also highlighting the opportunities pharma has in true patient engagement.
