- Meet patients where they are:
This is by far the most important thing that must be done to improve patient centricity. To gain a thorough understanding of this you need to consider three key elements:
- Where they are in the patient journey
- Their emotional state
- Life issues they must overcome
Where they are in the patient journey: Patient journeys are a hot topic in healthcare. A key fallacy is that they are not always done from a patient’s point of view. They tend to only have information about how the patient got on the brand and interacts with the brand. It usually does not include the steps it took for the patient to get to diagnosed not to mention get on the Rx. Being too skimpy on pre-diagnosis could mean missed opportunity to engage with the patient sooner to move them along the process quicker to get on therapy. You should understand when they first noticed something was wrong, what they did, what resources they used and how satisfied were they with these resources? Search for the symptoms, talk to friends of the patient and test-diagnose yourself through a healthcare website.
Understanding this could lead to new areas of engagement with the patient, helping them along the path to diagnoses, and eventually your brand, quicker. Engaging with the patient doesn’t always mean sending a brand message. It could mean leveraging an advocacy group to reach them or disease state information that will eventually lead to your brand. Sending a branded message too early may be off-putting and ineffective.
It is equally important to understand the steps a patient takes post-diagnosis, even while waiting for the results. Steps frequently missed are those that do not include the brand or HCP. This will include patient’s own investigating to verify additional information that was not presented to them or alternative options to what was presented to them. This becomes an example of a more informed patient who is in charge of their health and values additional opinions and options.
The post-diagnosis patient journey should also include getting the patient to a “steady state”, including being compliant and persistent on therapy. Identify what steps in this journey are causing patients to drop off therapy or not utilize it as directed. There could be resources you can employ to ensure retention.
Patient’s Emotional State: The emotional state of the patient at any point in the journey must be incorporated into the patient journey and overall communications. This will help the brand be viewed as an empathetic and more understanding resource. Answer the following questions about your patient:
- Are they in denial? This could be true for dreaded diseases like HIV or cancer. How can the brand move them out of this emotional state quicker to make sure they get the treatment they need to save their lives?
- Are they angry? The brand needs to plan the best way to move them past this so that they can effectively deal with their situation.
- Have they accepted their condition and how they need to live for the best outcomes? This patient is looking for tips to stay on track in their therapy, which can include branded messages.
Acknowledging Life Issues: The brand may not be able to address these issues through a product, but you can be more relevant by acknowledging the issues and providing a list of resources that can help.
Lack of support system: For instance, a patient may not have a caregiver to lean on. What resources are available to help? Consider resources that are available locally as well as those from national organizations. Similarly, a patient’s family may not be supportive of dietary changes that need to happen for the patient, such as a low-sodium or diabetic friendly diet. Being more realistic with what patients are actually dealing with will go a long way in advancing patient centricity.
Financial stability: There could also be issues affording the treatment that need to be addressed. Most pharma companies are effective at helping patients navigate reimbursement on more expensive Rx therapies. However, when a patient is in a situation of just failing to meet the criteria for assistance, little help is given. Even if the brand cannot help, they can refer patients to potential resources that may be able to provide assistance.
Really going deep and seeing things from the patient’s point-of-view will help you meet them where they are and increase the relevance of your brand communications. Being more relevant means that a patient can better relate to the information being provided and that the information is actually useful to them. This will lead to patients finding your brand to be more valuable, which should lead to higher acquisition and retention.
A lot of of the things you state is astonishingly precise and it makes me ponder the reason why I hadn’t looked at this with this light before. This particular article really did turn the light on for me personally as far as this particular issue goes. However there is actually one particular factor I am not really too comfortable with so while I try to reconcile that with the central idea of your position, let me observe exactly what all the rest of your visitors have to point out.Well done.
Aw, this was a very nice post. In idea I want to put in writing like this moreover ?taking time and actual effort to make a very good article?however what can I say?I procrastinate alot and on no account seem to get something done.
A lot of thanks for your entire efforts on this blog. Betty takes pleasure in managing investigation and it’s easy to see why. All of us know all about the dynamic mode you convey functional tips through your website and therefore recommend contribution from other ones about this area plus my simple princess is certainly discovering a lot. Take pleasure in the rest of the year. Your conducting a stunning job.
It’s perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I have read this put up and if I may I wish to counsel you few interesting things or advice. Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article. I want to learn even more issues about it!
Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I抣l definitely comeback.
As I web-site possessor I believe the content matter here is rattling wonderful , appreciate it for your efforts. You should keep it up forever! Good Luck.
An impressive share, I simply given this onto a colleague who was doing slightly evaluation on this. And he in fact purchased me breakfast as a result of I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! However yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading extra on this topic. If doable, as you grow to be experience, would you thoughts updating your blog with more details? It’s highly helpful for me. Massive thumb up for this blog put up!
Good post. I study something more difficult on completely different blogs everyday. It should always be stimulating to read content from other writers and apply a little bit one thing from their store. I抎 desire to use some with the content on my blog whether or not you don抰 mind. Natually I抣l give you a link on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your comment. Please feel free reference my content and link back to my site.
What a stuff of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious knowledge regarding
unexpected emotions.
Somebody essentially assist to make significantly articles I would state. This is the first time I frequented your web page and up to now? I amazed with the research you made to make this particular submit extraordinary. Great activity!
I absolutely love your blog and find nearly all of your post’s to be what precisely I’m looking for.
can you offer guest writers to write content in your case?
I wouldn’t mind writing a post or elaborating on some of the subjects you write
related to here. Again, awesome web site!
It’s hard to find experienced people for this subject,
however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
I think this is among the most vital info for me.
And i am glad reading your article. But wanna remark on few general things, The site style is wonderful, the articles is really excellent : D.
Good job, cheers
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article.
I’ll be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post.
I will certainly return.
Hi mates, its fantastic paragraph concerning teaching and completely
defined, keep it up all the time.