Covid-19 Pushes Pharma To Walk The Talk of ‘Patient-Centricity’

 Covid-19 Pushes Pharma To Walk The Talk of ‘Patient-Centricity’ https://bit.ly/3k5EA27

Echoing many other industries, such as, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), pharmaceutical industry leaders, as well, have been talking about putting their customer at the center stage of strategic decision-making processes. In other businesses this grand intent is generally expressed as, ‘customer oriented’ or ‘customer-focused’, or ‘customer-driven’, besides several other similar expressions.

However, in the pharma industry this popular expression is widely talked about as ‘patient-centricity.’ Nonetheless, it is also generally believed that pharma leaders, weren’t hugely inclined to ‘walk this talk’ – until Covid-19 pandemic struck the world – very hard. In this article, I shall delve into this area, focusing on several aspects of it. Let me begin with, what COVID-19 has taught about pharma’s ‘patient-centricity’ efforts.

What COVID-19 has taught about pharma’s patient-centricity efforts:

A recent study, titled, ‘What COVID-19 has taught us about pharma’s patient centricity efforts,’ published by ZS on July 05, 2020, unravels some interesting findings in this area. Some of those points are as follows:

• ZS’ mid-2019 ‘Patient Centricity Industry Study’ had found nearly universal agreement about the importance and significance of being patient-centric.

• But the investment for the same did not match the intent, creating an “optimism gap” where senior leaders think more progress than middle the management.

• At that time, while 73 percent of participants agreed that ‘patient centricity’ is fundamental to their organization, only 16 percent said they understood their individual role in the organization’s ‘patient centricity’ initiatives.

• Whereas, during the past few months as the industry responds to Covid-19 pandemic, ‘pharma has demonstrated that it can quickly mobilize to surround and support patients, making the workforce focus on the patient priorities.

• Over the past three months, organizations were found to look at new ways to engage with patients. For example, patient panels to continually check in and monitor the impact on the patient experience, connecting with patient advocacy groups – to get a pulse on critical needs and leveraging the field force to hear from physicians where their patients need the most help.

• These companies are also investing now to understand the impact of Coronavirus on the patient and partner with others in the ecosystem.

Some interesting industry initiatives during Covid-19 pandemic:

This  ZS study noted, several pharma companies are showing great flexibility and creativity in tapping into their combined expertise and skills to support patients and the healthcare community, in a time of need. Some of the interesting examples cited in the paper include:

• Pfizer rolled out a five-point plan, including an R&D SWAT team to support vaccine development.

• Lilly, Merck and others banded together to help employees ...Continue reading at Covid-19 Pushes Pharma To Walk The Talk of ‘Patient-Centricity’ https://bit.ly/3k5EA27