Covid Propels Healthcare Into A Virtual World: A New Growth Driver For Pharma?

Covid Propels Healthcare Into A Virtual World: A New Growth Driver For Pharma? 

Amid ongoing Covid pandemic, most discussions on pharma specific ‘digitalization’ initiatives continue to predominantly hover around its traditional business growth drivers. In fact, even before the Covid time, it was no different, in a smaller scale and with a lesser intensity, though.

Incidentally, since quite some time, with the explosion of different types of web-based businesses, offering opportunities to buy and receive, virtually everything, at one’s doorstep, many things started changing rapidly. Almost all businesses started offering the state of the art, easy to use smartphone app-based e-commerce solutions, in different formats, to grow their businesses. Alongside, more and more people started managing their daily needs and wants online, even in India. Intriguingly, despite the availability of telemedicine, telehealth and e-pharmacies, even in the old normal, most people continue to prefer in-person health care solutions, including buying medicines.

Then came a bolt from the blue – the unprecedented global health crisis, caused by Covid-19. Almost overnight, amid requirements of maintaining stringent personal measures to keep Covid at bay, making in-person doctor-calls for brand demand generation activities, posed a great challenge. Doctors, too, became hesitant to meet general patients and medical representatives, in that situation. Thus, to keep the business up and running, most pharma companies gave top priority in finding out a digital solution for the brand demand generation processes. Interestingly, this was happening, when many patients, especially those with non-Covid ailments, also faced a similar situation to meet their health care needs.

Finding no other viable alternatives, many patients were pushed to search for a robust digital solution for health care needs, as well – just as they were already meeting their other regular needs – online. In that sense, Covid propelled many patients to step into a new virtual world of healthcare - telehealth or telemedicine. As mentioned above, although, these services were up there in pre-Covid days, many patients, apparently rediscovered them, in a new Avatar, to get relief from ailments and also save their lives.

On a hindsight, it appears, why the need to leverage telehealth or telemedicine in that crisis, did not appear to be a priority for most pharma companies to foster patient-centric growth of the business. Thus, continuing with the core concept of my previous article, – this article, will focus on the possibility of pharma spearheading the process, aiming for a win-win outcome – boosting access to high quality affordable care for all, on the one hand. And simultaneously, harnessing this new growth driver to excel in the business, on the other.  

Telehealth or e-health will grow just as other e-businesses, unhindered: 

With the Government of India issuing guideline for telemedicine practices on March 25, 2020 and later, on May 12, 2020, publishing those guidelines in the gazette, ‘Telemedicine’ has been made a high priority health care enabler. The notified guidelines also make telemedicine consultation provided by a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, legally permissible. In addition, effective October 01, 2020, Telemedicine costs will be covered under medical insurance in accordance with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s (IRDAI) new guidelines.

The net effect of these measures will not just help reduce pressure on the fragile public healthcare infrastructure of the country, but will also expand access to lower cost and high-quality private care to a large number of people.  

Telemedicine is here to stay and be a key pharma growth driver:

With Covid propelling health care into virtual platforms, providing and receiving medical care through telehealth has become a necessity for many people, for different reasons. However, the question that surfaces, will patients return to the old normal, if and when the pandemic ends?

The article – ‘3 reasons telehealth is here to stay,’ published by the MedCity News on October 09, 2020, presents a practicing physician’s perspective on this issue. The author envisages, ‘telemedicine will continue to gain traction with my colleagues and most likely, become a permanent clinical option for patient care.’ Going by such hands-on experience, I reckon, telemedicine will continue to grow for several important reasons, such as:

• Technology to make telehealth increasingly user friendly: Ongoing IT innovation is making telehealth platforms simple and more effective for doctors and a large number of patients belonging to all age groups. “All they have to do is click a link on their smartphones, which is sent to them via text automatically.” Thus, these tools will increasingly become the best option for treating a broad range of conditions, long after the pandemic subsides.

• Telemedicine costs are covered under medical insurance, now: Effective October 01, 2020,Telemedicine costs will be covered under medical insurance, even in India. Moreover,‘Telemedicine’ has now been made a high priority health care enabler, carrying a permanent legal status in India. 

• Health Equity and affordable care: Access to affordable...continue reading at https://bit.ly/35dOTLl