The Patient Centric Development Process
“Patient Centricity” is a buzzword in health care circles for the last several years. It describes a concept that involves prioritizing patients as a primary focus. In my experience, “patient centricity” is described as the philosophy of designing a healthcare product or service around the patient first. stems from the UK s NHS-inspired thinking such as no first time customer, without you, the philosophy seems simple to understand, but as a goal for pharmaceuticals it’s often overlooked, despite the fact that many pharmaceutical companies frequently express their desire to become patient centered… So what do they mean by being patient centered?
The concept behind patient centricity can be boiled down to three key elements: advocating for the individual as an individual right, emphasizing the patient as a major part of a greater whole, and advocating for a proactive approach to health. This last point is the hallmark of any successful patient advocacy organization. In my opinion, this last point is best illustrated by the example of AIDS. Despite the incredible advancements made in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, early testing and prevention were essentially ignored by most of the medical community for decades.
The advent of “patient centricity” changed this landscape in a profound way. Organizations that pushed for early testing and prevention of HIV/AIDS saw tremendous success in pressuring the medical community to set up the necessary trials, monitoring and treating these individuals as if they were a major different population. Without patient centricity pushing for these testing and prevention initiatives, there would have been no notable successes in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
By incorporating the concept of patient advocacy into all facets of clinical trials, organizations that advocated for HIV/AIDS research and prevention had achieved something truly remarkable. No matter what research was done, whether it was a clinical trial or consumer advocacy campaign, the ultimate goal was always the same: prevent another life lost to this deadly disease. All advocacy endeavors had this one goal in mind: to save lives. In many ways, it was the first step toward patient centricity.
However, pharmaceutical companies went above and beyond just making the call to action on their own. Instead, they hired agencies that would put their weight behind the efforts of ordinary people. These firms would recruit volunteers and use them in various capacities, from making calls to the general public, to participating in consumer and patient forums, to tracking the success of the various campaigns, to tracking the cost of these various strategies. Some pharmaceutical companies even went so far as to mount TV and print advertisements touting their patient-friendly initiatives.
The pharmaceutical industry realized that by combining both quality and quantity, patient advocacy and pharmaceutical marketing would go hand in hand. In addition, by involving the public in the process, pharmaceutical firms would gain the trust and respect of consumers. Pharmaceutical reps made frequent visits to the doctors and clinics of patients and even went out of their way to make personal contact with people who might be at risk for contracting a disease. All of this was done with the goal of improving the adherence rates in clinical trials.
At the same time, efforts were also made to improve the reimbursement rates for drugs developed through the pharmaceutical industry. This is because it’s only through clinical trials that medications can be patented. This means that if a drug development firm develops a blockbuster product, it stands to reason that the company will reap the benefits of a patent. And through the efforts of Patient Centricity and other groups, patients stand to benefit from improved access to these drugs. Through collaborations between public health professionals, patients’ groups, and drug development companies alike, it has been made possible to provide patients with access to these drugs. Also, since clinical trials often involve multiple participating institutions, financial compensation is now at a level that has been made possible for drug companies to offer generous settlements to participants.
Patient Centricity isn’t the only initiative aimed at improving patient care. Other organizations have also been formed to help pharmaceutical companies better meet the needs of patients. These groups often work in conjunction with local health departments, educating patients and their families about their drug trials and the importance of patient communication. They provide resources such as brochures and client reminders, as well as sharing information about patient advocacy, patient access, and patient trials. In the end, if the goal is to improve patient experience, pharmaceutical companies need to take a patient-centric view of their development processes and policies.
