Patient Centricity Key to Patient Adherence

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pharmaceutical companies must shift their perspective from looking at patients as statistics and embracing patient needs and goals, according to a recent study by Cutting Edge Information.

“Patient Adherence and Compliance: Improving Outcomes through Patient Engagement Programs”

The study, “Patient Adherence and Compliance: Improving Outcomes through Patient Engagement Programs,” finds that generating a long-term impact on patient outcomes requires a cultural and philosophical shift within pharmaceutical organizations. The industry currently loses $290 billion annually due to patient non-adherence. Specifically, improving patient adherence requires an overhaul of the current system in which caregivers instruct patients and provide them with medical plans, expecting them to follow that course of treatment flawlessly. One executive interviewed for the study said, “When you go and tell people what to do, it invariably doesn’t work.”

Instead, industry experts advise going beyond the scope of delivering medical information. Patient-centricity is a growing factor in shaping company adherence strategies. Many companies have developed patient programs geared to individual patient groups. One profiled company program provides breakfast to patients’ children, for example. By initiating such activities, drug companies emphasize building relationships with consumers to establish a real sense of their goals and needs.

“Ultimately, to realize success, companies must move beyond cookie cutter adherence tactics,” said project leader Michelle Vitko. “Organizations that embrace patient-centric thinking better position themselves to reach their program goals by treating consumers as critical customers and responding to their unique needs.”

Cutting Edge Information’s study, “Patient Adherence and Compliance: Improving Outcomes through Patient Engagement Programs,” is available at http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/marketing/patient-adherence/. This report is designed to guide companies in managing effective patient adherence teams able to master internal and external adherence challenges. This report includes best practices and case studies as well as benchmark data on adherence teams’ structures and resources to help your organization:

Understand end users and address real consumers’ wants, needs and fears.
Explore common external and internal challenges that face any group trying to improve patient engagement.
Use benchmark data to monitor critical financial resources and choose appropriate channels and tools to drive implementation across markets

For more information about patient adherence strategy, contact Elio Evangelista at 919-403-6583.