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Beyond the pill: 5 ways to create value with patient-centric services

In an outcomes-driven environment, focusing on patients is key but value needs to be demonstrated for all stakeholders when adopting new strategies to go beyond the pill.

 

Getty Images, Leonard Mc Lane http://www.gettyimages.com/search/photographer?agreementtypes=pa&family=creative&photographer=leonard%20mc%20lane&sort=best&excludenudity=true#license

Shifts in regulations, technology and consumer expectations are triggering huge changes within the pharmaceutical industry. With an increased focus on patient outcomes, companies are looking to provide solutions that are patient-centric, rather than product-centric. Defining what these services could or should be is one thing, but bringing these new services to market is easier said than done.

Developing new outcomes-focused services often involves building new capabilities, considering unfamiliar business models, partnering with different kinds of companies and, of course, monetary and resource investment. The payoff can be significant, however, as pharmaceutical companies that confront these challenges have the potential to create tighter bonds with patients and gain a critical advantage in a fiercely competitive marketplace.

Those tackling the challenge in different ways are few and far between right now. A small number of traditional pharma, as well as tech companies, are beginning to move towards patient-centric offerings.

For instance, Omada Health, a digital therapeutics company, has designed a program that helps patients manage chronic diseases like diabetes by encouraging healthier habits and lifestyles through custom plans, health coaching and success tracking. Customers only pay if outcomes are achieved.

BioPharma outfit Astra Zeneca has partnered with health coaching platform and startup Vida Health to offer free health coaching services to heart attack sufferers. Leading diabetes medicine supplier Novo Nordisk has developed a digital portal for patients, offering education resources and customer plans.

In all these examples, patients derive value by having access to information and guidance that can help improve their quality of life, while the organization gains access to more detailed personal data that can help deepen and improve engagement with its customers.

For a transition to a service-oriented, digital business model to be successful, the company must first identify the new and potentially unexpected ways in which value can be created from that new model. At the outset, it is important to identify:

  • Target customer(s)
  • Customer needs and how the new offering can support those needs
  • Channels that will enable interaction with these customers
  • Revenue generation opportunities, as well as additional non-monetary value to the organization
  • Whether the capabilities required to launch and sustain a new offering currently exist within the organization
  • Partners the organization will potentially need to seek out, to support the launch and management of the offering

Once these critical questions have been explored and answered, those eager to continue the process of transitioning to a value-rich patient-centric service model should consider the following steps in their journey and embrace example of progressive companies who are already making headway:

Deliver Value to All Stakeholders
In an outcomes-driven environment, solutions must be valuable to multiple stakeholders. Developing offerings just for the patient or doctor is no longer enough. As you design new offerings it’s important to consider the needs of the entire health ecosystem and develop solutions that provide value to all stakeholders.

One Drop is a digital service helping people manage their type 2 diabetes. Although One Drop’s primary user is the patient, it delivers value to providers and payers by offering data around how patients manage their disease and also encouraging adherence and better outcomes.

Explore Potential for Multiple Revenue Streams
When looking at service and digitally-focused business models, consider the potential for multiple revenue streams. Unlike product-based offerings there is the opportunity to create more complex revenue models by targeting various customers within the health ecosystem.

Fitbit offers a great example. In 2015, the company brought in $1.86 billion in revenue through the sale of their fitness trackers and wellness services. They were able to achieve this by tapping into multiple revenue streams such as device sales, subscription services for wellness programs and the sale of aggregated data and insight to third parties.

Use Data to Deliver Additional Value
Digital solutions offer a huge amount of potential data. It’s important to consider how this data can be leveraged within the organization to support things such as customer insights and clinical studies.

Follow the lead of Daiichi Sankyo, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, which has partnered with Partners Healthcare to create a coaching platform that engages patients in their care, supporting behavior change for patients with atrial fibrillation. One of the key goals of the service is to build a robust data set on patient outcomes, providing evidence for value-based care.

Forge New Partnerships
Launching patient-centric services requires a new set of capabilities. Partnering with organizations that have experience delivering these types of offerings can reduce costs, mitigate risk and speed up time to market. French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi partnered with Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) to develop new technologies and services that support patients living with diabetes.

Focus on What is Unique to You
Patient-centric services have the risk of becoming generic. Given the wealth of fitness tracking apps and health coaching services already on the market, how do you make your offerings stand out?

Focus on what is unique to the health condition you are working on and leverage partners to provide more generic health support. Digital health services are still fairly nascent — there hasn’t been a strong business need to differentiate thus far. The opportunity here for those with ambitions to expand beyond the pill is pronounced, particularly as more and more companies begin to play in the space.

Photo Credit: Getty Images, Leonard Mc Lane

 

 


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Jamie Nicholson

Jamie is a Senior Design Strategist at Smart Design. With 6 years of experience, his expertise lies in balancing consumer and organizational needs to deliver compelling design strategy that can be implemented and brought to market. In his role, Jamie delivers value to clients through uncovering new business opportunities that address a core consumer need and help build strategies to successfully launch these new ventures.

He has worked extensively in the healthcare sector on a range of projects focused on delivering more holistic patient-centered services, and has contributed to publications including Healthcare Informatics and Fast Company. In addition, Jamie is passionate about helping clients enter new categories and stretch their capabilities to deliver new offerings.

Jamie is actively engaged in the local design community and has hosted and spoken at a range of events. Recently, he moderated a panel of leading healthcare experts in collaboration with the Service Design Network entitled: “A new era in healthcare – designing new services for the informed patient.” Jamie holds an undergraduate masters degree in product design engineering from the Glasgow School of Art and University of Glasgow.

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