Accenture: Pharma companies to invest in patient-centered services, capabilities
NEW YORK — A new report from Accenture is shedding light on a new focus on the part of pharmaceutical companies: investing in patient-centered capabilities and services. The report uses responses from 200 American and European pharma executives, 85% of whom said that their companies would be increasing its patient-centered capabilities in the next two years.
About nine-in-ten of the respondents said they expect their companies to offer six or more types of patient services in the coming two years — an increase over the 73% that currently offer that amount of patient services
“Having demonstrated clear business and patient value, patient services is attracting greater investment and will become a key competitive driver of success in the healthcare market,” Accenture Life Sciences North American managing director of patient services Tony Romito said. “In this changing competitive environment, the question will no longer be if life sciences companies should offer these services, but rather which ones — and how they should be implemented.”
For the most part, companies will be focusing on areas of benefit coverage and access support, as well as health counselor services participation and adherence program management. Ninety-five percent of the companies surveyed said thay would also invest in patient engagement — including outreach through such channels as social media and other websites, as well as television. Additionally, companies plan to tailor their offerings to what patients value most highly: medication delivery and support, remote patient monitoring and adherence program management, which are highly values by 85%, 79% and 77% of patients, respectively.
But it may not be an easy job, Accenture said. In particular, companies will be up against a lack of awareness among patients as only 19% are familiar with these services despite companies’ reliance on healthcare professionals to disseminate information about them, and 40% of executives said they couldn’t precisely measure the impact of their services on outcomes — the primary objective driving their investment.
“Life sciences companies seeking to invest in patient services will need to address issues that can impede their progress, especially as focusing on patient services will become increasingly critical to sustaining success in healthcare,” said Andrea Brueckner, managing director of Accenture Life Sciences EALA practice. “This will require developing a patient-services strategy that fully aligns with patients’ needs, measures success, and effectively communicates to healthcare professional how such services, in combination with their products, can provide better outcomes for their patients.”