Centric Health Resources head to address 5th Annual Rare Disease Leadership Summit

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. The 5th Annual Rare Disease Leadership Summit being held Wednesday in Arlington, Va., will feature a presentation from Craig Kephart, president and CEO of Centric Health Resources, around the importance of patient care in administering orphan drugs.

“It is important to know your patient — in fact, it is a requirement,” Kephart stated. “This presentation will explore the importance of understanding what your patient really wants and how to drive patient satisfaction,” he said. “It’s not simply providing individuals information about the benefit of a new drug, it’s also about providing a higher quality of life. Pharmaceutical manufacturers who grasp this concept stand a better chance of building loyal customers for life.”

Kephart will focus on the opportunities for manufacturers to forge relationships and build patient allegiance, starting with the launch phase of an orphan drug.

“Manufacturers will have a better understanding of why it is valuable to shed the traditional large-market pharmaceutical commercial models that until now, have dominated the market,” he explained. “These transaction-based models may be a short-term solution to get the drug into the marketplace, but they do not offer a long-term solution that is best for the patient. What works best for patients is helping them to live a better life.”