We’re all very aware of the escalating statistics with diabetes, obesity, healthcare costs, and so on. In response, we’re seeing more and more wellness programs from employers, payers, retailers, etc. Today’s panel discussion is around the role pharma marketing plays in improving health outcomes.
Today’s Panelists:
Brad Sitler, Principal Industry Consultant, Center for Health Analytics and insights, SAS
Eugene Lee, SVP, Media Innovation & Analytics, Communications Media, Inc.
Kellie Boyle, Senior Director of Marketing GlaxoSmithKline
How can pharma advance their adherence and compliance program to meet the demands of a value-based system?
Kelli: There are so many opportunities for the industry to partner to understand patient segments, create messaging and develop programs for very targeted groups. We need better ways to segment patients in our programs. Do I understand who you are and where you are that helps me help you?
Eugene: For us, the delivery of the message must depend on where the patient is in their journey for us to provide them with utility and purpose in our efforts. Hopefully, when they go through that journey and we know where they are at, we can develop metrics to monitor the effectiveness of our programs.
Brad: The major problem with our adherence programs today is that most of the participants are already highly engaged with their disease and treatment plan. Pharma spend millions of dollars talking to patients who already understand and buy-in to the program. That is one reason why we don’t see the needle move – the participants are already adherent and we’re ignoring the ones that are not. I’d really like to see a strong partnership between a pharma brand and a payer on developing an adherence program that caters to those who are not adherent.
Should pharma companies really be focused on the parts of patient outcomes that are based on lifestyle components (diet, activity level, etc.) or remain focused on treatment (medication choice, adherence, compliance)?
Eugene: If positive patient outcomes are the true goals, then pharma should be involved in all aspects.
Kelli: The only reason this question is asked is because people do not trust pharma. The answer seems obvious to me: yes. Now is the opportunity for us to begin to partner with patients and other groups to deliver value-based healthcare as opposed to tracking how many ‘scripts we’ve wrote.
What programs are you favorite right now? Which ones have the most promise?
Kelli: I have several favorites. WellDoc is one that always comes to mind. It’s in a very early stage but their objectives and structure are really well thought out. I’m also an avid user of Fitbit. It’s not hard from these solutions to imagine how we can involve
Brad: Novo Nordisk has a great program they are working on for diabetes patients. It seems to capture all aspects of a patient’s life from activity and diet to medication adherence.
Eugene: Something like Patients Like Me is the type of program I really enjoy. Giving people that opportunity to connect and converse with other people on a similar journey seems like an intuitive experience and one that can have a major impact.
We’re starting to see physicians incentivized for positive health outcomes, what are your thoughts on patients being incentivized for positive health behaviors and outcomes?
Brad: Yes, we absolutely need something like that. Take Cleveland Clinic for example: They are incentivizing their employers with cash for improving specific readings like BMI, cholesterol, and blood pressure. They have even eliminated all the fryers on their campus.
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