The future of healthcare is digital and is happening right now.
The growth of the digital health industry is now estimated at $175 billion and expected to grow to $1.5 trillion by 2030.
And with more than 350,00 health apps available worldwide (and 70% of patient groups using at least one app to manage their condition) the future of healthcare is one where patients are more connected than ever, with digital devices playing a major role in care.
To this end, pharma is rapidly developing its digital strategy to embrace patient centricity to remain connected, profitable and deliver better outcomes.
Digital patient engagement
There is growing realisation that pharma needs to evolve its business model with one that better incorporates technology to engage directly with patients.
Using a digital strategy to connect with patient across the entire pharma value chain, pharma companies are evolving their business toward patient centricity so that it remains relevant and profitable.
Numerous pharma companies have inked deals in the past five years to expand their connectivity to patients through digital programs.
Biogen Inc. and MedRhythms are developing an investigational prescription digital therapeutic for multiple sclerosis, AstraZeneca is working with Huma Therapeutics to target different therapeutic areas, and Sanofi is working with digital therapeutics company DarioHealth to develop digital solutions to reach patients in health plans and employer markets.
Medisafe has agreements with more than a dozen pharma partners to help support the digital patient journey, delivering key guidance and intervention strategies in conjunction with complex specialty meds.
Pharma companies are now facing the need to frame their patient-centric strategies for operating in a new customer-centered digital ecosystem.
More pharma organisations are adding digital strategies to transform how pharma discovers, develops, and delivers therapies.
By collaborating with digital health platforms, pharma is moving closer to the patient while gaining deeper insights that, in total, position drug makers that much closer in the drug development cycle that empower people to improve their health.
Digital clinical trials
Today’s drugs are increasingly becoming tailored to patient’s clinical and lifestyle needs, while health professionals monitor a patient’s condition and adherence to treatment remotely, all as part of a digital ecosystem that constantly monitors a patient’s condition and provides feedback to the patient and stakeholders.
This new connectivity is opening new avenues to the development of drugs without the physical constraints of location to hold clinical trials.
By employing the use of wireless sensors, wearables, digital patient monitoring, and digital drug tracking platforms, pharma can reinvent its approach to clinical trials.
Distributed research networks linking alternative clinical settings or ‘virtual’ trials are introducing innovation into clinical research, with new clinical trial models that are less costly and more convenient for patients.
Decentralising clinical trials is helping to transform the way trials are conducted and reducing infrastructure costs associated with drug development.
This patient-centric approach using digital technologies eliminates the need for central research sites and lowers the costs to conduct clinical trials.
Diversity of patient samples is rapidly becoming the new standard for clinical trials and the connected health ecosystem is presenting a greater opportunity for pharma to approach clinical trials without constraints.
With digital health tools as part of clinical trials, pharma can capture feedback in real-time, and connect to patients in their own environments to understand environmental factors that can change the development of new drugs.
Telehealth to digital pills
At the press of a button, patients can now access help from the telephone with a Facetime video visit with a clinician, engage with a health coach, or chat with fellow patients and experts about a multitude of health ailments.
These emerging digital technologies have reshaped the treatment landscape, which is also forcing pharma to rethink its approach to engaging patients throughout their full treatment journey.
While the provider will remain a central figure in healthcare, patients today now have more access points and ways to engage in their health – all of which changes the way pharma connects to patients.
And with new digital therapeutic platforms, treatment no longer looks the same either.
In today’s connected healthcare ecosystem, a patient’s primary point of contact with a health system can be a remote monitoring centre or telephonic advice line instead of a doctor’s office.
And new advancements with tech giants Amazon and Google mean the living room is rapidly replacing the doctor’s office, leading more pharma companies to reimagine how drugs are delivered to patients.
Digital drug companions have been steadily increasing in use among pharma organisations to better track delivery, first take, and titration schedules of medications.
As fewer patients head to the doctor’s office for support, these new digital channels offer greater opportunity for support and clarity in the patient journey.
As pharma moves to becoming more patient-centric, more investments into digital health are likely to reshape the industry.
Despite being a natural source of information for patients and healthcare professionals alike, developing a digital strategy remains a struggle for pharma.
While engagement with patient apps is growing and proving valuable, gaining regulatory approval for digital therapies remains challenging and limited.
As we look toward a connected healthcare ecosystem, pharma’s adoption of patient engagement strategies is inextricably linked to its digital technology-enabled transition with a focus on improved outcomes.
Omri Shor is co-founder and CEO at Medisafe
