EVOLUTION OF THE PATIENT'S EXPERIENCE-PART 1

The pandemic put patients at the center of every conversation, catalyzed innovation. Over the last two years, collaboration across life sciences and with stakeholders has been unprecedented, with everyone mobilizing in the interest of patients.

Communication between patients, sites, sponsors, and supply partners increased. As of 14 December 2021, sponsors are enrolling or have enrolled more than 90 million people in 775 COVID vaccine-related clinical trials.

The pandemic helped to create more patient-centric channels. Digital technologies in particular, were globally adopted, and telemedicine became broadly available. Digital is allowing companies to collaborate with patients to develop therapies with endpoints that the patients care about, including quality of life measures. Collaborating with health systems is enabling insights from data and patients are now taking charge of more of their health.The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

BECOMING A MORE PATIENT-CENTRIC ORGANIZATION

Co-creating with patients, the heart of patient centricity

The concept of patient-centricity is decades old, but remains a challenge to master. Patient input to life sciences companies designs is increasingly more sophisticated and widespread. But some patient advocates believe that patients should be equal partners in the process with the patient at the center of decision-making. From concept to launch, patient “co-creation” would change many of the micro and macro decisions that life sciences companies make along that journey, including; what to research, how to develop, how to package and distribute, how to get into patients hands, and ultimately, how to

measure patient outcomes. Pharma companies are starting to adjust their enterprise decisions by reflecting the patient needs in more decisions, and health tech and other ecosystem companies are gaining traction filling this need.

Integrating engagement, fully partnering with patients

According to Dr Freda C. Lewis-Hall, former chief patient officer for Pfizer, life sciences organizations need to stop trying to solve problems themselves, and instead, they should fully partner with patients. “Get insights into what patients preferences and needs are, what their current skills are, and how they can help us shape ourselves as companies and industries. Let them know that their input is important for what we are ultimately going to offer to them. When we bring the solution, they’ll know that we’ve worked on it together to provide it,” she says.

For accurate patient insights, it is important that life sciences companies are proactive, involving patients early, and not waiting until there is a final product such as an app or website for patients to review. Begin with the initial brainstorming through to the launch of the product. Be flexible, see the process of co -creation as an open dialogue and change direction based on the feedback you receive. In addition, life sciences companies need to plan for the investment required to really involve patients, including patient compensation. When patients aren’t compensated for their time, sponsors risk bias by design and lack of diversity, because only patients who are able to afford to and have the time will be involved. 

Enhancing engagement, creating value

Digital and data solutions can help embed patient centricity across the value chain. Digital health, medicine, or therapeutic technologies offer many ways to provide value:

• Empowering patients to monitor and self-manage their health.

• Increasing access to therapies which are clinically effective and safe, with side effects that are typically less severe than in traditional pharmacological interventions.

• Improving medication management and patient adherence.

• Helping alleviate the limited access to therapy.

• Providing updates on outcomes through regular monitoring.

• Reducing medication dosages for patients who adopt healthier lifestyle habits as a consequence of tracking their symptoms and health status.

• Reducing the number of face-to-face interventions, e.g., through digital cognitive behavioural therapies.

• Enhancing patient experience by receiving care in a more convenient setting, e.g., in the comfort and privacy of patients’ homes or wherever a patient may be.

• Increasing access to interventions for underserved populations.

• Enabling more predictive, preventative, personalized, and participatory care.

Monitoring value and use of products and services

Tracking consumer interest and actual use of technologies enables life sciences companies to be more patient-centric. For example, consumer use of risk assessment and early intervention products and services is increasing. These products and services provide early warnings regarding infectious diseases, genetic diseases, and cancer, amongst others. According to a survey of Chinese consumer preferences by Deloitte, higher utilization of these products was among those with chronic disease.

SHAPING CLINICAL TRIAL DESIGN WITH PATIENT INSIGHTS

Patient-focused drug development

Patient-focused drug development incorporates patient experiences, needs, and outcomes to further drug development and evaluation, with greater emphasis being put on quality of life measurements.

The SF-36v2 (36-Item Short Form Health Survey, version 2) is a widely used and validated instrument for patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. Patients answer questions regarding their quality of life and overall physical and mental health (see figure 3).

Sage Therapeutics, Inc. and Biogen Inc. were able to receive patient feedback on a clinical trial for zuranolone for major depressive disorder (MDD) with the SF-36v2. The assessment reported rapid improvement in quality of life and overall health for patients across all domains at Day 42 of the trial.

Co-creating patient-friendly outcome measures

Pharmaceutical companies should consider more patient-friendly outcome measures and functional outcomes, as opposed to just regulatory or clinical outcomes, according to Gautam Gupta, senior vice president and head of strategy for Pfizer. He says that when selecting metrics for clinical trials, you should involve the patient and consider:

• What metrics does the patient care about?

• What outcomes does the patient want to see?

• Is the medicine making the patient’s daily functioning easier?

• Is it increasing mobility, if relevant to the disease?

This is the first part of my latest reflections on how we could drive a company to be a more patient centric organization; in the upcoming months I'll develop the part 2, but in the meanwhile, please, let me know your thoughts, happy to discuss with you!