For more than a decade, Health Union has been working with the pharmaceutical industry to create mutually beneficial opportunities for companies and people to engage in meaningful moments that matter along the health journey. Every day, we see firsthand how digital engagement through social health has reinvented the patient journey. And at the recent Reuters Pharma USA 2022 conference, we were thrilled to see the patient perspective taking its rightful place in the spotlight on a main stage at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
Pharma USA 2022 played an integral role in recognizing the need for the industry to shift priorities towards community-first engagement strategies. A few key themes emerged that we found interesting for pharma marketers:
Shifting from “patient-centric” to “patient-driven”
One narrative that rang loud and clear at Pharma USA 2022 focused on reprioritizing for actionable patient centricity. The state of the industry today is encouraging the “co-creation” of future health solutions in consultation with patients, and industry executives spoke passionately about the sea-change they’re leading to incorporate the patient voice early in development to be as inclusive as possible. Dr. Maria Rivas, MD (Chief Medical Officer, SVP Global Patient Safety, Medical Affairs and Evidence and Value Development at EMD Serono) spent time discussing their shift from “patient-centricity” language to “patient-directed drug development” in order to foster a culture that truly shows the involvement of patients from the start.
Tapping into digital patient touchpoints
Another focus at Pharma USA 2022 involved conversations around maximizing digital engagement in order to reimagine the patient experience. Conversations buzzed around lifestyle branding, patient authority, and consumer marketing– truly treating the patient as a whole person. Understanding the digital touchpoints and recognizing how they all work together in an omnichannel strategy offers a seamless, unified experience that puts the person at the center, not the product.
Health Union recognizes the digital touchpoints that people use and engage with along all of the critical points in their health journey as social health. These personal connections and interactions are becoming increasingly important in decision-making. Through an omnichannel strategy rooted in social health, the pharma industry can engage with patients searching for information, connection and validation in the moments that matter. Pharma can also harness the power of social health to glean smart insights to inform strategic decisions for not only commercialized products, but to inform early product development.
By leveraging Health Union’s insights-driven, contextually targeted offerings, companies can engage with real patients and caregivers at all the digital touchpoints in their journey–from those newly diagnosed to experienced sufferers. Partnering with us grants access to a broad base of knowledge gleaned from our growing portfolio of open online communities and syndicated research to take actionable steps towards patient-driven tactics.
