The revolution is in full swing – after years of paying lip service to patient- centricity and ticking corporate boxes, the pharmaceutical industry is, on the whole, realising that patient involvement in drug development goes far beyond the role of clinical trial participation. The value that the populations living with illnesses and conditions can bring to research and development teams and marketeers can no longer be underestimated – this vital collaboration is finally being protected in budgets and not being seen as an easy area to be ‘cut’ when budgets are scrutinised.
Patient pathways and patient journey maps
Patient pathways and patient journey maps play a key role in helping a pharmaceutical team understand the patient treatment ecosystem. They inform strategic thinking and highlight opportunities to provide support and education that go ‘beyond the pill’.
Psychologist M Scott Peck once noted that we should ‘share our similarities, celebrate our differences’. Some of the patient pathways and journey maps currently be used in our industry are focused on the similarities between patients and can be viewed as linear and over-generalised. While focusing on the similarities, they can sometimes overlook differences between patients that can be as informative and insightful as the similarities. Variations can be layered on to a patient pathway to demonstrate diversity in many aspects ranging from gender, religion and race through to health equity and healthcare system.
Patient experience research
Origins Insights is expert in patient experience research and was the 2021 recipient of the BHBIA BOBI award for ‘Best Patient-Centric Approach’; we work to a philosophy of not using curated responses or proxy measures to understand a patient’s life but uncovering the authentic patient experience through a variety of innovative and highly personal methodologies.
As part of a series of webinars exploring how patient intelligence can redefine success in various parts of the pharmaceutical industry, Origins hosted a panel discussion on ‘Diversity and inclusion in patient journey mapping’.
A panel consisting of Dr Gordon Harvey (Harvey Pharma Consulting & MPS Society Trustee), Rupinder Sohal (Associate Account Director, Bedrock Healthcare Communications) and Sheetal Padania (Head of Research, Origins Insights) discussed the relevance and validity of patient journey mapping, the impact that increased diversity and inclusion could have and how to engage with a more diverse audience when conducting research.
Harnessing authentic patient experiences
The mission of diversity and inclusion reaches far beyond just patient pathways, but it is a great example of how harnessing authentic patient experiences and therefore intelligence can redefine the success of a molecule or product.
So, when planning your next activity, reflect on whether we are doing enough to ensure that commercial decisions are based on authentic patient experiences from across the population.
To find out more about how Origins can redefine your success through pioneering health experience research, visit origins-insights.com or contact Su Smith susmith@origins-insights.com.
Su Smith is Director at Origins Insights
