Reflections on 2021

As 2021 draws to a close, we reflect on the past year achievements

“One of the great things we’ve seen this year is a noticeable increase in pharma companies desire to be truly patient centric. The demand for patient-centric solutions has grown significantly. We’ve been working with more and more clients this year to help them realise their patient-centric ambitions in a meaningful way” 

It means we’ve been busier than ever. In 2021, we doubled our portfolio of experiences – which now cover multiple therapy areas, including oncology, dermatology, respiratory, cardiovascular conditions, lupus and chronic kidney disease. The growth has been phenomenal with more than 6,000 people in 56 countries taking part in our experiences. We would never have believed that possible three years ago.

Making patient centricity a reality

A fire has definitely been lit under the pharma industry in recent years when it comes to patient centricity. Three years ago, when we approached a potential client, we had to find the individual who was a champion of patient centricity inside the organisation and then convince everyone else to prioritise it. Now companies are coming to us and asking for support to instil patient first behaviours. It’s amazing.

One of the big highlights of 2021 was being a finalist for the PMEA Award in the Patient Centricity category. We are so proud of the team and all their hard work – being recognised in this way shows the difference that A Life in a Day can make to the professionals working with and supporting patients. 

We have also particularly enjoyed the lively conversation and debate around patient centricity in our webinars this year. These include our founder, Mark Doyle’s, conversations with patient advocate Rose Woodward in the PharmaTimes webinar in June, which attracted one of their largest audiences to date, and more recently with the amazing Susan Hendrich of AstraZeneca where we challenged the very term ‘patient centricity’.

Always innovating

We are constantly looking for new ways to build our experiences so that participants can walk in the shoes of a patient and understand what it’s truly like to live with a chronic health condition. One of the exciting innovations this year was the launch of augmented reality in our atopic dermatitis experience. This is an exciting new step for us; participants are asked to hold a camera up to their face and see themselves with red, itchy and inflamed skin. It’s a huge innovation that provides an even deeper level of understanding and enables people to get even closer to the patient experience.

Getting the message out to the sector

Three years ago, A Life in a Day was just two of us working on an initial idea. Now, we’re working with eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world. We knew we had a powerful message to get out there and now that people have started to listen, we’ve realised that we’re really onto something. Patient centricity is riding a wave of enthusiasm, growth and positivity and ultimately this means the lives of patients will be improved which in these challenging times is something to celebrate ”

Interested in finding out how we can support your patient centricity goals in 2022? Get in touch to find out more and try a free experience.