Forget patient centricity, it’s time to become ‘patient obsessed’

Despite recent progress by big pharma to embrace the concept of patient centricity, the sector still has a long way to go to embed patient centricity into its work and overall culture.

Health services work best when they are developed around patients’ needs, and the same is true for the pharmaceutical sector. We all know this. But understanding the patient experience – the full patient experience – and using that knowledge to inform and develop corporate and commercial strategies is still easier said than done.

The desire is undoubtedly there; over the last few years more and more companies have approached us to discuss how A Life in a Day can support them in this area. However, the fact remains that patient centricity cannot be achieved without sustained action. Without this, it risks being little more than a buzzword.

It’s time to change the script.

From patient centricity to patient obsessed

The challenges associated with realising patient centricity was something that Mark Doyle, creator of A Life in a Day, discussed with Susan Hendrich from AstraZeneca in an engaging and thought-provoking webinar towards the end of last year.

“Patient centricity is the goal, but it’s not always happening,” says Mark. “The term itself doesn’t drive me to be patient-centric. I think for some people, it can be difficult to understand how they can achieve this in their role. For others, it’s still something they have to actively remember to do.”

“In my view, if we’re going to reach a point where patient centricity is an automatic action, we need to change the terminology to provoke action and become much more patient obsessed.”

What we mean by ‘patient obsessed’

We recognise that the term ‘obsession’ can be a contentious one – after all, it’s typically used to describe an unhealthy preoccupation with something. But a preoccupation that is constantly on your mind is exactly what we need here.

Patient centricity is a key goal for both the pharma and healthcare industries, but the term itself risks becoming a bland phrase. Becoming patient obsessed and talking in those terms aims to light a fire under this objective, provoking and driving tangible action. We believe patients’ needs should always be in our thoughts, inspiring us all to do our best work. It’s what patients deserve.

How being patient obsessed makes our clients stronger

The idea of being patient obsessed is not a new one for us. Our A Life in a Day experiences are designed to represent the very real challenges and choices patients face every day. To achieve this, we need to be obsessed with understanding every facet of their lives.

And our approach is paying off. By creating experiences that accurately explore the physical, emotional and social aspects of living with a chronic condition, we are seeing significant and measurable impact. Senior pharma leaders, research and development teams  and healthcare professionals are just some of the people who have gone through our experiences and reported positive and lasting results.

“[A Life in a Day] has given me a better understanding of the condition…I think personally I’m quite guilty of being data heavy in calls and differentiating it to competitors. I lose focus that there is a person within this data.”

Therapy Area Specialist, Boehringer Ingelheim

Talk to us about how we can help you start your journey towards becoming patient obsessed.