As the notion of patient centricity and experience continues to evolve within the industry, there is no sign of it fading in relevance. Regardless of size, therapy area, or location, most pharma companies will have some version of patient centricity mentioned in their mission statement and values and try to work with patients to truly understand their experience.
Boehringer Ingelheim is one of those companies, with a clear purpose to “transform lives” and a well-articulated focus on how they are delivering against this mission. Boehringer has taken this a step further by not just talking the talk about patient centricity but walking the walk as well.
We recently partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim Human Pharma U.S. to enable their employees including several of the senior executive leaders to walk in the shoes of a person living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) for a 24-hour period. As part of their U.S. Patient Week, the individuals who took part wanted to demonstrate to the wider organisation the tangible actions they were taking to ensure that Boehringer is putting the patient first and keeping them at the centre of everything they do.
From the Director of Clinical Development Strategy to the President of Human Pharma, USA, several teams took part in the A Life in a Day experience. They wanted to demonstrate their commitment to patient centricity, and to actively make changes within their own roles for the better of both the business and the patients they serve.
During the 24 hours, the participants recorded a video diary of their experience, which was shown to the company during their inaugural U.S. Patient Week. The diaries give a unique insight into how challenging it is to manage the burden of the disease alongside your normal day, providing tangible insights into how it impacts a person’s life in ways you would not have truly understood or considered without living the experience yourself.
What is evident in the video diaries are the struggles of the team and the comprehension of the burden that people living with CKD face in their lives regularly. How this visceral reaction translates into tangible actions was then evaluated for impact in a post-experience assessment, and the subsequent changes they have made as a team since taking part.
100% of the team agreed the experience will help create an even more patient-centric culture within Boehringer and has helped motivate them to bring patients into their decision making and having them be a true partner. With a 59% increase in understanding the impact of CKD as a result, this increase in knowledge was paramount to driving the changes made both by the participants and the message spread throughout the business.
Some changes included a greater recognition of the impact of bringing in patients earlier on in the clinical development process to meet participant needs, and a higher importance on earlier screening and diagnosis for patients, all driven through the actions of those who took part in the programme.
Since their experience, Boehringer has continued to offer the A Life in a Day of a person living with CKD, alongside other therapy area experiences that are focal points for the business. They are also developing several experiences across new therapy areas including cardio renal metabolic disease (CRM), pulmonary fibrosis, obesity, among others. One of the latest projects is also the first groundbreaking development with which Boehringer’s team has brought patients into the development of the experience, to ensure that the challenges created are as closely aligned as possible to their lived in experience and that the patient voice is truly heard by all those who take part.
In an industry where patient-centricity is a difficult balance to achieve alongside commercial pressures, Boehringer Ingelheim stands as a beacon of authenticity and innovation. Their unwavering commitment to truly understanding and addressing the needs of patients isn’t just about fulfilling a mission—it’s about transforming lives. By immersing their team members and Senior Leaders in the real challenges faced by those living with chronic conditions like CKD, Boehringer is not only fostering a more empathetic and patient-focused culture but is also driving tangible, impactful changes across the entire organisation. This is more than just a promise; it’s a powerful testament to Boehringer’s dedication to putting patients and their families first, every single day.
