Patient Adherence: The Next Significant Opportunity for Manufacturers

In previous blog posts I have discussed in general the changes happening in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The general theme of “do more with less” is strong and continues to grow stronger. In previous blog posts I have discussed the opportunities with complementary sales channels such as tele-detailing, e-detailing, and web advertising to physicians. Another significant opportunity for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries is increasing patient adherence to treatment.

All chronic conditions have high rates of patient noncompliance. It is commonly reported that patient compliance to therapy averages around 50 to 65%. According to a recent report by Capgemini Consulting, titled “Patient Adherence: The Next Frontier in Patient Care,” only 69% of patients fill their first prescription. Only 43% of patients that start a prescription therapy are continuing that therapy 6 months later. This has a profound impact on future healthcare costs as these patients typically have additional healthcare issues in the future related to earlier non-compliance. Supporting patient adherence is a win:win:win situation—patients gain with better health and quality of life, payers decrease their expenses treating healthcare issues that arise from non-compliance, and companies retain patients on their products.

Patient noncompliance is a significant problem for the industry. Think of the benefit if companies could increase retention to 65% or 75% of patients continuing therapy at 1 year (rather than 6 months as Capgemini found).

As I looked at the Capgemini Consulting report, I kept thinking about the expenses pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies spend to acquire new patients, and the sales to be gained by retaining more patients on treatment. It is a commonly accepted principle in many industries that it is cheaper to retain customers (patients in this case) than it is to acquire new ones. This principle needs to be more of an emphasis in our industry. Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies must take action to develop and implement successful patient adherence programs. Not doing this is like leaving money on the table, and that is NEVER something you want to do.

The first step is to think strategically about patient adherence early in the development of your product. Think of this as part of the product’s value proposition. At PhoneScreen we’ve worked with a number of clients to develop and implement their patient adherence programs through 24/7 live operator support to answer questions, send requested educational materials, and call to remind patients about appointments and refills. There are several essential elements to an effective patient adherence program, and we’ll discuss these in a future blog post.

For now, I’d like to challenge marketers in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies to think about patient adherence as a significant driver for your business. In my first post in 2012 I’ll share my thoughts on how to develop the strategic direction for your patient adherence program. In early-2012, we’ll explore current trends in patient adherence programs and essential elements for successful patient adherence programs.

Do you currently have a patient adherence program for your product? If so, how successful is it at retaining patients? If you haven’t implemented a patient adherence program, why haven’t you? I’d love to hear about the hurdles or challenges you face in setting up/maintaining your patient adherence program.

Until 2012, best wishes for very Happy Holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year!


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