Smartphones: Fertile Ground for Health Information

Interesting stats on smartphone usage - more below

Pew Internet and American Life Project finds half of smartphone owners use their devices to get health information.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently published results from the Mobile Health 2012 survey. The findings from this survey offer significant insights into how US consumers use their smartphones to access health information and health apps. These findings are evidence that life science companies have significant opportunities to provide value-added services and products that help patients improve their health.

Key findings from the Mobile Health 2012 survey include…

* 85% of US adults own a cell phone
  - 53% are smartphones

* 31% of cell phone users use their phone to search for health information
  - In 2010 only 17% of cell phone users used their phones to search for health information
  - 52% of smartphone owners access health information via their smartphone

* 19% of smartphone owners have at least one health app on their phone
  - Exercise, diet, and weight apps are the most popular

* 9% of cell phone owners receive text updates and alerts about their health or medical issues
  - 80% of cell phone owners send and receive text messages

*  Those most likely to have signed up for health text alerts...
  - Women between the ages of 30 and 64
  - Smartphone owners

* Those most likely to use cell phones to search for health information…
  - Caregivers
  - Those who recently faced a medical crisis
  - Those who recently experienced a significant change in their physical health

Clearly adults in the US are more often using their cell phones and smartphones to manage their health, and use is growing at a moderate pace. As the life science industry continues to focus on patient outcomes, with an emphasis on adherence and compliance, there are opportunities for life science companies to provide mobile healthcare apps and services that provide significant value to patients, healthcare providers, and payers.

Key areas to consider when planning mobile health initiatives …

Mobile health sites and apps can have a significant impact; however, these are just two components of a potential solution. There are new technologies, such as telehealth devices that are powerful tools or capturing and sharing information between patients and healthcare providers. Additionally, don’t overlook the importance of educational websites and nurse educator programs that provide 24/7 assistance to answer patient questions.

At Tunstall AMAC we are focused on helping build and maintain relationships with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to drive awareness and knowledge, support patient adherence, and empower patients to take charge of their health. We offer a wide-variety of personal emergency response and telehealth devices that can be used in the home-setting, and we provide 24/7 monitoring and click-to-chat support services to provide support, information, and educational materials to patients, providers, and payers.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on mobile health information. Is this something you’re doing or considering as a value-added service? Please share your questions and comments, and let’s all learn from each other.

Industry Insights: Sales Forces Shift to Customized Approaches to Smaller Audiences

PharmaVOICE Year in Preview

The latest issue of PharmaVOICE magazine is available and it focuses on the key issues likely to challenge the industry in 2013. The issue provides insights from more than 150 executives with experiences that span the development continuum from clinical, research and development, regulatory, to sales, marketing, and global issues.

I contributed to the section titled “Sales of the Future: New Tools, New Roles, and New Strategies”, and shared insights on the evolving life sciences sales model. In the near future, sales representatives will focus on a smaller number of customers, and will be hyper-focused on meeting customers’ needs and providing value. The PharmaVOICE article provides insights into how the role of sales representatives will change as these new models are implemented.

As new models are implemented, sales activities to lower priority audiences and prospects will require different approaches. An efficient and impactful alternative is to use teledetailing representatives to reach out to and develop relationships with these audiences.

Additionally, new options for administrative support for healthcare providers and field-based representatives will be implemented. In the future, sales teams will focus on building relationships and providing value-added consulting services to healthcare providers and health systems. Handling administrative issues is important, yet time-consuming. These activities can be cost-effectively handled through telesales representatives.

Check out the November/December 2012 issue of PharmaVOICE for insights into how the role of sales representatives will evolve as new sales models are implemented.

I’d like to hear your thoughts and ideas on how sales models are changing. Do you agree with the opinions included in the PharmaVOICE article? Is your company moving towards implementing these changes? If so, please share some of the challenges you are encountering.
Here is a link to a white paper on this topic.
Shifting Pharma Sales Models to Focus on Providing Value

Look to the Future: Sharing Physician Visit Notes with Patients Improves Engagement and Adherence

More transparency and sharing of information is the way of the future in healthcare. A simple option is to allow patient’s access to their visit notes that physicians keep as a part of their medical record. Patients have a right to see their entire medical record including physician’s notes; however, this doesn’t regularly happen.

Very little is known about the impact on physicians and patients when they are allowed to read physician’s notes from their visits. There are a number of questions including…

1)  Would patients be confused or offended by the information included in physician’s notes?

2)  Would physicians feel they need to spend more time in writing their notes and would they experience increases in the number of questions they receive from patients?

To answer these questions a year-long study was launched to provide patients with electronic access to the physician’s notes from their visits. The study results were recently published on-line in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Below are the key takeaways from this important study…

* 105 physicians and 13,564 patients participated from three sites in the US

* 11,797 patients (87%) opened at least one physician visit note

*  Of the 11,797 patients that opened at least one note, 5,391 (47%) completed a post-intervention survey

* Of the patients completing post-intervention surveys…
   - 77% to 87% of patients across the three sites reported that open notes helped them feel more in control of their care
   - 60% to 78% of those taking medications reported increased medication adherence
   - 1% to 8% reported that the notes caused confusion, worry, or offense
   - 20% to 42% of patients reported sharing notes with others

* The physicians reported...
   - The volume of electronic messages from patients did not change
   - 0% to 5% from the three study sites had longer patient visits
   - 0% to 8% from the three sites increased time spent addressing patients’ questions outside of visits
   - 3% to 36% changed documentation content
   - 0% to 21% took more time to write visit notes

This study is important because it demonstrates that increased information sharing between physicians and patients increases patient engagement. The impact of this study is…

* A significant number of patients (ie, 60% to 78%) reported increased adherence to medications. Historically, only 43% of patients that start a prescription therapy are continuing that therapy 6 months later.

* The majority of patients (77% to 87%) felt that open notes helped them to feel more in control of their care. This is incredibly meaningful and a key component to empowering patients to take control of their health.

* Overall physicians saw no more than a modest effect on their work lives by sharing their visit notes with patients. This data should help physicians overcome concerns they have in adopting this practice.

 Changes in the healthcare industry are driving the emphasis on decreasing healthcare costs and enhancing patient outcomes. Patient engagement and adherence are critical to achieving these goals, and this study supports open sharing of physician visit notes can have an impact with little additional time investment from physicians.

In the future, the industry must support initiatives that empower patients to take responsibility for managing their health. This is a very personal issue, and what motivates one individual may not work to motivate another. Innovative ideas are needed. Ultimately, many approaches will be combined to form a customized solution that is effective for an individual patient.

At Tunstall AMAC we are focused on helping build and maintain relationships with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to drive awareness and knowledge, support patient adherence, and empower patients to take charge of their health. We offer a wide-variety of personal emergency response and telehealth devices that can be used in the home-setting, and we provide 24/7 monitoring and click-to-chat support services to provide support, information, and educational materials to patients, providers, and payers. Our services combined with open sharing of physician’s notes can increase patient empowerment.

We recently published a white paper on how to develop successful patient and caregiver support programs, as well as emerging trends being used to deliver customized and personalized experiences for patients. If you’d like a copy of the white paper titled “Increase Patient Adherence and Do More with Less”, please click to request it.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on the open notes study. Do you think this practice is likely to be widely adopted by physicians? What other innovative solutions do you see for empowering patients to take responsibility for managing their health?

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Full-Speed Ahead: The Shift to Patient-Centric and Personalized Marketing Programs

Read a new article in PharmaVOICE magazine about segmentation advances and the value of personalizing marketing programs

Changes in the industry are shifting the goals of marketing programs to focus on the patient, and to provide meaningful outcomes. To do this, the focus must be on getting the right patient on the right treatment. Advances in technology are fueling exciting changes in how effectively marketers segment and message to their audiences. Real-time data capture empowers decision-making and increases the effectiveness of marketing programs.

The industry has used the decile model for segmentation for years, and in a world of hard-to-reach and no-see physicians this approach is no longer effective. Technological advances provide…  

     * Insights into the number of “appropriate” patients a provider has in their practice 
     * A better understanding of patient behavior so that marketers can deliver more
        compelling messages and valuable programs

As the industry continues to evolve marketing programs to be more patient-centric, delivering personalized information and messages takes on an even greater importance. The key to effective marketing programs is delivering value, and the starting point is to understand patient behavior. This understanding allows marketers to provide programs that meet their needs and helps them overcome their challenges. Valuable and relevant programs foster patient commitment and trust.

There is an article in the October 2012 issue of PharmaVOICE magazine (it’s available on-line) that shares expert insights on advances in segmenting and personalizing marketing efforts. The article provides an excellent overview of the technological changes that empower better segmentation, as well as insights into the impact personalization can have in enhancing the effectiveness of programs.

There are many options for personalized marketing programs. As a pharmaceutical call center, we provide opportunities for patients and caregivers to interact personally with our nurse educators and care counselors at their convenience.

I’d like to hear how you are personalizing your marketing activities. Also, are you using advances in technology to fine-tune your market segmentation activities? If so, what insights have you found along the way that helped you to better understand the patient journey? Did you incorporate these findings into your programs?

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Evolving Pharma Sales Models: The Customer is King

How pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device products are sold is changing and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. There are many factors driving this change, and two of the most significant are healthcare reform changes and that healthcare providers are demanding meaningful interactions with company representatives. Life science companies are developing new sales models that aren’t solely a “sales pitch”. Rather, the interaction is “customer-centric” and based on meeting the customer’s needs and providing value.

Evolving your sales model to be focused on meeting customer needs is much more than just adapting your sales messages to address the latest concerns heard in the field. This is a fundamental mindset change, and life sciences companies have think about what it is they are offering and delivering. In the future our healthcare system will be focused on patient outcomes and cost. This environment requires the life science industry to provide programs that support treatments to improve patient outcomes, provide value, and decrease costs.

Patient adherence is an important driver in improving patient outcomes and decreasing future healthcare costs, but it is not the only one. In many disease-states and conditions there are health, wellness, and lifestyle factors that contribute to long-term improvement in outcomes and decreases in healthcare expenditures. There is an opportunity, and need, for life sciences companies to partner with patients, providers, and payers to address health, wellness, and lifestyle factors.

There are many programs that can be developed and implemented that will improve patient outcomes. To create meaningful programs patients can “stick to”, think about these areas…

* Understand the barriers patients face in remaining adherent and compliant with therapy.

* Plan programs that support patients on their treatment journey, and help them adhere to treatment.

* Develop patient support programs that are a resource and guide for patients during their treatment journey.

I encourage you to think holistically about the challenges of patients, providers, and payers and design programs to meet these broad needs. As life science companies look to evolve their sales models to meet customers’ needs and provide meaningful interactions, the need for programs that support patients, providers, and payers will increase. Provide solutions, through your product and its related services, to manage or overcome the broad healthcare challenges your customers face.

There are many options for providing programs that enhance patient outcomes. As a pharmaceutical call center, we provide as needed call-in support for patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to answer questions about a product and its side effects, enroll patients in a support program, connect patients with healthcare providers in their local area, and connect patients with co-pay assistance resources. Our experiences show that within 6 months of implementing a patient support program patient adherence increases 10% to 15%. Patient adherence to treatment decreases future healthcare costs related to treating complications from earlier non-adherence.

There was an interesting article recently published on Pharmaceutical Executive on-line that looks at the evolving nature of pharmaceutical sales forces as they evolve to a more “customer-centric” approach. If you are interested in learning more about one model for moving in this direction you can access the article here.

I’d like to hear from you. Are you adding programs to support patients as a part of your marketing and sales efforts? If you are, what kinds of initiatives and programs are you planning? Please join the conversation and share your thoughts and challenges. We can all learn from each other. Alternatively, if you have specific needs you’d like to discuss with me you can reach me directly at louis.shapiro@tunstallamac.com.

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Hit the Target to Drive Action and Engagement

Lately, I've been thinking about how to drive customer action and engagement. Given recent advances in technology there are many tools available to connect the life sciences industry with their customers on an individual level. For me, the challenge is in how to maximize the impact of these tools to meet the needs of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers.

I have seen more about behavioral marketing lately, which at its core is focused on figuring out what customers want and providing customers with that in the manner that they want it. Behavioral marketing is beautifully simple and effective, if done correctly. However, the challenging part of behavioral marketing is in answering the questions of what it is that customers want and how to deliver that.

We use behavioral marketing concepts to design programs that meet our clients’ needs and goals. These concepts can easily be implemented to design impactful programs, and below I offer a few specific and practical suggestions on how to do this.

1. Clearly articulate the program’s goals—Clear program goals empower program design and ensure that the program’s results can be measured. If the primary goals of your program are to drive customer engagement and action then behavioral marketing will help you achieve those goals.  

2. Understand the patient journey—Seek to understand how the daily lives of patients are impacted by the disease or condition, identify activities they perform each day, and understand the interactions between patients, healthcare providers, and caregivers. These insights provide valuable glimpses into challenges and unmet needs for patients, healthcare providers, and caregivers.  

3. Offer solutions to overcome patient challenges—Programs designed to help patients overcome challenges are meaningful and valuable. As you design programs think about how the program will be valuable over time. Consider and plan to evolve the program over time to remain relevant and engaging for patients.  

4. Understand how patients like to receive information and support—Seek information on how patients prefer to research information. Do they prefer to do this themselves on-line or through social media channels? Alternatively, do patients prefer to talk with someone about their educational or support needs? Knowing patients’ preferences empowers you to develop appropriate tools and resources that patients utilize, engage, and come to trust. I encourage you to think about integrating options such as robust amounts of information on-line and offering click-to-chat or toll-free telephone access to live representatives. With health and wellness concerns, it’s important not to overlook the power of personal interactions.  

5. Leverage data for insights and decisions—Do not stop gathering and analyzing data. Carefully review data for insights into the needs and preferences of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Rely on data for key insights in designing your program. Once the program is designed and operating continue to seek data for insights into how the program is performing and if updates are needed.

There is an interesting article in the September 2012 issue of PharmaVOICE magazine on behavioral marketing. The article provides insights into developing successful behavioral marketing campaigns, and you can access it here.

Do you have a challenge that might benefit from a program designed with behavioral marketing concepts? If so, please post a comment and share your challenge. Alternatively, please reach out to me to discuss your situation. You can reach me directly at louis.shapiro@tunstallamac.com.

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Budget Planning: Creating Impact with Less Investment

Declining Patient Adherence is a Key Concern

It’s August and many of us are in the midst of budget planning season. We are all aware of the reality facing the life sciences industry—more drugs coming off patent leading to less revenue and increasing costs to develop new treatments. Now more than ever, life science companies are faced with the need to do more with less. For marketers this means maximizing the impact of each program.

My advice to clients is to initially focus on programs that are quick to impact such as patient retention, attracting appropriate patients to consider your product, and maximizing the efficiency of your sales force. Below are a few specific programs you should consider.

Begin with patient compliance and adherence to therapy. It has been reported that compliance to therapy averages between 50% and 65%. There is a tremendous opportunity to increase the number of patients that adhere to treatment. The added benefit is it is much less expensive to keep patients on treatment than it is to attract new patients. To increase patient compliance and adherence consider…

* Patient support programs—these programs focus on patients and help them meet their needs and overcome their challenges. As a pharmaceutical call center we have healthcare-trained representatives available 24/7 and 365 days/year to answer patient questions and provide materials about their condition, treatment, side effects, and even can direct them to reimbursement assistance programs if they need it.

Support DTC marketing efforts and make it easy for patients to act on the awareness built by the advertising campaigns. To increase the effectiveness of your DTC marketing programs consider…

* Adding pharmaceutical call center support to handle inquiries from your advertising campaigns. A pharmaceutical call center we can answer patient questions, and can also provide referrals to physicians and specialists located near the patient’s home or work.

* Including click-to-chat support through websites. Make it easy for patients to ask questions and receive quick replies when they are interacting with one of your websites. Click-to-chat functionality provides real-time interactions, which is a tremendous advantage. As a pharmaceutical call center we can provide healthcare-trained representatives to answer patient questions submitted through websites and can provide links to materials and referrals to physicians and specialists too.

Maximize your field-based sales force so they focus on providing value to healthcare providers. To increase the effectiveness of your field-force consider…

* Partnering with a pharmaceutical call center to drive action with healthcare providers such as booking appointments for sales representatives and enrolling sites in a study or patient support program.

* Shifting administrative tasks such as replenishing samples and overseeing distribution and fulfillment. Our call center representatives reach out to healthcare providers on a regular basis to ensure they have adequate supplies of samples and materials. Additionally, we can oversee database updates and targeting and cleansing activities too.

The challenge to do more with less will continue for the foreseeable future. The formula for success is to create the most value from our investments. There are many opportunities to create value, and I have shared a few of my thoughts on how a pharmaceutical call center partner can help. I’d like to hear from you. What are your challenges? How are you creating more value for your investment?

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