Pharma’s patient-focused missions more important than ever

The overarching insight from the survey is that participants think delivering on pharma’s patient-centered missions is important. The survey asked all participants how important it was that pharma, biotech and medical device companies delivered on their patient-focused missions/visions. Nine in ten (91%) participants ranked the importance an 8 or more out of 10. However, participants were also asked to rate their confidence in their companies’ ability to deliver on those mission/visions and only three in ten (30%) selected 8 or more out of 10.

The survey was created to help biopharma and medical device companies as they transform their businesses from product centered to patient centered. A total of 1,282 participants chose to take part in the survey consisting of employees from biopharmaceutical and medical device companies(n=675), associated supplier companies (n=358), healthcare professionals (n=106) self-reported patients (n=70) and patient groups (n=73) completed the survey online. 113 countries were represented in the sample.

“It is critical that we continue to move patient centricity from words to actions and outcomes. The Patient-Centric Benchmarks Survey answers many questions we have and gives us important insights on our progress,” says Dr. Lode Dewulf, Chief Patient Officer at Servier and one of the two co-leads of this year’s survey.

The survey was conceived in 2016 by eyeforpharma Chairman, Paul Simms, and Excellerate’s Managing Director, Jill Donahue. It became the first initiative of what later evolved into The Aurora Project. The Aurora Project is a non-profit, volunteer group of over 200 leaders from around the world, all of whom are passionate about illuminating our path to patient centricity. “Together we can move patient-centricity forward faster than any of us could alone,” says Jill Donahue.

The need to serve patients more effectively hit close to home this past year as survey co-lead, Jack Whelan, passed away before the survey was completed. “We scheduled the survey planning meetings around Jack’s cancer treatments,” said John Elliott, survey project manager. “Jack’s passion as a patient advocate inspired all of those he touched. We have dedicated the 2^nd Annual Survey to his memory.”

Results of the survey were presented at the 2018 eyeforpharma conference in Barcelona last week and will be presented at the eyeforpharma conference in Philadelphia on April 11th, 2018. For those wishing to learn more about the results and/or be involved in the survey next year, please contact the survey project manager, John Elliott.

Highlights of The Aurora Project’s 2^nd Annual Patient-Centric Benchmark Survey

The sample consisted of employees from biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, associated supplier companies, self-reported patients and patient groups and was carried out between 14^th July and 21^st November 2017.

Themes that emerged from the data include:

• How pharma sees itself, how patients see pharma. The survey asked participants the degree to which pharma is patient-centered using a set of 10 metrics created by patients. Across those 10 metrics, patients in the survey consistently rated pharma companies lower than participants who were employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry did. For example, while 72% of employees agreed with the statement “My company communicates with care and compassion, transparent and unbiased information on diseases, treatment options, and available resources”, only 32% of patients agreed with this statement regarding the pharma, biotech or medical device company that they interact with the most. Insert link to full data here)
• Patient centricity goes hand in hand with engagement and pride. For those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry, the following was observed:
  • a.    Seventy-six percent (76%) are confident that their company is making the world a better place.
  • b.    Eighty-one percent (81%) are proud to tell people outside the pharma industry that they work in pharma, biotech/medical device company.
  • c.    Sixty-nine percent (69%) agree that “My customers would say that I help improve patient care.”
• Trust in Pharma. The survey revealed that 67% of those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry agree that patients’ trust would “slightly increase” or “significantly increase” if they secretly observed a typical day in their department. In a separate survey question, 36% of patients in the survey say that they have “quite a bit” or “a lot” of trust in the pharmaceutical industry overall.
• The link between patients’ needs and business outcomes. Seventy-three percent (73%) of patients in the survey agree that focussing on patients’ needs leads to better business outcomes. Eighty-five percent (85%) of those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry in the survey agree focussing on patients’ needs leads to better business outcomes. Ninety percent (90%) of those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry agree that long-term focus is key to success with patient-centric efforts. This need for a long-term scope is sometimes at odds with business realities, with fifty-three (53%) of those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry in the survey saying their companies are mostly concerned about results this quarter (9%) or this year (44%).
• Training is the missing ingredient to patient-centric execution. When asked about training or preparing people to behave in patient-focussed ways over half (53%) of those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry in the survey said: “We are actively looking for what and how to teach this to our people.” Only 22% said: “We know exactly what and how to teach this to our people.” Another 16% said: “We don't know what or how to teach this to our people.”

Survey Details

The Aurora Project is a volunteer group designed to bring the pharmaceutical industry together to focus on patient centricity within the industry. The 2nd Annual Aurora Project Patient-focused Benchmark Survey was designed collaboratively by a working group of Aurora Project members and Ipsos Healthcare. It was conducted by Ipsos Healthcare between 14^th July and 21^st November 2017. 

The survey was available in English but was global in reach. Participants for the online survey were recruited across several different platforms; through the eyeforpharma database, social media and through the networks of Aurora Project members. Potential participants were invited to complete the survey through an internet link which they were then able to forward on to others.

The 2^nd Annual Aurora Project Patient-Centric Benchmark Survey partners

eyeforpharma:
eyeforpharma’s mission is to make pharma more open and valued.
eyeforpharma provides a hub for senior-level pharma executives, patient advocacy groups and other health experts to exchange ideas and stay up-to-date with shifting trends and practices. We provide commentary, events, reports, and other valuable expert-driven content. We want to facilitate positive change through discussion and debate, enable dialogue and drive the positive benefits that pharmaceuticals can offer.  

Excellerate:
At Excellerate, we believe that patient centricity and profitability are not incompatible but rather inseparable.

We teach behavioural science to help pharma people become patient-focused engagement experts and contribute to improving patient outcomes (which by the way is the best way to improve business outcomes!)

Leaders who believe that patient centricity is not only the right thing to do, but can be the most profitable, come to Excellerate to figure out how. We inspire, enable and train pharma teams to become an integral, influential part of the healthcare pit crew.

Ipsos:
At Ipsos we are passionately curious about people, markets, brands and society.
We make our changing world easier and faster to navigate and inspire clients to make smarter decisions.
We deliver with security, simplicity, speed and substance.
We are Game Changers.

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