Consumer approval of the pharma industry went from 62% to 53% in 2021, only increasing when COVID-19 vaccines were made available to the public.¹ Factors such as affordability of care and brand reputation have helped to increase consumer distrust.² It’s not always clear why, but for a variety of reasons, whether that’s media impact or personal experience, patients seem to have some predisposed opinions of the pharma industry as a whole. Yet, where do these perceptions stem from? 

Traditionally, patient engagement within the life sciences field has utilized a clinical lens rather than a holistic one, which at times may not always consider the many social, financial, and environmental circumstances of patients.³ Are patients feeling unheard or unseen by the industry – which is perhaps lending to a general hesitancy? 

The definition of holistic patient engagement varies, but the intent of it remains the same—putting the patient and their medical experiences first so better health outcomes can be achieved.⁴ This approach is something that many life sciences companies are already onto, but it is far from widespread. By putting the needs of patients first, the industry as a whole could gain many benefits, including renewed, sustainable consumer trust and increased customer satisfaction.⁵ 

Non-clinical, holistic patient engagement can complement and expand on what clinical patient engagement has provided successfully for so long. While a clinical approach focuses on how patients interact with their prescriptions, holistic patient engagement is grounded in understanding the circumstances of individual life and investigating lifestyle behaviors, and social determinants, all of which affect each patient’s likelihood of adherence to their medication regimen.⁶ Providing a mechanism for patients to feel heard, seen, and understood by pharmaceutical companies may be an early key in regaining their trust. 

In return, pharma companies can also see a strong return on investment from a more close-knit patient experience through improved quality of research, increased digital brand awareness, boosted customer loyalty, and expanded product sales.^7,8 For example, Astellas saw the need to incorporate patient involvement into many of their clinical and drug development processes to understand deeper the real-life effects of their products on their patient community.⁹ Through their patient-focused medication development and delivery approach (PFMD), Astellas has captured the effectiveness of adding patient voices to the drug development process and how their product line might now affect patients’ entire well-being.¹⁰ For one of their many patient communities, Astellas collaborated with Pack Health to assess the effectiveness of using digital health coaching to address the needs and health outcomes of 500 patients with prostate cancer diagnoses.¹¹ Collaborative, rather than transactional, relationships between patients and the pharma industry will help illustrate what’s possible for rebuilding consumer trust in this industry.  

A holistic patient engagement approach will look different for each company. But the good news is, no matter what this approach looks like, holistic patient engagement will enable patients to feel like they can depend on your company for great care because there is an avenue for them to be heard.¹² Shifting from a clinical to a holistic engagement approach will allow for patients, providers, and this industry to win.