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Friday, September 27, 2024

The Pivotal Role of Technology in Delivering Effective Patient Services

Today’s guest post comes from George Moore, Chief Information Technology Officer at CareMetx.

As George explains using novel survey data, manufacturers view new technologies  as crucial for patient services. He then explains how digital technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) can be used to improve patient adherence and increase hub efficiencies.

To learn more, download CareMetx’s new 2024 Patient Services ReportRevealing Manufacturer Priorities: Patients Naturally Take Center Stage.

Read on for George’s insights.

The Pivotal Role of Technology in Delivering Effective Patient Services
By George Moore, Chief Information Technology Officer, CareMetx

As specialty therapeutics become more challenging to access and more complex to administer and adhere to, patients require more targeted support throughout their care journey. In turn, this demands comprehensive, customized patient services programs that support patients every step of the way. One of the most vital elements of an effective patient services program is the right technology foundation.

The 2024 Patient Services Report reveals that pharmaceutical manufacturers increasingly expect their hub partners to provide innovative technologies which improve the patient experience end to end. This annual report shares data-driven insights based on an industry survey on the evolution of patient services and the trends impacting hub selection and patient support programs.

TECHNOLOGY RANKS HIGH IN HUB SELECTION AND PROGRAM DELIVERY

While choosing a high-performing hub requires a holistic view that considers a myriad of factors, technology is at the heart of any hub operation. It’s no surprise that this criterion ranked high on the list of manufacturers’ hub selection considerations in the 2024 Patient Services Survey, alongside factors such as therapeutic area knowledge, service flexibility, and a deep understanding of the patient journey.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers believe technology will play a central role in their ability to deliver effective patient services in the near term. Nearly 3 out of 4 survey respondents reported that digital adoption and digital health delivery advancements will have a high or medium impact on their business over an 18-month horizon. A similar number point to the rise in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as equally influential in their patient services delivery capabilities.

In choosing a hub partner they can trust to support a newly launching brand or a mature drug, manufacturers diligently evaluate the provider’s technology from various perspectives. While the functionality of the hub platform is vital, it’s just as critical to assess the partner’s approach to integrating with the many third-party applications required to support the patient journey seamlessly. 

For instance, services such as program enrollment, benefit verification, and prior authorization require tight integration with multiple disparate systems. Likewise, embedding into the provider’s native workflow by integrating with widely used electronic medical records (EMR) or patient management systems is essential to encouraging provider utilization of hub services that improve their patients’ care journey. An embedded technology approach supports critical objectives such as increasing speed to therapy, improving health outcomes, and enhancing efficiency for the provider’s staff.

DIGITAL AND AI FUEL NEW HUB DEMANDS

As the 2024 Patient Services Survey findings underscore, manufacturers expect their hub providers and patient services partners to leverage the latest technologies to improve drug initiation, provide the tools and information providers need to support patients across the care journey, and enhance the patient experience. The healthcare industry continues to adopt digital technology across many functions, and this trend shines a spotlight on how hubs are leveraging digital innovations to deliver personalized patient services programs that support the entire care journey.

The evidence is abundant across the patient services landscape, delivering benefits such as these:

Better Patient Adherence:

According to the 2024 Patient Services Report, the adherence rate is an important metric when manufacturers evaluate hub vendors, scoring a 4.1 out of 5 on importance. A best-in-class patient services program improves adherence through technologies such as a single patient experience platform that administers the program across the patient journey and a data-driven approach to delivering personalized support based on each patient’s adherence risk factors.

Higher Quality and More Efficient Experience:

As providers and patients become more accustomed to digital technology, branded portals and other self-service vehicles are replacing paper-based processes for enrolling patients into a drug program and facilitating all the steps to initiating therapy. Self-service options are more likely to be used as they simplify the work while improving data accuracy and speeding time to therapy.

AI and ML are proving just as transformative for patient services, driving the evolution of hub offerings and impacting manufacturer expectations.

For example, machine learning is improving the speed and accuracy of benefit verification year-round and during the critical, high-volume reverification season, improving time to therapy. Over time large language models could impact patient services in many ways—improving the readability of complex benefits material to mitigate health literacy barriers, or training AI-powered chatbots to handle routine call center tasks, so skilled patient services teams can focus on work that requires their expertise.

Over time, AI and ML will also support a more personalized patient journey and a more satisfactory experience. For instance, a digital hub can use this intelligence to identify patients who have drug affordability challenges and deliver targeted communication about financial assistance programs options.

The 2024 Patient Services Report provides more insights on how technology is driving patient services improvements, along with a comprehensive look at the patient services landscape. Download the full report for details.


The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of HMP Omnimedia, LLC, Drug Channels Institute, its parent company, or any of its employees. To find out how you can publish a guest post on Drug Channels, please contact Paula Fein (paula@DrugChannels.net).

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