The Promise of a Direct-to-Patient Model—Breaking Down What’s Really Needed for Better Patient Access

Today’s guest post comes from Greg Skalicky, President, EVERSANA and Faruk Abdullah, President, Professional Services & Chief Business Officer, EVERSANA

Greg and Faruk walk through the marketplace pressures driving Direct-to-Patient commercialization models. They argue that a technology-enabled infrastructure,  combined with clinical and reimbursement support specialists, can improve  patients' access to new therapies, shorten the time to therapy, and enable better overall clinical outcomes.

Click here to learn more about EVERSANA’s Direct-to-Patient care model.

Read on for Greg and Faruk’s insights.

The Promise of a Direct-to-Patient Model—Breaking Down What’s Really Needed for Better Patient Access
By Greg Skalicky and Faruk Abdullah, EVERSANA

Today’s patient is a more active stakeholder in their healthcare journey. They search the web, participate in communities and seek their own specialists. But when researching their own treatment options and insurance coverage, they often become frustrated with a healthcare system fraught with delays and outdated workflows. While the development of innovative therapies should bring hope, the commercial model is failing—taking brand reputations down with it.

To be successful, the most forward-looking brand teams are looking for innovative go-to-market commercial models while working to anticipate patients’ complex needs so they can provide digital strategies to remove all foreseeable barriers. The goal is to enable and empower patients to find the right providers, quickly access their prescribed therapies and reduce disease progression to improve their quality of life.

A DIRECT-TO-PATIENT MINDSET AND MODEL EMERGES

The life sciences industry has no choice but to find more cost-effective and efficient ways to achieve its desired clinical and commercial outcomes.

By providing a patient-facing, technology-enabled model—as one channel within the overall commercialization strategy—brand teams can support patients in ways that are more empowering and results-oriented. As the industry’s first and only patient-led, fully integrated care model, Direct-to-Patient (DTP) accelerates patients’ access to providers and treatments while offering the latest affordability automation and price transparency. By combining the forces of social media targeting, advertising, specialized field deployment, telehealth, pharmacy billing, benefit verification and dispensing, this commercial model is truly disrupting the care ecosystem.

Beyond technology alone, DTP must be viewed as a commercial model deployed strategically for operational efficiency and cost reduction while improving health outcomes.

For the first time, pharmaceutical brands can have a direct relationship with the patient across all aspects of their healthcare experience. And although the DTP concept is not new, our approach is. From fragmented vendors who own only a piece of the puzzle to the agile, integrated model of today, EVERSANA’s model offers pharma companies the potential to:

• Unlock patient populations and accelerate care
• Provide real-time, comprehensive visibility on patients’ actions and behaviors
• Elevate patient and brand support with a fully-integrated technology platform

Customized by brand, the model can serve as a nonpersonal promotion channel, or it can be integrated with the manufacturer’s existing commercial strategy and model.

A NEW COMMERCIAL MODEL PROVIDES DEMONSTRABLE PAYBACK FOR THE BRAND

By providing a best-in-class technology and operational infrastructure—and connecting it with high-touch clinical and reimbursement support specialists—brand teams can reduce frustration among patients, shorten the time to therapy and enable better overall clinical outcomes.

Meanwhile, they can reduce costs and get more value from their overall commercialization spend over time. Lower-cost virtual solutions eliminate the significant expenses of developing, implementing and maintaining a fully integrated technology and operational model across the entire DTP spectrum.

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In early use cases, brands implementing this DTP model experienced a 30% to 50% reduction in patient acquisition costs.* This allows brands to right-size their staffing requirements. For example, DTP can determine the ideal number of field sales representatives to support healthcare providers, as well as the optimal mix of financial and clinical specialists to engage patients at critical moments.

THE VALUE AND VIRTUES OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE IMPACT ON A DTP MODEL

By embedding a host of value-added capabilities in a single integrated model, the goal of DTP, as defined in a commercialization model, is to accelerate patients’ time to therapy. State-of-the-art patient-facing program elements include:

• Educational and media outreach that is targeted using data-driven insights
• Cross-channel specialists who can support patients and providers
• AI-driven predictive patient-finding models
• Interactive educational chatbots
• A telehealth platform that enables virtual visits with specialists

The hybrid care model addresses many of the limitations associated with the current healthcare paradigm. For instance, in today’s healthcare paradigm, patients trying to make an in-person appointment with a physician or specialist may have to wait 30 to 90 days to be seen, especially those with more complex conditions. Using the technology-enabled DTP model, patients can connect with HCPs virtually in a matter of days.

The ability to provide a comprehensive digital DTP infrastructure delivers on two key objectives that every life sciences brand shares: to provide a more effective, holistic experience for patients, and to reduce overall costs while enabling increased sales, market share and brand reputation for the therapy. For forward-looking brand teams, that’s money well spent.

Discover how EVERSANA’s Direct-to-Patient model is transforming the patient journey, reducing acquisition costs and improving clinical outcomes. Schedule a meeting with our team of experts to learn if DTP is the right fit for your unique patient population and therapy.

* Cost reductions were due to lower labor requirements.

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