The Future of the Pharma Industry: Experience-Led Innovation

Digital technology breakthroughs, the cloud, enhanced analytics, and the Internet of Things are among the innovations that are altering the healthcare industry. Technology is critical in how a company communicates with its employees and customers. The latest pandemic has hastened the rate of change.

Every technology requires translation in order for users to understand it. This is where user experience design comes in. A customer-centric perspective in corporate tactics, as well as a human-centered design approach, are required to achieve this.

Trends reshaping the industry

We believe disruptive trends indicate where digital technology will drive the most value in the pharmaceutical industry, and the leaders should guide companies as they build a strategy for digital success. Let’s look at some of these trends –

Telemedicine, Digital therapeutics

Getting into telemedicine is a relatively recent trend. With distinct go-to-market strategies aimed at reaching a broader patient base and differentiating themselves through the experiences they deliver. Many people are interested in digital prescription. This can benefit patients by allowing them to resolve less critical consultations online in less time and obtain access to more specialised medical staff.

Digital companion apps that establish prescription reminders, observe and assess patients’ health patterns, collect data, link patients in the community, and so on. This is resulting in the creation of new jobs. From digital marketers to digital officers, we’ve got you covered.

Preventive medicine and Resilient manufacturing

Mobile and connected health services, connected supply chains, and operations automation — RPA are a few examples that are becoming increasingly popular. Big Data and Analytics are increasingly being used to analyse data for predictive, diagnostic, and prescriptive analytics.

Accelerating the time to drug discovery and development through the use of AI/ML is a critical trend. Real-time responsiveness will be achieved by automated processes that will reduce costs, improve reflexes, and increase agility. Advanced analytics and data-driven insights can also be leveraged to boost pipeline and commercial value.

Wearable tech

Extended reality — AR/VR and wearables, location-agonistic interaction among research teams are some of the exciting developments. There is no dearth of data in the pharma industry, it’s all about making the most of it. The real-world data collected from hospitals/ wearables/ test labs will inform businesses to innovate systems to provide innovative health care solutions.

Personalized care is the Next Big thing

Patient centricity is becoming the key for businesses moving towards growth. Patient care is evolving, customization to patient’s needs and personalized distribution, sensors, and digital services for tailored, 24/7 treatment are among a few upcoming trends. Omni-channel conversations with physicians and patients will prompt a fuller engagement benefiting the business. Customer-centric designs will be all the rage now.

De-risking products to deliver the right solution first time

Leading pharma companies are turning to enhance the experience they provide for their customers — both patients and prescribers as a way to differentiate themselves. Knowing personas and continuous change in behavior of patients becomes crucial at this stage. Thorough user research for its deep probing of customers’ needs focus on customer journeys rather than isolated touch-points, and the use of agile iterative processes is essential. UX experts can help businesses with digital product design to create the market-fit products.

Putting customer experience at the heart of the launch strategy will give the business an advantage over competitors. This data then informs the customer journey to help organizations deliver an enhanced experience that cuts across multiple functions and channels. Inflexible legacy IT systems and processes, talent, and knowledge of digital capabilities are additional challenges pharma companies face when undertaking digital initiatives.

Design Interventions

Pharma companies will need to leverage digital innovation to make products and services more personalized, physicians and patients more engaged, decisions and product evidence more data-driven, and business processes more immediate.

Each company will need to consider how its business is set to be affected by the digital changes and then proceed accordingly. A better understanding of what digital success looks like will help companies achieve their goals to deliver improved innovation and commercial models with better care for patients.

The pharma industry has always been farther from its end-users-patients, neglecting the customer experience in their approach. By addressing pain points along patient and prescriber journeys, companies can increase customer satisfaction, and boost revenues. Creating easy, distinctive, and rewarding customer journeys can unlock enormous value. Designing world-class customer experiences have the power to transform entire industries.

Experience-led innovation is a golden opportunity.
Improving human experience should guide every digital transformation effort.

UX design can transform digital products that would help in –

• Remote monitoring and tracking of the end-to-end process from manufacturing to supplying to retailers and increase reach from distributor to pharmacy
• Customization to patient’s needs, personalized distribution, patient-care apps, and digital therapeutics
• Sales enablement app, assets management, performance management — product/ project management/ workforce enablement app, etc.
• Telemedicine, ePharmacy, and connected mobility — driver/ service stations/ Dealers/fleet owners/ service providers, fuel stations etc.

Amplify your brand presence with the best UX design studio that truly aligns your needs with those of your consumers! Get in touch with us at YUJ Designs, today!