Patient pain points as launchpads for patient-centric solutions
It goes without saying, due to current events, the global and local healthcare system has been put under the magnifying lens and as a result the inefficiencies and inequities of these long-standing systems have been brought to light. What I anticipate from this time is change and so I am always excited to hear how ambitious individuals, teams and organisations that are challenging the current ways of working and re-designing our future healthcare systems.
One of which is Nadeem Sarwar, CEO and founder of Phlo — a recently launched online pharmacy based in the UK. It is a digital and on-demand pharmacy, where users can get their prescriptions delivered straight to their door. It prides itself in “slick and user-friendly technology”, achieving a stress-free and safe way (particularly in these times) for patients to get their much-needed prescriptions — But this is not all. Phlo also owns the whole distribution process; from pharmacy to delivery vans, which makes their business model the more intriguing. It is the first of its kind in the UK and the team believes that this will enable for faster and more reliable access for patients.
However, where the idea for Phlo came from, intrigued me the most. In his interview with Digital Health Podcast, Nadeem Sarwar explains that his journey started with identifying the following patient pain point: Patients are willing to adapt to digital, but they were not comfortable with having their medicine shipped to them via post. What Nadeem and team found, is that patients wanted the reassurance of a man in the van to personally deliver it to their door. This patient pain point became the springboard for a new solution, in this case Phlo was born.
Taking a similar approach at Bloom, we support our healthcare clients to identify patient pain points within the patient experience, which often gets overlooked by the ecosystem. Often the patient experience is considered from a solely medical lens, but in our work, we seek to unpack the patient experience as a whole and their interactions with the whole ecosystem. Like Nadeem and his team, we not only identify and map, but use these pain points as launchpads for ideas and ultimately action, delivering value-adding services with the user in mind.
A solution, like Phlo, is a great example of the power of this approach. As they launch and grow around the UK, I am fascinated to follow Phlo’s progress, particularly with tech giants like Amazon’s Pill Pack (currently in pilot) entering the playing field fast and furiously. I commend them for being the first in the UK to enter this area and for their ambition to re-design their part in the healthcare system, with patient centricity in focus.
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