Patient Centricity, the most talked, least understood and poorly implemented strategy in our domain, if holistically approached and sincerely implemented, can truly transform and lead us towards a culture of ‘Healthcare is a Responsibility’. If every person in the life sciences organization at every level, is motivated, trained and equipped to understand, what is of value to the Patient and then strive towards co-creating, creating or contributing, we can travel a huge distance. Is this ‘Value’ paradigm implementable? Well, some are already doing it...
Going digital is not about Social media or Omni channels. Is it about asking simple questions.
Best Buy is one of the largest electronic good retailers in USA. Few years ago Best Buy was threatened by what is now known as Showrooming effect. Basically customers would walk into its showrooms get benefitted by the advice of the salesperson, decide on the model and then go online to buy the product on Amazon because of low prices. Despite having one the best footfalls in the decade Best Buy recorded reduced profits. Although it did try to Price match Amazon they knew it was not a long-term solution because of its cost structure (Physical showrooms, salespeople etc). They couldn’t block the customers from checking price of product on Amazon. Future looked uncertain, everyone thought game over for Best Buy which was the case with many other retailing giants. No amount of investing new technology would have helped Best Buy .
Best Buy relearned how to make profits. Best Buy proposed to the manufacturers that they compensate Best Buy for exclusive showcasing of manufacturers new products. Manufacturers also could launch specific brand kiosks within Best Buy showroom for a fee. This new model which had zero investment for Best Buy dramatically increased its profitability.
Is this a ground breaking innovation? Of course NO. This has already been practiced in other industries but for the first time tried in Electronic good Retail. Best Buy realized apart from consumers it created lot of value for manufacturers therefore it captured the value lost from consumers from manufacturers.
What is my business? What is my business ecosystem? How do I currently make money? How changing one thing impacts my ecosystem? What are the options available?
In many situations, technology upgradation is often construed as digital transformation. In a recently conducted survey by Altimeter, 88% of companies said that they were undergoing ‘digital transformation’ but only 25% said that they did so with the purpose beyond investing in new technology. The real definition of digital transformation is the realignment of, or new investment in technology, business models, and processes to create value for customers in a dynamic digital economy.
In a World Economic Forum talk, Professor Sumantra Ghosal - the founding Dean of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad - talked about the "Smell of the Workplace" as a metaphor to describe the need for creating a new context that enables employees to change their mindset from that of Constraint, Compliance, Control and Contract to that of Stretch, Discipline, Trust and Support.
For commercial organisations, profits are important. But it cannot be 'at any cost' and certainly not at the cost of human life. As healthcare providers helping to mitigate the pain and misery of millions of human beings, we need to remember that charity begins at home.
Lower prices, discounts, convenience of ordering and home delivery are some of the benefits for consumers with e-pharmacies. The anonymity of the internet encourages patients to seek information about medicines that they would otherwise avoid. Mental health is one area where the consumers wish to maintain confidentiality and opt for online consultation and medication.
In the lockdown, while I was on regular OPD and ICU rounds at a COVID hospital, I started noticing some mild symptoms of the Coronavirus infection. Being in the medical field and considering the severity of the pandemic situation then, I was very careful and cautious, and observed the symptoms closely. The symptoms persisted and I had to self-quarantine until the medical test reports came. It was important for me to isolate myself from the rest of the medical team and prevent the spread of the virus. Finally, the report came: I was COVID positive!
Stunned and slightly devastated; I broke the news to my family who could not believe it either. As a doctor, I could only treat, comfort and empathize with the COVID patients undergoing treatment; completely isolated from their loved ones. But now, I could actually feel the uncertainty of the situation. I was hospitalized and continued to experience body-ache during the admission. It was a stressful situation where I felt anxious and stressed about everything.
My CT scan reports showed mild lung infection on the day of admission but as the cytokines storm developed, my lungs were 76 % damaged in 3-5 days and I was short of breath and my oxygen level deteriorated to less than 80. I was shifted to an ICU with high-flow oxygen and was on a BiPap machine which I had purchased a few weeks ago for the hospital and never imagined that I would be using myself one day.
If a business fails, it was an idea that didn’t work. If treatment fails – it must be a botch up. A broken gadget may be beyond repair, but not a patient in a doctor’s hands. From such ungraded expectations stems the potential for things to take an ugly turn.
An unwanted profession dealing with an unwanted condition, namely Ill health:
If possible, we would wish away death and diseases, hospitals and doctors. A hospital is not a holiday resort, but it too costs money. And the scenario of an adverse outcome like death simply becomes unacceptable.
With the Second Wave hitting India, customers (patients and physicians) will continue to socially distance themselves in the foreseeable future. Pharma must use the field force for reach and relationship and digital for frequency and personalised content for better customer experience.
The pandemic has made doctors adopt Telehealth in a substantial way to shore up their revenues and this will continue to be one of their channels to engage patients. Telehealth along with EMR/EHR, digital therapeutics and wearables is enabling doctors to better care for their patients. There are many ways in which pharma can support the digital evolution of doctors.
Lower prices, discounts, convenience of ordering and home delivery are some of the benefits for consumers with e-pharmacies. The anonymity of the internet encourages patients to seek information about medicines that they would otherwise avoid. Mental health is one area where the consumers wish to maintain confidentiality and opt for online consultation and medication.
How long before digital Unicorns like Ola, Swiggy, Pharmeasy, and many others realize the humongous opportunity of delivering health care at the doorstep?
Imagine an app like Ola, where instead of entering where you want to go, you enter the nature of your medical need/emergency and search and find a range of hospitals/doctors/paramedics who can act as the first responders and reach your home in an ambulance or a motorbike with an HCP as a pillion rider with all necessary equipment from the thermometer to defibrillator depending on the nature of the medical care needed and triage and route you/your loved ones to the nearest hospital with an indicative cost of treatment in partnership with health insurance companies?