Surveys have repeatedly shown that both patients and health care professionals (HCPs) are frustrated with the gaps in the oncology patient journey and patient treatment. They both believe that pharmaceutical companies should do more to resolve pain points. They should provide better support and be more involved as partners in cancer care rather than just sellers in both products and services.
For forward-thinking oncology companies, this represents a unique opportunity. A recent study found that oncology companies can add $50 to $75 million in incremental sales for every $1 billion in current sales. This profit can be achieved simply by providing a good customer experience (CX) (reference) This information illustrates how crucial CX has become for the oncology industry, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Today, to take the oncology customer experience to the next level, digital technology is the way to achieve it. Oncologists are decreasing in-person visits, with physician preference shifting toward digital and less time-consuming engagement (especially post-COVID). To overcome this obstacle and succeed, you’ll need a unified CRM platform like Omnipresence with the technological capabilities to make digital engagement work across an entire organization. One that offers CRM tools that include modules that support clinical trials, marketing campaigns, social media, treatment plans, and sales team. A CRM solution platform that can provide customer service that improves not only customers’ expectations but also health outcomes.
In this whitepaper, we’ve put together 6 ways you can leverage a modern customer experience platform like Omnipresence, the CRM system that can help improve your oncology customer experience management successfully.
HOW TO IMPROVE THE HCP JOURNEY IN ONCOLOGY
Oncology is advancing faster than almost any other therapeutic area towards personalized medicine, promising hope for patients while also creating new challenges for oncologists (ONCs) and healthcare professionals (HCPs). Despite significant investment by the pharma industry, both physicians and patients believe that pharmaceutical companies’ tools, resources, and services provided are not enough.
The need for transformation is further amplified by recent changes, such as the rise of digital engagement and remote patient care. These advancements offer a golden opportunity for forward-thinking oncology providers. A recent study found that oncology companies can invest $50 to $75 million in incremental sales for every $1 billion in current sales simply by enhancing customer experience (CX).1
To meet physician expectations and offer the next-level CX in oncology today, companies need to be digitalized across all customer touchpoints. That’s why choosing the right platform that removes internal barriers and supports a genuinely digital-first engagement model which goes beyond rep-triggered emails and next-best-action recommendations is crucial.
You need a CX-focused platform with capabilities to make digital engagement work. One that allows Commercial, Medical, and Marketing teams to collaborate seamlessly for better customer service. That leverages the power of advanced analytics and machine learning (ML) models to generate more accurate predictions for personalization at scale.
In this whitepaper, we’ve detailed six areas where you can leverage a modern CX platform that offers these advanced capabilities, like Omnipresence, to make that shift and elevate your oncology CX successfully.
1. SMOOTH MEDICAL INFORMATION ACCESS TO SUPPORT HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
Both primary care physicians (PCPs) and ONCs value easier-to-access medical information and they need it now more than ever. A recent study measuring the oncology CX of top pharmaceutical companies found that better access to information and reps went hand in hand with higher net promoter scores (NPS).2
Access Distribution by NPS Segment
For customers that had differential access across companies
Understandably, cancer patients have many questions throughout their treatment, and most often than not, the burden falls on the PCPs and ONCs to answer these questions.
Accordingly, a recent Accenture study found that 55% of ONCs who started their patients on newly launched products cited “greater access to information for new products” as the reason for the change.3 And with face-to-face access declining, you now need to provide this information digitally or risk being overlooked by prescribers. Another factor to consider is the way the information is delivered. If you rely solely on a single tactic, like rep-triggered emails, or disregard your physician’s topic preferences and you risk your emails being labeled as “spam”.
2. FACILITATE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 2 PATIENTS AND THEIR HCPS
Communication barriers between physicians and patients have long been an issue in oncology. Both physicians and patients feel frustrated by the inconsistency or lack of communication as patients move through the system.4
A great example of a pharma company helping bridge the communication gap between physicians and patients is the HERconnection program for patients receiving Perjata®. The company provides patients with information about HER2 breast cancers; a welcome kit with a treatment planner; a patient-support line with phone, email, mobile, and online support; and help with reimbursement issues. Offering this type of patient support removes the onus of informing patients to stay away from physicians and simplifies communication.
Your teams can offer the same level of support with Omnipresence allowing them to :
3. IMPROVE HEALTH LITERACY
4. INFORMATION AND EDUCATION ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Anyone in oncology knows that financial assistance for cancer patients is critical. More than half of the US cancer survivors say they worry about paying health bills, have high medical costs, or have delayed medical care due to costs. 33% of cancer survivors say that they have more than one of these problems.5 Although there are financial assistance programs available, only 1 in 5 patients is aware of them.6
Physicians share the same view; in a recent Accenture survey, 63% of oncologists said that affordability programs for patients are particularly helpful.3 That’s why educating patients by making information about these services readily available can help you significantly improve your CX.
With Omnipresence, you can do more than simply share that information when requested you can:
5. ESTABLISH A PARTNERSHIP WITH HCPS THROUGH PERSONALIZATION
In the days when face-to-face interactions were the norm, personalizing physician interactions was not complicated. Reps developed a deep relationship with physicians, which allowed them to offer a more “human” approach.
But in a recent survey, 43% of HCPs and 46% of oncologists said that they are currently restricting who for professional reasons can enter their offices, A.K.A no pharmaceutical reps.3 This means that pharma companies have no choice but to personalize their digital CXs, especially in oncology.
Like all customers, physicians have been spoiled by companies like Netflix and Amazon that offer them a tailor-made experience every time they’re online. Now they expect this level of personalization in the social media ads you serve, the emails you send, and every other interaction they have with your brand.
That’s why you’ll need advanced capabilities like predictive algorithms, Machine Learning (ML) models, and artificial intelligence-powered (AI-powered) insights to predict what your customers are looking for and then adapt to that in the blink of an eye.
This is where Omnipresence truly shines. The platform is built with the unification, scalability, and availability needed to implement AI solutions.
6. EMPOWER A 6 MULTI-MODAL TEAM APPROACH
In a recent Reuters survey, 39% of industry professionals agreed that increased collaboration between different departments improves CX offered by pharmaceutical companies.7
This is especially true in oncology where 6 to 10 roles are involved in shaping CX, including clinical nurse educators (CNEs), field reimbursement managers (FRMs), key account managers (KAMs ), medical science liaisons (MSLs), and others.
While internal collaboration is crucial, achieving it requires the right technology. When asked about the challenges of collaboration, industry professionals cited obstructive internal structure as 1 of the top 3 hurdles to overcome.7 This disconnection between departments often stems from legacy systems and siloed data servers.
Omnipresence was built with interoperability in mind and offers the essential tools that allow a coordinated and united approach for customer service in oncology:
7. COLLECT MORE DATA AND 7 MAP OUT THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
CX in pharma generally, and in oncology specifically, is far from perfect. NPS scores for oncology manufacturers are drastically low with only 20% having a positive NPS.2
The key to offering better CXs is rich data. Only by leveraging rich data can pharmaceutical companies effectively apply their deep expertise to better connect clinicians, patients, and other stakeholders. In fact, gathering the deeper insights needed to map out the intricate oncology physician journey can only be done with the help of advanced analytics and trained algorithms. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) make it possible to bridge the divide between internal teams and apply the company’s collective knowledge for better CX outcomes.
Exeevo Omnipresence offers the capabilities needed to consolidate data from different channels and the infrastructure that can generate advanced insights from this data in real-time. It allows your teams to go beyond information typically generated by customer relationship management (CRMs). It surfaces advanced insights such as topic preferences, interaction with online medical content, recent searches in physician portals, and the latest medical inquiries.
References
- Negative provider experiences with oncology manufacturers affect value, report finds. Cision PR. June 29, 2018. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/negative-provider-experiences-with-oncology-manufacturers-affect-valuereport-finds-300239591.html. Accessed June 23, 2021.
- Roffman, J. The oncology customer experience ranks as subpar–Here are 4 ways to fix It. PM360. September 22, 2017. https://www.pm360online.com/the-oncology-customer-experience-ranks-as-subpar-heres-4-ways-to-fix-it/. Accessed June 23, 2021.
- COVID-19: Impact on HCPs Behavior. Accenture. August 04, 2020. https://www.accenture.com/ca-en/insights/life-sciences/coronavirus-changing-pharma-hcp-engagement. Accessed June 23, 2021.
- Myshko, Denise. “Cancer: Understanding the patient journey.” PharmaVOICE. March 2015. https://www.pharmavoice.com/article/patient-journey/. Accessed June 23, 2021
- McDowell, Sandy. “Financial problems can affect cancer survivors for years.” American Cancer Society. Accessed June 23, 2021. https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/financial-problems-can-affect-cancer-survivors-for-years.html. December 05, 2019
- “Better Together – Patient Services Survey 2019.” Accenture. August 07, 2019. https://www.accenture.com/ca-en/insights/life-sciences/better-together-patient-services-survey. Accessed June 23, Accessed June 23, 2021.
- “Collaborating to Win in the Digital Era”. Reuters Events. June 2021. https://www.exeevo.com/resources/publications/white-papers/reuters-pharma-medical-commercial-collaborating-to-win-in-the-digital-era/