The Digital Blockbuster: Patient Engagement, Zero-Party Data, & Pharma’s Future

A former Google health exec recently shared a bold take on pharma’s future: "The next blockbuster drug is patient engagement." At first glance, this does not make much sense: how can anything other than a medication be a blockbuster drug? But on a second pass, the paradigm shift starts becoming clearer. 

He envisions a future where pharma focuses on more than just new molecules, trials, ANDAs, and medical reps. Instead, he predicts that the next generation of pharma leaders will put patients at the center of everything they do.

Patient engagement refers to the active involvement of patients in their healthcare journey. It encompasses everything from patients' understanding of their conditions to their commitment to treatment plans.

So why should patient engagement matter so much to pharma companies?

Most importantly, engagement improves patient outcomes, primarily by boosting adherence leading directly to more prescriptions for pharma. Studies have shown that low medication adherence leads to roughly 50% of treatment failures and 25% of hospitalizations in the US each year [1]. However, more engaged patients tend to maintain treatments for longer, so pharma has a strong incentive to encourage patients to engage in their care [2]. 

Fortunately, rising patient consumerization makes engaging patients easier, as patients increasingly want to take control over their own care [3]. They want to feel empowered to make informed decisions for themselves by partnering with their providers in shared-decision making [4]. While provider organizations play the greatest role (and face the greatest challenges) here, pharma can play a powerful role too by empowering patients with relevant and easily understandable information.

Lastly, a strong relationship with engaged patients enables pharma companies to gather crucial qualitative data. In an era where data is king, this cannot be underestimated. A deep understanding of patients' needs can guide the development of drugs that genuinely improve patients' lives. Patients can – and should – help shape every stage of pharmaceutical development, so strong relationships with ultra-engaged patient advocates are essential for qualitative insights. 

While it took time, pharma has embraced the role of patient engagement for qualitative insights, but quantitative data is the untapped next frontier. Particularly as traditional data sources like claims and EHRs become commoditized, their value in providing unique competitive insights is diminishing. Differentiated data, on the other hand, can still provide a strong competitive edge.

This is where zero party data comes in. Zero party data is information that customers (in this case, patients) share directly and voluntarily with a company. Generating zero party data usually requires a quid pro quo – otherwise, why would patients volunteer their time, data, and privacy?

In Ubie’s case, the quid pro quo is simple: Users want help understanding their symptoms, so Ubie helps them by providing personalized and understandable information on possible causes. In return, Ubie earns the right to ask questions and show relevant pharmaceutical messaging.

This is how Ubie plays a critical role in helping pharma companies build these relationships. Patients tend to approach pharma companies cautiously, but Ubie's balanced educational content paired with a clean UX bridges this gap with personalized, trustworthy guidance. In return for this valuable service, patients share their data, both on the AI Symptom Checker and in follow-up assessments, knowing that Ubie never shares user-level data. For pharma, this relationship offers a gold mine of quantitative symptomology insights as never seen before.

Put another way: patient engagement is no longer a lofty ideal or a nice-to-have, but rather a strategic imperative that will shape the next generation of pharma companies – while helping patients live happier and healthier lives. With partners like Ubie, pharma companies can leverage patient engagement to develop better products, improve health outcomes, and gain a competitive edge. So, here's an invitation to all pharma companies: let's build the next blockbuster drug together - a drug that truly engages patients and meets their needs.

References

[1] Kim, J., et al. (2018, January 19). Medication Adherence: The Elephant in the Room. U.S. Pharmacist. Retrieved from https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/medication-adherence-the-elephant-in-the-room
[2] Bussell, J. K., Cha, E., Grant, Y. E., Schwartz, D. D., & Young, L. A. (2017). Ways Health Care Providers Can Promote Better Medication Adherence. Clinical Diabetes, 35(3), 171-177. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5510928/
[3] Fernandez, H. M. (2022, January 25). Three Forces Driving The Consumerization Of Healthcare. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/01/25/three-forces-driving-the-consumerization-of-healthcare/?sh=62a838ffd06e
[4] The SHARE Approach—A Model for Shared Decisionmaking: Fact Sheet. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Retrieved from https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/professional-training/shared-decision/tools/factsheet.html