A Mission to Change the Game

Session: The Aurora Project: Exclusive results from the Patient-Centric Benchmarks Survey

Presenters:

• Jill Donahue, Co-founder Aurora Project, author EngageRx: The 3 Keys to Patient-focused Growth, Associate Editor at HS&M Magazine (watch our interview with Jill)
• Victoria Guyatt, Head of Patient Ethnography, Healthcare, IPSOS Healthcare

The Aurora Project, co-created in 2016 by Jill Donahue, author of EngageRx, and Paul Simms, Chairman of eyeforpharma, evolved from a passion to advance health outcomes and improve pharma’s reputation. This volunteer, non-profit group unites the industry’s focus on and path toward patient centricity.

As Donahue stated from the start, during eyeforpharma 2016, “We have the privilege of being able to see many different companies. We saw that there are all these little wheels [patient-focused initiatives] being created around the world; and if we can get together, we can create bigger wheels and move faster in our efforts towards patient centricity.”

As she reviews the 2^nd annual Aurora Project: 2017 Patient-Centric Benchmarks Survey, Donahue remains optimistic. “Together we can move patient centricity forward faster than any of us could alone.”

During eyeforpharma 2018, Donahue and Victoria Guyatt, Head of Patient Ethnography, Healthcare, IPSOS Healthcare, shared several of the project’s latest forward-moving results as the industry continues to embrace patient centricity.

The session showcased:

• Like-minded executives striving to grow their business in patient-focused ways.
• Insights into additional projects that The Aurora Project is undertaking, including The Practical Guide and ShareSpire.
• A prevailing emphasis that pharma’s patient-focused missions are more important than ever.

Overarching Insight from the 2^nd Annual Aurora Project: 2017 Patient-Centric Benchmarks Survey.

The survey drove home the fact that participants believe delivering on pharma’s patient-centered missions is important. The survey, which included more than 200 leaders from around the world, asked all participants how important it was that pharma, biotech, and medical device companies deliver on their patient-focused missions/visions. Nine in ten (91 percent) of the participants ranked the importance an 8 or more out of 10. However, when asked to rate their confidence in their companies’ ability to deliver on those mission/visions, only three in ten (30 percent) selected 8 or more out of 10.

Several More Illuminating Insights

• How pharma sees itself, how patients see pharma

Using a set of 10 metrics, the survey asked participants the degree to which pharma is patient-centered. Across those 10 metrics, patients surveyed consistently rated pharma companies lower than participants who were employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry.

• Patient centricity goes hand-in-hand with engagement and pride

For those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry, the following was observed:

1. Seventy-six percent (76 percent) are confident that their company is making the world a better place.
2.  Eighty-one percent (81 percent) are proud to tell people outside the pharma industry that they work in pharma, biotech/medical device company.
3.  Sixty-nine percent (69 percent) agree that “My customers would say that I help improve patient care.”

• Trust in Pharma 

The survey revealed that 67 percent of those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry agree that patients’ trust would “slightly increase” or “significantly increase” if they secretly observed a typical day in their department. In a separate survey question, 36 percent of surveyed patients say that they have “quite a bit” or “a lot” of trust in the pharmaceutical industry overall.

• The link between patients’ needs and business outcomes 

Seventy-three percent (73 percent) of surveyed patients agree that focusing on patients’ needs leads to better business outcomes. However, this need for a long-term scope is sometimes at odds with business realities, with fifty-three percent (53 percent) of those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry in the survey saying their companies are mostly concerned about results this quarter (9 percent) or this year (44 percent).

• Training is the missing ingredient to patient-centric execution

When asked about training or preparing people to behave in patient-focused ways, over half (53 percent) of those employed by the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry in the survey said: “We are actively looking for what and how to teach this to our people.” Only 22 percent said: “We know exactly what and how to teach this to our people.” Another 16 percent said: “We don’t know what or how to teach this to our people.”

A Bit About the 2^nd Annual Aurora Project: 2017 Patient-Centric Benchmarks Survey

The survey was created to help biopharma and medical device companies as they transform their businesses from product centered to patient centered. A total of 1,282 participants chose to take part in the survey consisting of employees from biopharmaceutical and medical device companies (n=675), associated supplier companies (n=358), healthcare professionals (n=106), self-reported patients (n=70), and patient groups (n=73). 113 countries were represented in the sample.

To download survey tables and explore additional results click here.