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Patient support programs are the lifeline for the pharma industry. They help pharma stay accountable, beneficial, and eventually profitable. A good patient support program will have certain characteristics that set it apart, like great educational material, ease of access, and financial assistance. In this article, we introduce digital patient support programs, the best practices to follow if you are already running one, and what its benefits are.
What Are Digital Patient Support Programs?
A digital patient support program is a digitally enabled patient support program that empowers patients using online digital platforms, either web-based or mobile. Patients can access educational resources, treatment guidelines and instructions for self-care in a digital patient support program.
Why Do You Need a Digital Patient Support Program?
A digital patient support program ensures that patients have access to all the provisions that come under the program from anywhere, without any ambiguity or confusion, and are not only able to afford it, but proceed with the services in a very quick manner. Online patient support services are very handy for this.
A digital patient support program is also documented and allows easy tracking, so that it can be monitored and controlled easily. Regular audits can also be done to ensure that the program is achieving its objectives and helping patients connect and get the care they want on time. All of these are reasons why many businesses favor a digital patient support program over a regular one.
What Are the Best Practices in a Digital Patient Support Program?
Personalize the Approach
Tailor content to match the person’s health literacy level and personal preferences. Also make sure it is in a language and format that is easily understandable for the patient.
Educate the Patient
Provide interactive videos and conduct webinars which clearly present the health conditions of the patient, what disease is affecting them, and what precautions and care the patient must take.
Gather Feedback Continuously
Allow patients and caregivers to share their feedback on the patient support program and make changes as per their suggestions, if it will help the program do better. Data analytics can help with the latter part.
Enable Proactive Support
Address patient’s concerns during the treatment journey as early as possible, also allowing the patient to react to and appreciate the support given.
Use Digital Analytics
This is where all the previous practices come full circle. With the help of digital analytics, you can analyze the impact of personalization, education, feedback processes, and support on the patient support program and online patient support services.
Conduct Nurse-Led Programs
We believe that all digital patient support programs must be nurse-led. A nurse-led program ensures that the human touch is present in addition to the digital platform that enables patient access.
What Are the Benefits of a Digital Patient Support Program?
Digital patient support programs can offer many benefits to patients, including:
1. Self-management
Patients can use digital tools to track symptoms, monitor vital signs, and manage medications. This can help them feel more in control of their health and make healthy choices.
2. Education
Patients have access to interactive videos, learning videos and even webinars to ensure that they know everything about their medical condition, how their treatment will be, and what they can look forward to.
3. Financial assistance
Patients can avail themselves of co-pay assistance that is offered on the digital patient support program to be financially able to afford their treatment.
4. Remote counseling
Patients can have remote counseling sessions with their doctors where they can describe issues they are currently facing and find advice to get over them.
5. Data monitoring
Digital analytics tools help with various aspects of the digital patient support program, especially for improving based on feedback, personalization and education.
6. Secure data storage
Patient data is secure and stored safely with high-grade encryption in a digital patient support program. The lack of centralized storage, or even worse legacy written solutions, can be very insecure for patients.
Are You Looking for a PSP Service Provider?
Working with a Patient Support Program Service Provider can be a great choice for pharma companies who are burdened by the costs of managing a PSP. A PSP partner will help patients stay on track with your recommendations and the care that they must take during the treatment. A good PSP partner will also improve the adherence percentage in patient groups, a common problem with most PSPs. Alp Consulting, a renowned PSP partner, can help you with a digital patient support program that gives you security and peace of mind. Talk to us today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a digital patient support program different from legacy programs?
Legacy patient support programs may use spreadsheets and other manual techniques to store patient data whereas digital patient support programs store data in the cloud. Digital patient support programs are also easier to access from anywhere and avail support, provide co-pay support, and will support data analytics.
What is meant by digitization of patient care?
Digitization of patient care implies that the patient support program is managed digitally. It could also mean that the patient’s vitals are monitored continuously, but this need not be a part of every patient support program. The healthcare provider is more than adept at this service.
What is the purpose of a patient support program?
A patient support program intends to achieve three main objectives, to create awareness of the health condition, give suitable levels of access to eligible patients, and to make the treatment more acceptable and affordable for the patient.
