What Current Industry/Patient-Centricity Trends Are Encouraging Patient Participation In Clinical Trials?

A: CONSUMER DEMAND TO PARTICIPATE IN HEALTHCARE DECISION-MAKING, the increase in personalized therapies, and regulators’ mandate to incorporate the patient perspective into the product development and approval process are driving patient-centricity strategies throughout the R&D process and beyond. Recent Deloitte Center for Health Solutions research highlights examples of companies working to get beyond viewing the patient perspective through the traditional lens of the physician, the regulator, or the health plan. Examples we found include partnering with patient advocacy groups to co-host events where patients engage in discussion and ask questions; focusing on social needs such as factors outside the traditional healthcare system that impact health; and creating a patient journey map to identify high touch points to improve patient experience and outcomes, using strategies such as ethnographic research to learn about the patient experience and provide input into design of clinical trials.

MARGARET ANDERSON is a managing director at Deloitte. She was previously Executive Director at FasterCures.