Accenture’s recent survey of 2,000 Americans taking one or more medications found that 76 percent of patients believe pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to provide information and services that help patients manage their own health. The majority of patients want pharmaceutical companies to initiate outreach when they start taking a medication, with 69 percent wanting information from their pharma company via email. This is no surprise, considering 68 percent of patients said they spend several hours a day online. “Providing personalized and value-add services in support of products they sell is common across almost every other consumer-facing industry from retail to telecomm, hi-tech and travel,” Accenture notes in the report. “Why should pharma be any different? Especially when addressing something as important as someone’s health?” Though engaging patients online is a bit more complicated for pharmaceutical companies (pharma social media interaction is regulated by the FDA and online communication with patients can open companies up to risk), pharmaceutical companies can and should do more to engage patients.
Read the full survey here: http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Great-Expectations-Why-Pharma-Companies-Cant-Ignore-Patient-Services-Survey.pdf
http://mobihealthnews.com/31791/patients-want-more-services-online-outreach-from-pharma/
