Singapore – Creative agency Ogilvy Health together with Verticurl, a global marketing agency, Oracle, an American multinational computer technology corporation, and the Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association (APACMed) has released a new whitepaper, ‘Patient-Centric Marketing: Leveraging empathy and data to improve care’, to illustrate how the health industry and patients alike stand to benefit from digital healthcare.
Driven in part by the pandemic, many patients start their own care journeys online, generating a vast amount of personal data in the process. Because more and more patients begin their healthcare journeys online. Around 50% of patients will utilise digital health tools, and that percentage rises to 91% of patients who said they would use digital health services if the expenses were covered by a corporation or insurance provider. Using data to improve healthcare means that there is a lot of room for improvement in the field. Digital disruptors are already looking at these options in order to give better service, more personalised care, and better results.
The Ogilvy Heath paper identifies the three major action points for all healthcare brands to accelerate their move towards a patient-centric mindset, first is listening to understand patient needs and define values. Next is sharing to improve access to valuable information. Regardless of age, over 80% of consumers investigate their diagnosis online, and Lastly, is to serve and create the tools, or partner with toolmakers to deliver improved care outcomes. A combination of empathy and data-driven analysis can help you find new ways to improve the care experience for patients, and this can lead to better outcomes. New services that improve patient outcomes will then be offered.
The whitepaper also noted that healthcare brands must reposition themselves as direct-to-patient marketers enabled and guided by personalization. Personalisation is enabling and guiding healthcare firms to recast themselves as direct-to-patient marketers. Engaging with patients online can lead to a greater understanding of their requirements by collecting data in a transparent, trusting, and mutually beneficial connection.
In addition, the whitepaper said that by sharing valuable information and assisting people in receiving better care, brands with health expertise may develop meaningful relationships with patients. Health marketing does not have to be one-sided; it may now include the strategies and needs of numerous stakeholders at the same time.
Pierre Robinet, president for Asia at Ogilvy Health, said that marketing has a huge role to play in delivering truly patient-centric outcomes.
“And it starts by redefining the engagement strategy with all stakeholders contributing to the care journey, starting with the patient and looking beyond the healthcare professional, Robinet said.
Waheed Bidiwale, chief strategy officer at Verticurl, shared, “It is more possible than you think to be patient-centric, you can operationalize that empathy, and bring it to life with technology,”
If done correctly, patient-centric marketing programmes can increase access to care for patients, address the right physicians at the right time with information and solutions that make a real difference to the patient, while empowering sales forces with relevant patient insights.
