Much has been written about the importance of patient satisfaction, with good reason. Patient satisfaction began simply as a measure of how happy patients are with their healthcare and how well the overall interaction met their expectations. It’s important because it supports patient loyalty, potentially optimizes clinical outcomes, can lead to improved patient compliance, and possibly result in fewer malpractice complaints. In the hospital setting and along the continuum of patient care, it has even been used to determine compensation from payors.
Often, “patient satisfaction” is confused with “patient experience.” Although they are very different terms with different meanings, the concepts are related since the experience can influence the ultimate satisfaction rating. While patient experience reflects the interaction between patient and professional, it is also where disconnect can happen between healthcare professionals (HCP) and patient, negatively affecting the experience and missing the opportunity to meet common goals. Bridging the gap between clinical needs and patient impact starts by meeting the challenge presented by that disconnect.
Patient experience at the point of care is a key instance where a brand and its marketing can exert a powerful effect on that interaction’s success from a medical/clinical standpoint—and address issues beyond the basic act of providing treatment or care. This intersection of patient expectation, satisfaction, and HCP expertise is where brands have the power to educate, enlighten, and provide a different perspective that leads to better care and a better patient experience. When you find that common ground—and your brand can bridge that gap—the patient experience and the level of care can both benefit.
We’ve been fortunate to participate in several targeted HCP campaigns that not only improved the patient experience, but also helped solve a problem, to meet the common goals of patients and medical professionals.
A few examples:
Enriching the Experience at the Intersection of Treatment and Care
Misconceptions between patients and professionals can often be solved by simple education and better understanding. In a recent experience in the fertility market, we leveraged insight gained from research into the prevalence of needlestick pain. We learned up to 60% of people suffered significant fear of pain from an injection—and over 30% were so apprehensive they would avoid treatment including injections. However, a fertility specialist would tell you injections are essential to achieving success in fertility—treatment is virtually impossible without them. The attitude was generally, “if you want to have a baby, this is what you need to do.” There wasn’t any recognition that at least a third of their patients considered discontinuing treatment due to the extraordinary number of shots. In this case, the insight was to disrupt the complacency fertility specialists may have been feeling about needlesticks and ultimately provide a common ground for a discussion, helping patients to speak intelligently and directly about what they’re feeling. In the end, we were proud to be part of an effort that could have helped thousands of couples reach their goal of pregnancy and dramatically enrich their patient experience in the process.
Encouraging a Deeper Understanding of the Patient’s Perspective
We also sought to bridge the gap in the perception of treatment through an oncology marketing campaign. Chemotherapy agents commonly cause oral mucositis as a side effect of treatment. Oncologists were aware but believed it was a necessary risk to save patient lives, with a troublesome but manageable side effect. Or so they thought. Meanwhile, oncology nurses, as the front line of patient experience, were receiving the complaints—many wanting to discontinue treatments because of their inability to eat or drink without significant oral pain. The traditional solution, a “magic” mouthwash combining lidocaine and Maalox, was often ineffective, and any relief it provided was superficial and fleeting. In speaking to patients about how oral mucositis felt, one gentleman put it succinctly and powerfully: “it feels like I am chewing on broken shards of glass.” We were able to depict that feeling for professionals and provide a clinically studied and demonstrated effective alternative treatment. It was another instance of helping oncology offices understand the impact of mucositis, which helped bridge a gap in understanding the very real consequences of “just a side effect” of a life-saving treatment. The result was a better dialogue between patient and professional and a deeper understanding of patient perspective, a fundamental element of a dramatically enhanced experience.
Closing a Gap in Professional Recommendation and Patient Behavior
Dry eye disease is a common problem affecting millions of Americans. Also common is the preponderance of over-the-counter drops. What is not so common is a patient’s ability to find a comfortable, effective solution. It’s become nearly impossible for patients to understand which drop is best for them, which results in multiple trials with different drops and a cycle of trial and dissatisfaction. This disconnect at the retail level leads to a relatively poor overall experience. A recent study published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology found that 48% of patients with dry eyes said they followed their treatment plan carefully but only 13% experienced lasting relief. Most respondents said over-the-counter drops alone did not provide sufficient relief, leading them to seek additional treatments. We sought to bridge the “dry eye experience gap” with DTC and retail-level promotion to drive patients to seek advice and recommendations from their eye care professional. The differentiation was a welcome addition to the armamentarium of ECPs, often seeking to recommend something more effective than the patient’s previous drops. As the key proponent of a deeper discussion between patients and ECPs, we helped close the gap in understanding the cause and treatment of dry eye.
The Role of Brands in the Patient Experience
Pharmaceutical or medtech brand communications targeting HCPs can ultimately serve to connect the patient and the prescribing/recommending HCP. Whether encouraging deeper dialogue about a patient’s condition, providing essential information to make informed decisions on the patient’s behalf, or making HCPs more aware of the patient’s perspective, healthcare brands can often be a conduit for an improved experience for patients and professionals.
