Clinical Blog
Published: September 19, 2023

To Boost ROI, Life Sciences Needs To Deliver What HCPs Want: Digital Companions

Today’s evolving healthcare landscape is placing increasing emphasis on whole-person care. The shift has led healthcare professionals (HCPs) to seek digital solutions that support them in creating personalized and engaging care journeys for their patients. Therefore, if life sciences wants to drive financial returns now and stay ahead in today’s competitive healthcare market, they must deliver what prescribers are looking for — connected medication experiences that engage patients and drive clinical outcomes.

HCPs want patient-centric medications

Prioritizing patient-centricity aligns with the healthcare industry’s broader shift toward personalized care: As many as 50% of doctors say they are more likely to prescribe medications from companies that utilize a patient-centric approach to medicine.1

Enter digital companions: beyond-the-pill digital solutions that deliver personalized support and engagement programs to patients to empower sustainable behavior changes. A digital companion works alongside prescription medications to supply the actionable insights HCPs need to develop custom care plans, improve clinical outcomes, and lower the cost of care. 

The life science organizations that meet HCP demands for patient-centric medications by delivering digital companions have the opportunity to gain competitive advantage and increase financial returns — thus bolstering their ROI.

Digital companions drive outcomes for HCPs — making them more likely to prescribe them

Patient-centric medications enhance personalization, drive engagement, and boost patient satisfaction. For HCPs, this translates to better patient outcomes and lower costs. Case in point: Increased patient engagement leads to decreased healthcare resource utilization, as engaged patients have 15% fewer hospital readmissions.2

These are the types of results HCPs are looking for, and life sciences can capitalize on this opportunity by developing a digital companion that delivers medically actionable insights to prescribers — insights that help clinical teams understand patient behavior, personalize treatment plans, and drive sustainable behavior changes among patients. As HCPs realize this value, they will be more inclined to prescribe medications co-packed with a digital companion versus traditional products that do not deliver an engaging, patient-centric experience.

The bottom line: Digital companions increase value for HCPs, which in turn increases ROI for life sciences. After all, HCPs that are fully satisfied with their experience prescribing a particular drug are more than twice as likely to prescribe it to future patients.3

Digital companions are critical for life sciences to thrive now and in the future

An overwhelming 90% of HCPs say life sciences should support improving patient health outcomes in ways beyond high-quality drug therapies.4 By creating a connected ecosystem that delivers insights into patient behaviors, digital companions enable life sciences to capitalize on the growing demand for integrated solutions that address the holistic well-being of patients.

Per healthcare management and consulting firm ZS, “To stay competitive, pharma companies must do more than just engage customers in a timely way with compelling messages … the key to success in the years ahead will be to drive better connections between insights, strategy, and execution. Companies that don’t take the time to invest in developing a holistic view of their customers will miss out on the nuanced opportunities that are critical to thrive in a competitive market.”5

Digital companions are heralding a new era in healthcare, where patient-centricity, engagement, and personalized care converge to drive value for HCPs and life sciences alike. As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, embracing digital companions is not only a strategic move but a necessary one for life science executives seeking to thrive in a competitive market.

Interested in learning more about how digital companions are helping life sciences drive value for HCPs? Let’s talk.


1 Lubkeman et al, (2022). What do patients want, and is pharma delivering. BCG Global.
2 Chatham, L. (2016, August 18). Infographic Looks at ROI of Patient Engagement. Kareo.
3 Ascher et al, (2018). From product to customer experience: The new way to launch in pharma. McKinsey & Company.
4 WE Communications. (2023). Healthy reputation: More than medicine.
5 Patel et al, (2022). Pharma needs a holistic approach to generate truly meaningful insights. Z.

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