Healthcare is changing fast and patient expectations are changing with it. Yet, patients are still getting more and more transactional communications from healthcare stakeholders while demand for an individualized, convenient, and connected patient experience continues to grow. 

Creating a positive patient experience doesn’t need to be complicated. Life sciences companies have a unique opportunity to lead the way in enhancing patient support programs (PSPs) by offering patients the healthcare experience they need and want. This means evolving engagement to address the full picture of patient health beyond the traditional PSP offering package–after all, it’s what patients are expecting, if even subconsciously. To put it bluntly, life sciences companies have to understand how all patient touchpoints are connected and focused on the patient experience. If not, they very well could be digging their own grave.

Luckily, success is just within reach! Here are three ways life sciences companies can get ahead of the game in 2022 and uncomplicate the patient experience. 

Understand why patients sign up, and when they do, onboard them quickly. 

There’s a reason why brands like Amazon keep returning customers. They have mastered the purchasing link between speed, human decision-making, and impulse buying. While some purchases are made out of need, most are made out of emotion. Consumers may purchase something they don’t need because it’s on sale for a short time period–and the risk of missing out outweighs the financial offset. Amazon takes it a step further, by ensuring that within 48 hours your purchase will be at your front door. A short purchase process and an even shorter window to change your mind. 

Life sciences companies need to approach onboarding the same way: get patients signed up and onboarded quickly. Patients aren’t going to sign up for a patient support program solely because it’s available. It’s crucial to ignite an emotional response in the patient and capture and convert at the point of contact. Simple and expedited onboarding are the essential ingredients for getting patients in the door. 

For example, at Pack Health, we get in contact with patients within 48 hours of enrollment to onboard them onto our platform. Further, patients are able to start engaging with the platform as soon as they sign up. To guarantee the smoothest process for new participants, on-staff specialists are available to guide patients every step of the way. 

Ensure every touchpoint is linked. 

Next, after onboarding, remove any confusion from future touchpoints to promote continued engagement and improved patient satisfaction. Life sciences companies can no longer think just about their patient support programs–every touchpoint to patients matters and should be connected. 

One way to do this is to offer patients a single source of contact to represent your brand. At Pack Health, we’ve seen success in this approach. Patients know they always have one person who can answer their questions and guide them in the right direction. This allows patients to resolve questions quickly, address barriers such as adherence, and feel supported and accountable.

Integrate your existing offerings into one system. 

Picture this: you go to your primary care provider, testing lab, and a specialist in one day, which are part of the same health system. However, you have to fill out the same information three different times prior to your visit. Each time you fill out your online medical information, you ask yourself: ‘Why hasn’t this information hasn’t been included from the previous time I filled it out. Why do I have to keep repeating myself?‘ For patients, this experience happens far too often. The patient experience should feel connected and that includes how patients access and utilize brand resources. By offering different resources in different systems, we are setting patients (and ourselves) up for failure. 

Offering a platform that collates all resource offerings is a surefire way to take the confusion out of resource navigation. However, if deploying this within one platform is an infrastructural nightmare, a single source of communication also allows the patient experience to become streamlined while maintaining a comfortable and empathetic digital environment. This approach can help take the confusion out of resource access and help patients stay engaged and connected. 

We know healthcare is changing. Let’s change with it. Learn more about Pack Health’s offerings for Life Sciences companies here.