Bhaskar Chakravorti
Amipharma Laboratories Ltd
Title: Patient centric healthcare industry: Pharmaceutical companies can do more to put patients first
Biography
Biography: Bhaskar Chakravorti
Abstract
Pharmaceutical companies must keep the patients at the top of their minds. On one hand pharma companies don’t want
to upset doctors by bypassing them and on the other hand, they have to function under stringent guidelines that regulate
direct to consumer (DTC) marketing. The best way to do this is to focus on creating trust rather than building brands. With
the increasing number of patients suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension, noncompliance and
nonadherence is a big problem which further increases the suffering of the patients. Patient Information Leaflets (PIL) are now
being printed in local language e.g. Arabic in Sudan or Hindi in India. Patients can read about the several questions they have
in mind about their medication, especially the side effects. Codes in the PIL can link to the company’s website. The patient can
communicate directly with the company for various queries. The patients when they register themselves can receive online
medication reminder service. Pharma companies also provide health information so that patients can manage their illness
better. Pharma companies can create advocacy groups from the patients who are opinion leaders. These patients have a lot of
clouts both online and offline and these patients can be engaged periodically under the supervision of physicians who are Key
Opinion Leaders. Some of the patients in the advocacy group are frequent bloggers and active in social media and thus can
engage in chats with others interested in the specific disorder either hypertension or diabetes. This can benefit the patients to
modify lifestyles and reduce risk factors to prolong life with less suffering.