Patient Centricity: The Promise of the Pharmaceutical Industry

The impact of diseases on patient health and quality of life is multifaceted. It affects their physical, emotional, social, and economic well-being. A diagnosis can profoundly alter a person’s life, with the anxiety of awaiting treatment often as challenging as the symptoms themselves. In this context, the pharmaceutical industry's role is crucial.

For employees in our sector, understanding the impact that diseases have on patients’ lives is essential. Every research, drug development, and distribution process must be carried out with a higher purpose: addressing unmet health needs and improving quality of life. It is not simply about reporting tasks in a corporate report; it is a collective effort that requires a deep sense of urgency and responsibility.

In this context, ensuring access to safe, effective, and high-quality treatments requires an integrated approach throughout the value chain, as these factors directly affect the lives of patients and their families. Efficiency in drug delivery is more than a logistical concern; ensuring that they are available when needed can make the difference between a swift recovery or a fatal outcome.

Therefore, it is crucial that every team member, from the lab to the commercial area, recognizes that their work is intrinsically linked to the health and well-being of the people they serve. This is why Patient Safety Day (Sept. 17) is commemorated globally. The purpose is to raise public awareness and encourage collaboration among key stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem to direct efforts toward improving patient experience and health outcomes. This is what we call Patient Centricity.

Innovative industries like ours have embraced this strategy for years, working with their management teams to instill in employees a sense of purpose toward the mission of transforming patients’ lives through science. As a result, organizations in our field dedicate numerous days each year to awareness and social responsibility activities, learning from patients’ stories to bring a personal touch to our daily work.

In the company I lead, we have been carrying out Patient Week for a decade. This initiative inspires us to live our corporate values and renew our commitment to helping people overcome serious diseases.

I vividly recall four years ago, during a Town Hall, I was presented with a video case of a young man who faced the terrible diagnosis of cancer from an early age, along with numerous challenges that prevented him from working and leading a normal life. Despite the limitations, he maintained a brave and positive attitude.

Last year, during one of these events, I had the opportunity to meet him in person. Motivated by his recovery, he shared with us that he had received three gifts from life: his health, his employment, and his family; he had been married for just a year, and both he and his wife were joyfully expecting their first child. His testimony, full of hope and gratitude, not only showed us how our work has a direct impact on people’s well-being but also drives us to strive for excellence in all our operations.

When we place the patient at the center of all decisions and processes, extraordinary things happen. On the one hand, we give them a “voice and vote” to participate in their health, and on the other, we establish a win-win relationship where they feel comfortable sharing relevant information and actively participating in therapeutic decision-making.

Each person we touch through our innovations has their own unique circumstances, and their healthcare must adapt to them. Thanks to personalized and empathetic care, our industry, medical professionals, institutions, and health authorities can align with the unique expectations and needs of patients.

In our company, this approach is increasingly evident in the design and implementation of clinical research studies where people of different races, ethnicities, ages, genders, and sexual orientations, as well as with different experiences and living conditions, are being considered so that all are represented and can benefit from scientific advances.

Similarly, patients’ opinions are being considered in the development of Value-Based Healthcare, where information technologies are leveraged to help providers and other health system actors improve healthcare services and measure outcomes.

Implementing a Patient Centricity strategy has benefits for patients, healthcare systems, and society in general: it improves people’s experience; prevents diagnostic and medication errors, and provides greater treatment adherence; it helps in health management by giving patients the tools and skills needed to make informed decisions; and it reduces costs and contributes to sustainability.

It is crucial for the pharmaceutical industry to continue advancing toward a more human and value-centered approach to care. This means fostering a genuine, transparent, and trust-based connection with patients and civil society organizations. To achieve this, I return to my initial point: this mindset must be embedded in the company’s DNA, embraced by all employees. It is our promise.

The drive to strengthen the bond with patients must be rooted on the principle of integrity, which is always doing the right thing for them. What are you doing to enhance Patient Centricity in your organizations?