Patient adherence is important in the pharma industry. Lack of adherence and improper use of medication often results in significant lost sales for pharmaceutical firms as well as poor real-world outcomes. One of the significant ways to support and engage patients, pharma companies can use real-world data to better understand outcomes. This includes studying data on how the medication is taken by the patients along with their other lifestyle activities. Zettabytes of data are available to pharmaceutical companies. They have already collected data from electronic health reports, insurance claims, testing outcomes, and moreover the last decade. This data can be used to monitor all patients at once remotely and influence their medical requirements.
Outside of a clinical trial, it is much easier to collect continuous real-world data when the patient can enter it in real-time themselves; or even better when data is collected passively by devices such as linked scales and smartwatches. From the number of steps patients take, the food they eat, how well they sleep, their heart rate, and when the patient administers specific drugs, we now have easy access to a variety of metrics. We need to not only make patients aware of how their information will be used, but also give them a source of pride in their healthcare participation. It is not a scientific aspect of the equation, but it is part of the patient adherence equation.
We can make a difference by integrating tailored lifestyle support and medicine, provided with empathetic ties and through technology innovation. The results of patients can be improved if pharmaceuticals continue to implement advanced technologies to engage patients and eventually result in the accumulation of real-world data.
