Patient Communication & On-Boarding

A global biopharmaceutical company wanted to provide comprehensive support for patients onboarding to a new treatment for a chronic neurological condition. Cramer developed a multichannel communications plan and online patient community that not only helped patients start therapy as prescribed, but also promoted resources to support them throughout their entire treatment journey.

The Situation

Patient adherence to chronic medications is often cited at about 50%.* Nonadherence leaves patients exposed to poorer health outcomes and reduced quality of life. And because many chronic medications work to stabilize health or prevent worse outcomes, a patient may not “feel better” when starting a new treatment; and in fact, with certain side effects, they may feel worse.

That’s why patients need user-friendly information that reminds them of the goals of treatment, communicates honestly about how they might feel if they encounter side effects, and promotes the importance of adherence. Additionally, with chronic conditions, there may be opportunities to provide the patient with health and lifestyle tips that support good outcomes and help the patient actively participate in their health journey.

For these reasons, our client needed a communications plan that would support the patients on their treatment journey by providing helpful information about benefits, risks, and reasons to stay with a medication over time.

The Strategy

Cramer developed a robust communications plan that reached the patient frequently through a multi-channel approach, including email, mail, and the doctor’s office. Every touchpoint pushed the patient to a proprietary online patient community for further information, inspiration, and engagement.

The online community was at the heart of the strategy, designed to be a welcoming and supportive resource for patients wherever they were on their journey. The site included access to live and on-demand webinars, helpful videos and animations, and articles, tools, and information that was updated frequently. The community was designed to support the patient with both a treatment and wellness journey: from what to expect when beginning treatment and managing side effects to ongoing disease education and navigating health insurance. There were opportunities for patients to support one another by submitting tips and personal stories, liking content from other members, and answering questions. The patient platform was also rich in lifestyle content including tips for managing travel/vacations with a chronic illness, healthy recipes, financial planning, and more.

Behind the scenes, there was a complex validation structure to verify that any participants using the platform had been prescribed the treatment. This left the platform a safe and welcoming space where patients could feel comfortable seeking information from others on the treatment and living with the illness.

Cramer directed the strategy, user experience, design, and all content on the site and worked with multiple development partners to build the end-to-end solution.

The Result

The program has made a positive impact on patient retention. The client saw improved measures relating to a reduced time to start treatment and a longer time on product. And, patient engagement in the retention program is strong. The average unique user session in the online platform exceeded 7 minutes; well above the industry standard of just 2-3 minutes. Additionally, average email open rate, repeat visitor statistics, and direct mail conversion rate also far exceeded typical benchmarks.

Ultimately, the communications plan and online patient community was a success in both driving business performance for the client while supporting patients in their health outcomes.

* Kleinsinger F. The Unmet Challenge of Medication Nonadherence. Perm J. 2018;22:18-033. doi: 10.7812/TPP/18-033. PMID: 30005722; PMCID: PMC6045499.

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