In healthcare, personalized service and human connections are paramount for patients at every point of their customer experience (CX) journey. However, healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies face a considerable challenge: balancing effective CX with patient medication adherence.
When starting any new round of medication, patients must adhere strictly to their doctor, pharmacy’s advice, and/or treatment plans to not risk exacerbating their issues and delaying recovery. Medication non-adherence causes tens of thousands of premature deaths in America each year, resulting in unnecessary hospital visits that cost the industry billions of dollars.
Some studies have estimated that worldwide adherence is only around 50%, often dropping even further as treatment plans progress. But why is medication adherence lagging so much, and how can healthcare brands elevate their CX delivery to improve it?
Opportunities to Reduce Non-Adherence
Procrastination and forgetfulness are the biggest drivers of medication non-adherence, followed by cost and accessibility — most patients simply forget to take their meds or fail to renew their prescriptions or refills in time. But that represents a massive opportunity for healthcare professionals to leverage CX improvements in this area.
For example, companies could connect with patients through weekly phone calls, daily social media messages, or monthly emails to remind people to take their medication or refill their prescriptions. Adding personalized service elements to these reminders, such as patient names, drug types, or human connections made in prior conversations, can boost engagement and effectiveness even higher.
Education is another critical area for improvement. Many patients need clarification on their treatment plans, so following up with them on the phone or over chat and spending time to ensure they have all the information they need can also help reduce confusion and increase adherence.
When people receive their first prescription, their treatment plans often continue for months or years. During this time, healthcare providers should monitor their patients, assess their data and insights, and prepare to intervene when adherence is most likely to drop off. Utilizing a team of CX professionals that know your patients and understand their conditions’ nuances makes it possible to provide individualized support for these later steps of the journey, ultimately boosting patient adherence even further.
Partnering Up To Maximize Adherence
Regardless of the channels patients prefer, patient outreach programs are crucial to a successful medication adherence improvement strategy. One of the fastest ways to begin the process is to partner with an experienced CX delivery provider that employs a multi-talented, empathetic workforce.
At Activus Connect, our SmartVirtual™ platform enables us to provide healthcare companies with all the tools and talent they need to elevate their CX and improve their patient medication adherence. With a combination of well-trained, native-speaking, remote brand Ambassadors and the latest in digital technology, we can provide personalized support, telemedicine engagements, and administrative services that enhance patient journeys.
While non-adherence is a complex challenge with no quick fix, if the healthcare industry can implement a personalized, educational, human-driven CX strategy, it can quickly improve adherence and save many, many more lives.