Three ways in which culture can accelerate patient centricity in global pharma
…and a simple question to get you started.
By Marta Lobato, PhD - Senior Researcher at A Piece of Pie
Just a couple of weeks ago I was presenting the results of a project for a global pharma company that involved hundreds of physicians and patients across four different countries in Europe, when a gentleman from the German team challenged me with a unexpected, yet interesting question. Contrary to what I initially interpreted as a direct confrontation, I realized he was genuinely annoyed at the fact that typical market researchers very often forget to explain why things are the way they are. To explain; I was describing how in Germany and in the Netherlands physicians treating this particular condition were significantly driven by a sense of “individual responsibility” when treating with expensive drugs and being generally more sceptical and critical with what the latest European recommendations and scientific findings were suggesting. In Spain and in Italy, on the contrarily, we found exactly the opposite; undeniable trust in the latest scientific evidence and a strong push towards securing intensive treatments that, even if more expensive, were perceived as more effective.
The gentleman reacted quickly to these statements and said, “but why is this the case? It’s good to know these things, but nobody ever tells us the reasons behind”. I was delighted, perhaps because it was an opportunity for an anthropologist to explain the value of what we do more extensively.
The role of culture in patient-centricity
If you have worked in the healthcare sector long enough, you have witnessed the industry’s move towards an ever-more patient-centric model. This is currently coming in the form of logistics; new services designed to help patients getting and/or storing the drugs, or modes of administration that allow patients a greater freedom to have more independent lives; new facilities for doctor appointments; additional digital, audio-visual materials that help patients empowering themselves outside of the medical visits, better coordination amongst health care professionals and many, many more.
This movement is part of a collective change, where consumers are increasingly turning into “prosumers”; they want a significant say in how they experience healthcare (all the way from products to services). Even though the future looks promising in this regard and many large pharma companies are making efforts to bypass corporate window dressing, I argue there is a pending subject that is not enjoying the attention it deserves, namely, culture.
Here I am referring to culture in a different way. As ethnographers working for the healthcare sector, we always need to understand the ways in which people feel, think, and behave. We do this through “cultural lenses”; by looking inquisitively at the ways in which society affects peoples’ perceptions. This becomes significantly relevant when thinking about the kind of initiatives or actions that can enhance a commercial offering; we usually ask ourselves; will they resonate with the particular ways of doing of the different stakeholders?
I am not focusing here about culture as tapping into the patients’ needs in order to achieve better outcomes (the endpoint), but as an equally important, previous step; culture as that which allows us to understand relational models. For this, we need to consider some key aspects of peoples’ history, their organizational means and the ways in which themselves and their resources are being addressed in that particular society. We therefore ask; are cultures more individualist or collectivist? How does this shape physician-patient relationships? These are the sort of explanations that allow us to have a full comprehension of what we are dealing with.
How do anthropologists make culture actionable?
As cultural ethnographers working for various industries, we are used to understanding why people need what they need or express what they express. We need to know this in order to think about the unsaid, the unexplored, or the unspoken. We need to think as patients, as physicians, and as salespeople in order to suggest and to innovate. But before suggesting solutions and spotting opportunities, we need to ask ourselves; why do people perceive and behave in a certain way? What is their relational model?
I am going to share with you three reasons the cultural whys can be a game changer for you:
1. Use culture to interpret the data in each country.
Quantitative data allows us to see the big picture, but people interact in local settings with particular values, perceptions and issues. As a professional team of ethnographers, we contextualize segmentations further so that they become actionable and common sense wherever they are being applied. If we understand why it is that in Italy doctors understand cholesterol in a different way to the Netherlands, we can understand better the strategic points where we can make a difference. It might be the case that in some countries scientific data shared with physicians need to count with the support of various professionals from inter-related disciplines and be presented as consensual, rather than as an obvious source of status and authority.
2. Adapt to different countries.
Why is it that in Southern European countries the relationship between doctors and patients is generally governed by status, trust and a sense of authority, whereas in Germany or the Netherlands it is more horizontal, distrustful, and proactive from the side of the patients? If we understand culturally differentiated relational models, the sale force can take their communication skills to a whole new level by adapting it strategically to local settings. Beyond working on the specific words and expressions to use, we might want to emphasize different points or themes to focus on depending on the cultural cluster we will be addressing. Once we know why something works in one place and not in another one, we can sharpen our frameworks and know better what will work and what will not in a variety of contexts.
3. Innovate through cultural transfers.
Cross-country collaboration has a huge, unexplored potential. Patients in some countries want to become more proactive and well informed in their relationship with their physicians and in the way they relate with their condition. In other cultures, however, where they feel this is already the case, they would like their doctors to be the ultimate source to trust when they are overloaded with disparate information. If we understand what changes in each country; how the relational model affects the kind of relationship that is in place, we can use that knowledge to inspire ourselves. Knowing the whys behind these differences allow us to find new creative solutions that respond to the aspirational desires of patients and physicians.
To wrap up, we can avoid rushing into solutions and sale objectives without internalizing the whys. Doing this means taking a step back and thinking more analytically. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean slowing down the process; it simply means thinking smart, and for that I am very thankful for the question raised by the gentleman in the presentation.
Taking one step back can propel you two steps forwards. Besides, the cultural lenses are going to be a non-negotiable asset in the new patient-centric model. Many industries are already thinking holistically about their stakeholders and consumers in terms of ecosystems, and the cross-cultural lenses have a lot of potential in cross-country projects for global pharma. If you want to know more about it, you will find us at info@piecepie.com.
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