Pharma Strategy Blog

Recently, I've been observing and watching a number of interactions that I've been part of, from friends, acquaintances, clients and physicians and healthcare practitioners.  It dawned on me that no matter what we do, our satisfaction with the result of those interactions is directly tied to the involvement we go through.  

A nasty ear infection was a salutory case in point. The reaction of my old PCP practice was close to distressing so I decided to change practice, no easy decision after 10 years with the same group.  They resolutely declined to see me despite the pain and discomfort unless I paid a disputed bill even though my insurance told me it was covered and the office hadn't billed it correctly.  The staff were rude and obnoxious in the extreme.  So much for the Hippocratic Oath! 

The first time I nervously met the new Nurse Practitioner, she surprised me by being polite, thoughtful and empathetic, a world away from confrontational New Jersey style I had become used to.  In the space of 10 minutes she explained to me gently that I had a discharge and likely an ear infection that need to be seen by a specialist that day, if possible, for cleaning and treatment.

She phoned around, made an appointment for me and dispatched me 30 blocks south to see the ENT specialist.  He turned out to be equally caring, efficient and happy to take the time to explain the problem and involve me in the solution.  As a result, I felt more involved and willing to commit to the time consuming process of fixing it, which turned out to be significant in my busy schedule. Interestingly, when I in turn explained to clients what was happening, they too understood and didn't feel resentful of the necessary absences, quite the reverse with a hearty "Go get it fixed!"

That's how it should work in an ideal situation.

However, when we don't collaborate, communicate, share or participate in the process, stonewall or or worse, just promote what we want to sell without interaction, the perception of the value offered is less than optimal and the experience is unlikely to be a positive or happy one. This applies as much to the physician-patient relationship as it does to the Pharma-physician one.

In the end, the first practice I would be less than enthusiastic about recommending, while the other two I would enthusiastically recommend to others.  In fact, when we have a bad experience we often go out of our way to warn others to save them the same pain, whereas we don't always remember to pay it forward with referrals and recommendations when we have a great experience.

My own personal medical experiences recently made me think more clearly about client – vendor interactions, to good effect.  Taking the time to involve the client in the experience and take on board their ideas to make it a better product more likely makes them: 

a) more part of the process

b) more likely to be supportive and involved

c) more likely to own it

c) more likely to see the value and appreciate it.

We're all fallibly human and make mistakes, but taking the time to involve others in the process rather than pushing what we think they need is well worth the effort in the long run.  Happy clients ultimately make for more satisfied people who value what you bring to the table too.

In what ways do you think about increasing value with others around you?