Hive Health

Recently, I had the privilege of attending a conference where William Burns, CEO of Roche was speaking.

The thing I found most fascinating was his future view: “the patient of tomorrow will be in the driving seat”.

As he says, today’s patients research via the net to talk to other patients about which trials, medicines, doctors and hospitals might be best for them. They then make informed decisions and requests based on this and will argue with multiple gatekeepers to get there.

I’m interested to know other doctors views on this….Should an informed patient be feared or encouraged?

Although many people on this side of the Atlantic feel that the US Direct to Consumer advertising has taken things too far (and I would definitely agree) I do think there is more that should be done with Direct to Patient communication.

The internet is a great leveller given that everyone can put content on it, and increasingly acts as a first stop for many patients. But it does seem bizarre that in the UK, the pharma industry, who have access to the most information on products, are prevented from joining that discussion.

A couple of stats Mr Burns gave us made me think….

• 33% of the public use the internet prior to a doctor’s appointment
• 40% of the public will do so after a doctor’s appointment

Hopefully, the current EMEA debate on DTP communication will mean industry is more able to contribute in future.

Baffled by Wikis?  I really liked this crystal clear explanation from the guys at Seattle based Commoncraft – a great video production company specialising in educational content.

It turns out that it’s a lot easier to peel a banana if you start from the ‘wrong’ end.

You don’t even have to use your teeth.

Here’s the thing: I know this. I’ve tried it. It’s true.

I still peel a banana the hard way. It feels like the right thing to do.

Convincing my friends of this change has been much harder than I thought.

Because it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do, it’ll be a tough thing to teach.

In the healthcare comms business, there are LOTS of bananas … things that people do because of convention, tradition, or simply “that’s just the way things are done.” For example, why is it that we have spent most of our time in Rx focusing on understanding the prescriber and not the uncompliant patient?  Why do ideas always have to be based on an a4 ad format.

The lesson for me is to consider everything we do. Are we making decisions because that’s just the way you’ve always done it? Or that’s the way all of our competitors are doing it? If so, you’re peeling the banana from the “right” end. Pick one of these things and, turn it around to see what happens.

A few years ago, the rest of this consultation would have been relatively straightforward. I would ask some questions, run a couple of tests, recommend a treatment and the patient would feel reassured. Nowadays however, it tends to go rather differently.The patient will, more than likely, have already been on various websites looking for a diagnosis. They may also have looked into the different treatments available, even compiled a folder of information for discussion. They want and expect to be actively involved in their diagnosis and treatment plan. And if they aren’t completely satisfied with my opinion, they’ll get someone else’s. In short, “trust me, I’m a doctor” no longer holds much water.

Never before have patients been so well informed, so involved and influential in their healthcare. With a finger on the public pulse, the government is planning for personal healthcare budgets so that each patient can choose their hospital, consultant and treatment. Since I graduated 10 years ago, the face of medicine has become almost unrecognisable. It’s more like going shopping than to the doctor.

How does this make us healthcare professionals feel? I’ll be honest; a little mixed. The quality of information available to patients varies enormously and can sometimes do more to confuse than to clarify the situation. On the other hand it’s likely that a patient who feels invested and in control of their wellbeing will live a healthier lifestyle and engage with the required treatment. Isn’t that the aim?

Whatever the implications, the NHS claims to hold the needs and wishes of the patient at its core. This makes sense ethically and politically. The question is, why are healthcare communications agencies still servicing healthcare professionals before satisfying the public interest?