When Innovation Isn’t Enough: Pharma’s Next Frontier

Healthcare transformation is trending in the right direction. Innovative companies are springing up with new cost models and new technology – like devices to monitor patient behavior and artificial intelligence to deliver insights from that data. We’re making the necessary move towards online and digital healthcare, but this shift won’t improve the patient experience on its own.

We can fill cheap prescriptions online, or track our symptoms with a wearable device. Patients are more empowered than ever, but we can’t afford to lose personal touchpoints and human empathy in our move toward the digital health future. For each innovation that brings convenience and efficiency, we need a counterpart that helps patients be proactive about pursuing the best possible health outcomes.

New devices, cost models and data analysis tools are part of a necessary digital health transformation – but these innovations can’t. Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry is different from other industries in several ways. For one, the development of new drugs is a highly regulated process that can take many years and require significant investment. Additionally, the development of new drugs must be based on scientific research and clinical trials, which can be a time-consuming and complex process. Furthermore, the high costs associated with bringing a new drug to market can be a barrier to innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. Because of these factors, innovation in the pharmaceutical industry tends to focus on the development of new and improved treatments for specific medical conditions.