23 Oct From Patient Centricity to Patient Leadership: Pharma’s New Digital Engagement Frontier
Interview with with Jenny Ousbey, originally published in Pharma IQ, to discuss key findings from OVID’s new report on pharma-patient engagement trends and how social media is reshaping the industry’s approach to patient care.
Pharma IQ: The report highlights a shift from patient-centric campaigns to patient-led experiences in pharma communications. What do you think has driven this evolution, and how can companies ensure that they truly empower patient voices in their social media strategies?
Jenny Ousbey: Just five years ago, patient engagement was a key differentiator between good and great pharmaceutical campaigns. Now, it’s a central part of corporate social responsibility, with specific categories at industry awards. Pharma companies looking ahead are moving beyond just patient-centricity to making patients empowered partners.
In social media strategies, this means ensuring campaigns are authentic, benefit patients, and embrace the “social” element of social media. Patients aren’t just there to echo company messaging—they have unique perspectives, experiences, and expertise, which should be reflected.
Pharma IQ: With the analysis of over 20,000 social media posts, what are the key therapeutic areas where pharmaceutical companies are excelling in patient engagement? Conversely, why do certain areas, like mental health and health inequalities, show lower engagement rates, and what can be done to improve this?
Jenny Ousbey: Oncology, autoimmune, infectious disease, and cardiovascular campaigns showed the highest levels of engagement, likely due to their prevalence and urgency. Lower engagement in areas like mental health might be because campaigns often focus too much on positive messaging without acknowledging the harder realities of living with certain conditions. Companies need to foster real change by asking, “What can we do to help?” instead of just highlighting issues.
Pharma IQ: One of the report’s recommendations emphasizes the importance of co-creation with minority groups to avoid tokenism. Can you share examples of successful co-creation campaigns that have resonated with diverse patient communities?
Jenny Ousbey: Co-creation ensures campaigns reflect the lived experiences of diverse communities. Prostate Cancer UK did a great job amplifying the voices of Black men regarding PSA testing. Similarly, the Eve Appeal includes a broad spectrum of people affected by gynae cancers in their messaging, using a tone that is serious yet approachable.
Pharma IQ: Social media is often seen as a low-cost but high-impact channel for patient engagement. What are some common mistakes companies make when trying to achieve meaningful engagement on platforms like X, and how can they overcome these?
Jenny Ousbey: Companies often fail to maximise “shareability,” which could involve a more informal or conversational tone. But navigating compliance concerns makes this tricky. It’s essential to involve internal compliance teams early on and remind them that social media is about engagement. This way, we can build campaigns that balance creativity with regulatory safeguards.
Pharma IQ: How does OVID Health’s ‘Million Minds AI’ platform help pharmaceutical companies understand patient experiences and unmet needs? Could you elaborate on how AI and social insights are reshaping the future of patient engagement?
Jenny Ousbey: Million Minds, developed with White Swan, helps map and model digital conversations between pharma and patient communities. It offers insight into the stories patients want to tell and highlights how companies can better support these conversations. AI-driven social insights like these are crucial in understanding patient needs and shaping future engagement.
Pharma IQ: The report mentions the need for pharma companies to focus on campaigns rooted in priority therapy areas where they have expertise. How can companies balance their commercial objectives with the authentic needs and lived experiences of patients?
Jenny Ousbey: Patients’ needs and a company’s commercial goals are not mutually exclusive. By understanding patients’ experiences, companies can create campaigns that both improve patients’ lives and meet their business objectives. Building meaningful relationships with patients benefits both parties—companies meet their commercial goals, and patients have their voices heard.
Pharma IQ: Looking forward, what trends do you foresee in the way pharmaceutical companies engage with patients on social media? How will OVID Health continue to innovate in this space?
Jenny Ousbey: With 60% of the world now using social media, pharma companies can’t afford to exclude it from their plans. We’re likely to see more authentic and brave communications that go beyond just medicines. At OVID, for instance, we often get more engagement on posts about our office dog Murray than on technical insights! This shows the value of relatability. Going forward, we’ll continue helping clients innovate by engaging credible voices and using platforms like TikTok to combat misinformation with credible content.
Pharma IQ: Patient engagement has become a critical focus for the pharmaceutical industry. How do you see the overall direction of patient engagement evolving in the next five years, especially with the growing importance of digital platforms and social media?
Jenny Ousbey: Patient engagement is now a standard part of the industry, with patients increasingly involved in all stages of the medicines development process. Digital platforms offer more opportunities to engage and gather insights. I hope the industry continues to innovate and involve patients authentically, as backtracking would rightly lead to pushback from patient communities who now expect to lead, not just participate.
Conclusion:
The future of pharma-patient engagement is evolving rapidly, with social media at the heart of this transformation. As the From Patient Centricity to Patient Leadership report reveals, empowering patients and co-creating campaigns with their input is crucial for success. Pharmaceutical companies must continue to innovate in their digital engagement strategies to truly connect with patient communities and drive better health outcomes.
Further Reading:
The full report, available to access and download for free here using the code OVID9T2C, highlights notable campaigns and broader observations, including therapeutic areas that appear to get more traction online – such as oncology, autoimmune, infectious disease and cardiovascular campaigns.