What Pharma Is Learning From Retail: Data, Engagement Go Hand-In-Hand
By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA
I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be fascinated by the technology used to swipe my credit card when I stepped up to a store cash register. (A brief stint writing news features about the technological initiatives in the retail industry completely changed the way I looked at a “simple” cash register — or point of sale system, if you will.)
Nor would I have guessed that, as an editor for the pharma industry, I would find myself reading and writing about some of the same big issues the retail industry has been facing and addressing. Acquiring life-saving meds and buying a new sweater or video game are born out of completely different needs and circumstances. But regardless, as pharma marches towards patient centricity, I’ve noticed these two industries have grown alike in several ways, and I find their similar progression toward patient/customer engagement fascinating.
Today, shopping is all about creating an “omnichannel,” or a seamless and engaging experience for the customer. In the past year, we’ve seen restaurants, such as Buffalo Wild Wings and Pizza Hut, begin testing interactive tables so guests can place orders, pay quickly, and play games all on their table top while waiting for their orders. Home improvement stores are exploring augmented reality so customers can see “virtual” improvements to their homes before actually doing them. Some stores are even employing digital runway screens and virtual dressing rooms to engage shoppers everywhere throughout the store.
Just as the retail industry grows increasingly customer-centric, the pharma industry is undergoing its own revolution to become patient-centric. While in the retail space, customers have become more willing to share personal information with stores to see more benefits/deals, patients, too, are showing their willingness to voice their needs and dedicate their data to studies in order to see greater medical benefit in the long-run.
In the age of Internet retail, Amazon is sitting on a vast treasure trove of data, which it mines to make personalized purchase suggestions. Like me, you may receive several emails every day pushing objects that are based off of your interests or previous purchases. While retailers’ use of data can be a bit scary, the retail industry is simply responding to what customers have been requesting. The “Truth About Shopping” study released in May 2014 shows that 66 percent of customers want “the very human and personal touch amidst a wave of algorithm-based personalization.”
The clinical space is engaged in a similar battle. Finding, recruiting, and retaining patients and determining the right treatments for their particular needs also requires personalization. The struggle is to improve quality of life, and to do that the industry needs to pinpoint the individual characteristics of a person’s disease to make sure health conditions don’t keep a person from doing what he likes to do.
The use of Big Data is regarded as one of the most promising innovations that will change the clinical landscape. Patient advocacy groups, such as PatientsLikeMe, have built businesses around gathering patient data. (Life Science Leader featured this organization in a recent issue that can be found here.) The government also announced its plans to get involved in the fight to put Big Data to good use.
The White House just released a fact sheet outlining the details of the recently announced $215 million “Precision Medicine Initiative.” The initiative, carried out by the NIH, National Cancer Institute, FDA, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), will, among other things, establish a voluntary national research cohort. Participants in this cohort will be responsible for providing “diverse sources of data — including medical records; profiles of the patient’s genes, metabolites (chemical makeup), and microorganisms in and on the body; environmental and lifestyle data; patient-generated information; and personal device and sensor data.”
The pharma industry has been no stranger to data’s potential in the struggle to personalize medicine. But with the growth of patient advocacy groups and the Precision Medicine Initiative, I think the industry is well on its way to matching the ongoing efforts of the retail industry. (The New York Times published an article back in 2012 titled “How Companies Learn Your Secrets” that is an interesting read about the retail industry’s work with data.) When you step back and look at the two industries, their goals are essentially the same: it all comes down to collecting and interpreting data to create, as genomics expert David Shaywitz told MedCity News, “a rich picture" of the patient and customer to move forward.
Stay tuned for more!