The term ‘Patient centred approach’ often feels overused, yet at its core, it should be the driver for the health system - of which pharma plays an instrumental part.

Yet, it is so much more than a patients’ world; it is part of the patients' universe. To work with the patient universe, we have to adopt a system wide approach that is designed to take into account the needs not just of the patient, but the pharmaceutical company, payors, HCPs and the patients' supporters and carers.

As we consider a true patient centred approach, we need to understand the needs of the system in a very different way. It’s not enough to understand the drivers, we need to drill down and identify the outcomes that would be expected across the whole system if they are to adopt a truly patient centred approach.

This means designing an approach that will deliver:

• Evidence of patient centred outcomes- these are unlikely to be clinical markers. Rather, they will be things that really matter to the patient
•   HCP outcomes – aligning with targeted clinical measures as well as softer measures such as patient experience
•   Payors outcomes – showing an increase in efficiencies, reduced demand and increasing value for money
•  Pharma outcomes – demonstrating the impact of the drug and approach, the impact the approach has on the patient and ultimately an increase in sales.

In order to achieve this, we have to change the way that we work. Using the ICE excellence model, we move from a culture of design in isolation and market test, to one of co-creation and collaboration.

The model follows a systemic approach by bringing all of your stakeholders together to design the future state. This places the patient at the very centre of the work and designs with them in mind, whilst ensuring the needs of the wider system are met.

We involve the people in the system in every step of our programme design. By involving the people in the whole system, we make them true designers of the future, rather than validators of previous thinking.

Being outcomes focused, the model concentrates on values, beliefs and behaviours and supports a truly patient centre approach. This ensures that we design for the whole system - this is crucial in supporting patients to become engaged with their own health and condition management.

To find out more about true patient engagement, please contact Amanda Madden amanda.madden@icecreates.com 07866 602604

We've taken time to reflect after last week's Health+Care and wanted to share our thoughts, insights and takeaways with you...

Richard Forshaw-Smith

I enjoyed hearing how people are pushing the boundaries of innovation, and was impressed with the appetite for trying out new ideas. I heard how new technologies were helping with better diagnosis of abdominal illnesses, how disruptive tech is changing the way hearing tests are carried out in care homes and how improvements in wound care products help district nurses help their patients. Above all, there is a real willingness to explore partnership working to support people and make better happen.

Simon Platt

The interesting insight I gained from Health+Care (and it is a common theme across all health and care landscapes) was the importance of listening and the language we choose to respond with. Every visitor to our 'secret garden' and every individual I spoke with as I walked around the event hall had a different set of needs and reasons for being there. Therefore, the significance of concisely and attentively conversing with individuals before then connecting them to the most appropriate offer was key.

I witnessed conversations on other stands ending both successfully and in failure because people were either capable or incapable of 'joining the dots' with potential clients. At ICE's secret garden stand, the messages and language were clear and we are always proud of our ability to listen to what people have to say.

Being able to conclude an event such as Health+Care with over 100 new 'budding' relationships across our diverse portfolio is testament to getting our approach right. We listen, we learn, we excite, we reconnect the passion and the aspiration and that establishes trust and wins hearts and minds.

Amanda Madden

From the outset, ICE wanted Health+Care to be a place where we could engage with people. We wanted to create an environment that put people at ease, that intrigued them so they asked questions and that helped us to explain the things we are passionate about - helping people and organisations to be at their best. Our creative team set to work and the ‘secret garden’ was created. As a stand it did everything we hoped it would; it drew people in, it was a talking point and it enabled us to connect with people in a very different way.  

Personally, people never cease to amaze me. We spoke to people who are working in some of the most challenging environments, yet their commitment and resolve to ‘make better happen’ was immense and inspiring. It was a privilege to be able to explore how we could support them, and I am really looking forward to working with a number of the people/organisations that we met.

Stuart Jackson

A meeting of 1000s of people exploring what is important to them for their places and their people - that is what Health+Care was like for me. Did we find the answers? I doubt it.

Did we find inspiration? Yes, I did. We spoke with amazing people who were passionate and clearly committed to a journey to an unknown place called ‘integrated care’. I loved being in our garden and most of the kind feedback we received was that it was so very different and welcoming, which was one of the main themes of our shared conversations. We must think and act differently. 

This means we all need to be brave, creative (have ideas that add value) and I think most importantly, be ready to give power over to others, particularly for our citizens, patients and families. At the end of all of this, trust is the most important virtue we need. So in the week that saw British politics reach crisis point, we must one by one take our decisions from the perspective of acting for the good of the many, and not of the few. We must drive towards making our health and social care systems one. We know the end point, what we don’t know is the journey. What we do know is there is every bit of resource skill and an amazing amount of passion to get us there. 

Heidi King

It has been interesting and insightful to hear from over 100 health and care organisations at the show.

I was really pleased to hear and see that our metaphors for successful integration and transformation really chimed with individuals and organisations from across the spectrum. It was also really exciting to see how the personalisation agenda could support patients towards greater control over their health and how digital innovation is really driving this forward. I was also pleased to hear about how mental health is rising up the agenda so that as a system, we can work together to tackle whole person wellness. The platform is set for useful and exciting conversations over the coming weeks and months.

Carly Farley

It was nice to see what I’ve been hearing about being put into practice. Pharmaceuticals are now really coming round to new ways of working, and it isn’t about sales reps pushing for more sales and more profit. Going beyond the pill now means better outcomes for patients, so more support - digitally and physically - which means better outcomes for clinicians and therefore a better return for pharmaceuticals. After all, a better health population and happy clinicians means more profit.

Since the conference, I’ve been particularly looking forward to catching with up with one or two contacts around what they’re doing digitally and how Puffell can support that; some are definitely further down the line than others! 

Stephen Theobald

This year was a real mix for me; the conversations I had across the two days were really varied and interesting. The meaningful conversations for me were the ones that explored current challenges that individuals and organisations are facing, and what they thought the answers to these challenges may be. Some had a clear plan of how to move forward, some were shaky but felt they had something in place, unsure whether it was right or wrong, and some had no clue where to even begin! What was great to see was the real leap even from last year’s event of people and organisations willing to explore digital solutions to support better health and wellness for the entire population.

 We are looking forward to taking our learning forward and continuing these conversations.

As always, you can call us on 0845 519 3423 to see how we can co-create and inspire together.