This is part of a series of blog posts examining how Patient Support Services teams can deliver an outstanding patient experience.
As a reminder, a positive patient experience with support services offered has shown to increase a patient's likelihood of onboarding and adhering to their treatment over time.
To help Patient Support Services teams measure and improve the patient experience, PeopleMetrics has developed a model called the Patient Hierarchy of Needs.
This model includes five core patient needs and 15 questions that link to each need:
This model is based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, whereby certain needs must be fulfilled before higher order needs become relevant.
Last time, we reviewed the most fundamental patient need - financial security.
Once a patient is sure that they will be able to afford their medication, the next need that must be fulfilled is something we call logistical support - does the patient know how to get their medication, and can they get it in a reasonable time frame?
Level 2: Logistical Support
The first two patient needs - financial security and logistical support - are shown in the pyramid below:
Even if the patient can afford their new medication, if they do not know how to get it, they often will not onboard.
Or... if a patient gets a prescription for their medication, but are not able to obtain it within a reasonable timeframe, adherence is at risk.
PeopleMetrics' model includes two questions that measure the logistical support need. Each is asked on a 5 point agreement scale (“5” = strongly agree, “1” = strongly disagree):
- [COMPANY] made it easy to find a physical treatment location
- The time it took to receive the medication after my initial prescription was reasonable
The first question focuses on patient support services providing clear communication on where to find a treatment location. This is especially important for more complex therapies that are delivered through injectables.
The second question is about the timeliness of receiving medication after the first prescription. Patients may onboard initially, but not adhere over time if they can't quickly or easily obtain their medication.
Even though "Logistical Support" sounds an awful lot like common sense (which it is), it is critical for initial patient onboarding and adherence over time.
Make sure logistical support is made as clear as possible to your patients, and ask your patients about the effectiveness of this communication on a regular basis.
Next time, I will focus on the questions we ask to understand if the next tier of patient needs are being fulfilled – medication administration.
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Read all of the blog posts in this series:
- Introduction to PeopleMetrics' Patient Hierarchy of Needs
- Level 1: Financial Security
- Level 2: Logistical Support
- Level 3: Medication Administration
- Level 4: Support System
- Level 5: Confidence
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About the Author
Sean McDade, PhD is the author of Listen or Die: 40 Lessons That Turn Customer Feedback Into Gold. He founded PeopleMetrics in 2001 and is the architect of the company’s customer experience management (CEM) software platform. As CEO, he guides the company’s vision and strategy. Sean has over 20 years of experience helping companies measure and improve the customer experience. Earlier in his career, he spent five years at the Gallup Organization, where he was the practice leader of their consulting division. His company offers CEM software with advanced machine learning solutions and hands-on analytical support to help companies make sense of their CX data. Sean holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a specialization in marketing science from Temple University in Philadelphia. He has published eight articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and has taught over 25 marketing classes. Sean was named a 40 under 40 award recipient of the Philadelphia region. He is an active Angel Investor, including investments in Tender Greens, CloudMine and Sidecar.
Topic: Pharma CX
