The traditional pharmaceutical supply chain is not working – not for patients, not for prescribers and not for manufacturers. Existing patient support services reach only a tiny proportion of new-to-brand patients, patient drop-off is too high, prescribers are overburdened with administrative tasks and brands are losing margins and failing to capture ROI. Legacy patient support was built to navigate access hurdles, not deliver a modern-consumer grade experience. To challenge the status quo and deliver clarity, momentum and choice on the path to therapy, the industry needs to move towards integrated, direct-to-patient (DTP) models which combine technology, real-time data and human support.
This is not about fixing a broken system. It is about transforming it to meet people where they are and help them meet their desired health outcomes.
Legacy Patient Support – The Start Line, Not the Finish
When patient support services were first launched two decades ago, they were a necessary measure to counter a distorted pharmaceutical supply chain. At the time, these services were a logical response to an illogical system which too often shifted cost and complexity onto those least able to cope with it.
However, these services have only helped a tiny proportion of new-to-brand patients navigate a system which was never designed for them. They are vendor-fragmented, manual and capital intensive, creating handoffs, data silos and delays. Low awareness and difficult enrolment mean only a small proportion of patients engage. At the same time, because programmes are anchored to dispensing workflows and cannot act until the right HIPAA authorisations and signatures are in place, help is pushed later in the prescription journey. This drives drop-offs, slows time to therapy and weakens adherence.
Put simply, legacy patient support was the start line – not the finish line.
Health Outcomes
Taking Direct Responsibility for the Patient Journey
Patients today are accustomed to seamless digital experiences – and they expect the same speed, transparency and choice in their pharma care. At the same time, shifting policies like most-favoured nation (MFN) are putting increasing pressure on manufacturers to prove that every dollar spent delivers value.
To meet these shifting demands, and optimise profitability, manufacturers need to take direct responsibility for the patient journey in a way which both honours patient choice and ensures provider autonomy. Traditional pharmacy hubs are often vendor-fragmented and call-centre heavy, making it difficult to deliver the seamless experience patients expect. This structure creates disparate, uncoordinated outreach that adds complexity for providers and patients alike. This results in patients facing delays and higher costs, providers shouldering extra admin work and adherence rates declining. When refill success drops and patient outcomes suffer, prescriber confidence is eroded, putting formulary access at risk.
Instead, manufacturers need to take direct ownership of the prescription journey in a way that combines the best of digital and legacy hub models, merging both speed and flexibility. When done correctly, this can preserve provider autonomy, safeguard patient choice and create a frictionless experience from start to finish.
Direct-to-Patient – A Unified Experience
Direct-to-patient (DTP) programmes unify the prescription journey from provider to patient, combining access, fulfilment and patient services into one frictionless, branded experience. They also provide manufacturers with real-time visibility and measurable outcomes – finally allowing them to align resources with patient outcomes, not intermediaries’ margins.
