Few industries are free from the impact of COVID-19, and that is certainly true in life sciences. For instance, services that provide support directly to patients have been limited or locked down completely, and there are many – in-person, multichannel and interventional interactions among them.
The demand to operate differently in our current environment comes with a new set of challenges – and at the top of that list is the need for appropriate space to accommodate physical distancing requirements, a huge shift that has led to a new physical and psychological normal. Many services are offered virtually, but that is not always an option. For those services requiring in-person care, there are new guidelines for facilities, health care providers (HCPs) and volunteers alike, making patient care all the more challenging, regardless of where you look.
So what could all of this mean long-term?
We are still in the early stages of assessing the impact of the pandemic, but one thing is certain: the services patients need most will likely look very different in the future. We imagine innovative new opportunities for our industry, driven by a changing health system.
At IQVIA, we have identified three important long-term impacts that the pharma industry should consider now when looking at approaches to patient services after the pandemic. Find these tips and other important information in my recent article forPME and PMLive.