From Real-World Evidence to Real-Time Evidence: Personalizing Customer and HCP Engagements

In the ever-evolving landscape of customer and healthcare professional (HCP) engagements, the pursuit of personalization has become a critical objective. To achieve this level of tailored interaction, the industry must transition from relying on real-world evidence (RWE) to harnessing the power of real-time evidence (RTE). The shift to real-time evidence can potentially revolutionize how healthcare providers connect with their patients, fostering more meaningful and effective outcomes.

Real-world evidence, derived from observational data, clinical trials, and patient registries, has been instrumental in informing healthcare decisions and shaping marketing strategies. It provides a broad understanding of trends, behaviours, and outcomes in diverse populations. However, RWE is inherently retrospective, therefore potentially lagging behind current events and unable to capture the dynamic nature of a specific HCP’s management of a given patient population. This latency can result in missed opportunities and suboptimal decision-making.

The Emergence of Real-Time Evidence

Real-time evidence, on the other hand, leverages the immediacy of a continuous flow of data from various sources such as wearable devices, social media, electronic health records, and HCP interactions. This immediate access to up-to-date information can enable HCPs to respond swiftly to emerging trends and individual needs. By integrating RTE into their strategies, healthcare providers can offer personalized experiences that are not only relevant but also timely.

Benefits of investing in & maturing Real-Time Evidence capabilities

1. Enhanced Personalization: Real-time evidence can allow for the customization of interactions based on the most current and relevant data for a given HCP or HCO. For patients, this means receiving timely recommendations and interventions that align closely with their immediate needs and behaviours. For HCPs, it translates to having access to the latest clinical data, patient monitoring insights, and treatment options, enabling more informed and responsive care.

2. Improved Engagement: Engagement strategies grounded in real-time evidence are more likely to resonate with HCPs and patients. By addressing the immediate needs and concerns of patients, providers can build stronger, more trusted relationships. This is particularly crucial in healthcare, where timely and accurate information can significantly impact patient outcomes.

3. Adaptive Strategies: The agility afforded by real-time evidence could allow healthcare providers to adapt their strategies quickly. Patient conditions evolve over time and timely interventions are key to better patient experiences and outcomes. Having the ability to pivot and respond to changes in real-time ensures that interventions remain effective and relevant.

Digital Twins: Bridging the Gap to Real-Time Personalization

A key concept emerging from the adoption of real-time evidence is the digital twin. In healthcare, digital twins are virtual replicas of physical entities—whether they be individual patients, medical devices, healthcare facilities, pharmaceutical compounds, or even entire healthcare ecosystems. These digital twins leverage real-time data to create dynamic, continuously updated models that can be used for simulation, prediction, and personalized planning.

Patient Digital Twins can represent individual patients, incorporating data from electronic health records (EHRs), wearables, and other monitoring devices. For healthcare professionals, patient digital twins represent a transformative tool that can vastly improve patient care.  They can enable personalized treatment plans and remote monitoring, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date view of a patient’s health. By continuously integrating new data, patient digital twins can predict disease progression, tailor treatments to individual needs, and alert HCPs to potential issues before they become critical, ensuring truly personalized patient care.

For the pharmaceutical industry, digital twins represent an innovative way to enhance their engagement with HCPs and contribute to more effective treatment decisions. By creating digital twins of the patient populations being managed by a given HCP, healthcare organizations, or even entire healthcare systems, pharma companies can have even more relevant or personalized engagements with medical stakeholders to improve clinical practice.

Enabling Digital Twins with Real-Time Evidence

Implementing digital twins in healthcare requires a robust data infrastructure and meticulous planning. The following considerations are critical:

1. Setting Objectives: Clearly define the goals for digital twin implementation, whether it’s improving patient care, enhancing operational efficiency, supporting research, or enabling data-driven decision-making.

2. Data Collection and Quality Assurance: Identify relevant data sources, such as EHRs, wearable devices, sensors, and imaging systems. Ensure seamless integration and real-time data aggregation, maintaining high standards of data quality and accuracy.

3. Data Storage and Privacy: Choose secure and scalable data storage solutions capable of handling large volumes of diverse healthcare data. Address compliance and data privacy considerations to protect sensitive information.

By transitioning to real-time evidence and leveraging digital twins, healthcare systems will be able to achieve unprecedented levels of personalization in their patients. Similarly, with de-identified data, industry will be able to increasingly personalize engagements with HCPs and HCOs. This technological evolution promises not only to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery but also to create more productive partners across the healthcare ecosystem.