MedTech and mobility: Taking a holistic approach to patient needs

Below is an outline of a presentation given by Branding Science Vice President and head of our MedTech Center of Excellence, Tom Donnelly at the recent Intellus Worldwide Institute Conference in New Jersey. The paper was entitled ‘Home Health Technology and Devices for Patients with Mobility and Dexterity Challenges’.

At Branding Science we believe that a proper understanding of the patient journey and patient needs is imperative for building a pharmaceutical brand that achieves its potential to change lives for the better. To this end, we decided to conduct a self-sponsored study to better understand the mobility and dexterity challenges some patients face, how they use home health technology and devices to overcome them, and what their unmet needs are. This study was in part inspired by a prior study to determine the packaging needs of patients with Friedrich’s Ataxia (FA), a rare inherited disease that causes progressive nervous system damage and movement problems.

Our survey findings on the impact of home health technology and patients’ unmet needs is currently based on 76 FA patients, though the research continues with other patients that have dexterity and mobility issues. The ability to be mobile and self-reliant was at the heart of many of these patients’ needs. Wheelchairs and smart digital devices are currently two of the top tools used. More recently, smart digital devices have been used to make homes smart, thereby changing and improving the lives of people suffering with FA and other dexterity and mobility issues.

At Branding Science, we believe that research and insights should lead to strategy and action. That is why, following our study, we put together several suggestions on ways the healthcare industry can use this research – such as informing commercial strategy and designing new offerings – as well as how the wider community can help. Our goal was to provide a better understanding of the challenges that mobility and dexterity issues pose for patients. We hope this motivates the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry to think holistically about patients’ needs beyond what their product provides.

If you are a member of Intellus, you can see the talk in full on the Intellus Institute website, alternatively you can contact Tom and our MedTech Centre of Excellence team at coemedtech@branding-science.com.