Patient Satisfaction Remains Most Important, Even as Rising Costs Are Biggest Challenge to Healthcare Practices, RxVantage Study Reveals

Care Teams Want Better Access to Relevant Resources and Life Science Experts, Both In-Person and Virtually

PROVIDENCE, R.I., April 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Patient satisfaction remains the highest priority at every level of healthcare practices in the U.S., even as the rising cost of healthcare is the practice's biggest challenge, according to findings in a new RxVantage study, The Next Era of Practice and Life Science Engagement.  RxVantage is the industry leader powering smarter connections between healthcare providers and life science companies.

RxVantage set out to study the information, tools and support materials that physicians and practice staff want and need in light of the rapid changes in healthcare driven by the pandemic. They engaged Clarivate (NYSE: CLVT), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, to survey and conduct in-depth interviews across a sample of physicians, practice management staff, billers, and coders during November - December 2021.  The practices were inclusive of six specialties: oncology, dermatology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, neurology and endocrinology.  The results were weighted to reflect the actual universe of practicing physicians, billers, coders, and practice managers in the U.S. 

The study found that physicians, practice managers, billers and coders agreed that patient satisfaction is their highest priority, with 62 percent of physicians and 40 percent of practice managers ranking it #1. The groups surveyed also see the rising cost of healthcare as the practice's biggest challenge, by an overwhelming majority: 70 percent of physicians, 64 percent of practice managers, and 58 percent of billers and coders.  With increasing concerns about healthcare costs, practice managers, as well as billers and coders, devote the largest portion of their time – 23 percent and 27 percent, respectively -- staying up to date on financial policies and reimbursement.

Life science experts bring added value

Physicians note connecting with life science experts personally (38 percent) plus having these experts, including field representatives, medical science liaisons and other clinical and health practice experts, easily accessible to resolve any urgent queries (36 percent) is important. They also say that life science experts keep them updated about new treatments and drug developments (42 percent). Billers and coders like having the ability to receive product/medical device demos from these experts (38 percent).  Practice managers find connecting with life science experts at their convenience (42 percent) to be a big advantage.

All respondents report content from life science experts, like pharma reps, is most helpful in making informed decisions while performing regular tasks, though demand for resources varies.  Nearly three-quarters of physicians (72 percent) and practice managers (70 percent) find patient assistance programs or patient services most valuable, while Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) forms are most helpful to 53 percent of billers and coders.

Other key findings are:

• Physicians prefer to receive informative, pharmaceutical support resources from varying sources: life science experts (50 percent), their own research (40 percent), and colleague recommendations (10 percent).
• There is an unmet need among physicians for a variety of patient resources, especially medication adherence tools, with 43 percent of physicians interested in using these versus 22 percent currently using them.
• When using the internet for information, 50 percent of physicians primarily go online for new therapies and trial results; 70 percent of practice managers and 58 percent of billers and coders go online to see Medicare and Medicaid information.
• Nearly half of HCPs (46 percent) find up-to-date information on authorization and insurance guidelines to be an area where pharmaceutical organizations can help support practice staff to make more informed decisions; 48 percent of practice managers and 43 percent of billers and coders find reimbursement information to be of most importance.

"We undertook this study to have a better understanding directly from physicians and practice staff about the information and resources they want and need, and their preferred ways to access that," noted Daniel Gilman, CEO at RxVantage. "It's important that pharmaceutical, biotech and other life science organizations have a deeper understanding of how to engage physicians, support their practice staff, and offer targeted educational tools to help the team maintain patient satisfaction and meet the financial challenges of healthcare today."

Practices want a mix of remote and in-person interactions

When asked about preferences for 2022, in-person interactions are widely preferred (78 percent), though many practices intend to continue remote meetings (60 percent).  Three-quarters of practice manager respondents (76 percent) want a hybrid of in-person and remote interactions with pharma reps.

"These findings reflect activity we are seeing on the RxVantage network," added Gilman.  "Remote engagement was essential for reconnecting providers and life sciences during the pandemic. As we enter this next phase of the pandemic, most practices are embracing more in-person engagement, while remote meetings still serve as an important option and complement." RxVantage connects its network of medical practices to engage with the life sciences experts they need from over 900 companies. Since 2007, the company has coordinated close to 6 million educational interactions to provide the medical information and data providers need to deliver the best care to every patient.

Practice workflows depend on digital tools

Practices appear open-minded to considering tools, as long as they help create efficiency while elevating care. Two-thirds of practice managers (66 percent) and billers and coders (65 percent) and 42 percent of physicians agree that digital tools that optimize their practice's workflow significantly reduce the burden on their practice staff. Physicians, billers and coders, and practice managers also report improved quality of care they could provide as one of the main reasons to use life-science-provided digital tools. 

About RxVantage

RxVantage is transforming the way physicians and their practice teams make smarter healthcare connections that elevate the practice of medicine. We empower providers and life science partners to succeed in the era of virtual and personalized engagement. The only all-in-one solution of its kind, the RxVantage platform intelligently connects healthcare providers with resources, including the precise life sciences experts that they need, when they need it and in a manner that fits seamlessly into their workflow. RxVantage is built for the way providers operate. For more information, request a demo at www.rxvantage.com/request-demo.

Media Contact: 
Ivy Cohen 
Ivy Cohen Corporate Communications 
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SOURCE RxVantage