By. Taegan Grice

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Human-centered design (HCD) is a well-touted problem-solving methodology, involving real patients in all phases of development. The objective is to create user-friendly products and services tailored to meet individuals’ needs, resulting in higher engagement and satisfaction. While most pharmaceutical marketers have adopted this methodology, many struggle to execute it successfully. More importantly, is that our industry has forgotten the most important aspect, empathy.

Many agencies fail to successfully execute HCD during a traditional discovery phase because it’s often the first and only time they engage with those patients. Patients must be a part of each phase of the process, allowing for an iterative and inclusive approach. When we only engage with our audiences for initial research and insights and not throughout the process, we risk creating solutions that have not been properly vetted and validated. We see solutions that do not address commonly asked questions about treatment expectations or access, leaving patients wanting more. Other common issues we see are:

- Gaps in health literacy, especially for high-science brands and treatments

- Inconsistent information between medical experts and patients

- Hard-to-discover information and inaccessible content

When agencies implement HCD and fold patients in along the way to validate, there is still a missing piece, because they’ve forgotten to think about the emotional state of these individuals. Herein lies a large gap we are facing in the industry; we are not considering the emotions of our patients and caregivers. Emotions shape how we communicate, how we make decisions, and our experiences. Empathy is important in design thinking because it is a skill that allows us to understand and feel with another person.

It's time to consider Empathic Design, which focuses on putting empathy first as a foundational element. When we truly connect and understand what an individual is experiencing, we can apply HCD and infuse co-creation activities and techniques. Once we empathize, we can continue engaging patients throughout all phases of the process to establish trust, solve unmet needs in innovative ways, and validate recommendations. Ultimately, this results in solutions that are; impactful, meaningful, transparent, sustainable, and supportive.

Feelings are an integral part of our lives and influence the way we move throughout the world. Yet, the popular approach in the pharmaceutical industry has focused on everything but emotion. Empathic design allows us to take a holistic approach to engaging and supporting our patient communities. Are you ready to make the shift?