Category: AI & Data Analytics

Pharmaceutical procurement is one of the key factors influencing drug availability, safety, and total costs. A comprehensive procurement process should ensure a timely supply of the right pharmaceuticals in the right quantity, meeting approved quality standards. It should effectively manage supplier relationships in an ethical way while also seeking to secure the most favorable purchase price. That said, it is essential that this process was implemented by competent personnel with pharmaceutical, managerial, legal, and financial expertise. Equally important is their access to robust technology and reliable, up-to-date information. 

To tick all the boxes on this extensive list of requirements, pharmaceutical companies should clearly understand all challenges and remain aware of current trends to make procurement both efficient and seamless. In this article, the Viseven team aims to explain how pharma procurement works and to cover effective strategies to transform this process at any level, from local campaigns to national health programs. 

What is Procurement in the Pharmaceutical Industry? 

Pharmaceutical procurement refers to the process of managing supplier relationships to ensure pharma companies receive the correct medicines in the right quantities at reasonable prices while the supplier gets a transparent and timely payment. The procurement cycle presupposes all decisions related to selecting suppliers and monitoring drug delivery and distribution. It typically falls into the following steps:  

• Reviewing drug selections;
• Determining drug quantities;
• Aligning needs with the budget; 
• Selecting a procurement method; 
• Choosing suppliers;
• Outlining contract terms; 
• Tracking order status;
• Receiving and checking drugs; 
• Paying for an order;
• Distributing pharmacy; 
• Gathering consumption information.

Pharma Procurement Landscape

Pharma procurement can help navigate the intricacies of managing the global supply chains only when organizations have a complete understanding of the industry’s current landscape and challenges. Let’s have a quick review of pharmaceutical procurement in 2025:

• Technological advancements. The pharmaceutical industry is currently adjusting to advancing technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, and many others, which also heavily influence the state of pharma procurement operations.
• Ethical and safety concerns. Companies must comply with all industry standards and local laws, whether integrating new technology or selecting a different supplier. However, the constantly evolving nature of the industry has made it challenging to manage regulatory compliance.
• Shift to value-based procurement. More and more companies are starting to embrace the patient-first approach, where the main goal of pharma procurement is to achieve better patient outcomes instead of maximum cost savings.
• Global supply chain management adapting to new demands. Due to current geopolitical factors, the recent pandemic, and other challenges, the state of the pharmaceutical supply chain has changed significantly. Managing it has become far too complex, increasing the need for improved practices and more strategic procurement approaches.

Pharma procurement plays a crucial role in healthcare, providing an uninterrupted flow of important essential supplies that have a direct impact on patient care. This is why it’s so important to understand what key challenges pharma procurement processes can solve and how best to approach them.

Key Pharma Procurement Challenges to Consider

There are many balls in the air that pharma brands must keep juggling to deliver effective, safe, and reasonably priced essential pharmacy. Let’s take a closer look at some of them. 

The lack of supply chain transparency 

The lack of supply chain visibility makes it excruciatingly challenging for pharma companies to plan medicine production, forecast demand, and manage their inventory. Without consistent, standardized data, regulators fail to identify drug supply concerns, policymakers cannot make informed decisions to improve supply chain resilience, and healthcare providers (HCPs) are blindsided by the acute shortage of critical pharmaceuticals. The lack of transparency is positively correlated with improper security as well, as it becomes problematic for buyers to protect medicines they cannot track. 

Poor supplier performance 

Poor supplier performance generally results in unanticipated expenses. For example, a pharmaceutical brand can face increased acquisition costs if a supplier has not delivered on time. It also bears extra replacement expenses when drugs are discarded due to improper packaging. 

Hidden expenses can pile up, spiraling out of control due to many reasons related to supplier performance: the lack of appropriate documentation, storage, wrong dosage forms, and the list goes on.

Unexpected geographic factors 

Many pharmaceutical companies relying on global markets for drug materials are particularly vulnerable to shifting geopolitical situations. For instance, depending on sources in tariff-affected countries can substantially increase a pharma company’s operational expenses. 

Climate change is another factor, potentially disrupting supplies and contributing to hefty price tags. Regions that were once the sources of raw materials may be plagued by adverse weather events, hindering production and causing inflated costs. 

What are the Main Pharmaceutical Procurement Methods?

Procurement methods at any health system level typically comprise the following categories: restricted tender, open tender, direct procurement, competitive negotiation, and international and local shopping. 

Restricted tender

Suppliers must go through the prequalification process to prove their past supplier performance, manufacturing practices, and financial viability. 

Open tender

Any supplier representative can submit their offer following the terms and conditions outlined in the tender invitation. 

Direct procurement

Drugs or materials are sourced from a single supplier at the negotiated discount or quoted list price. 

Competitive negotiation

The buyer turns to a limited number of suppliers (usually at least three) to negotiate the price or achieve certain service arrangements. 

International or local shopping

Like competitive negotiation, the company reaches out to three suppliers on average; however, price negotiations are not allowed. 

Innovative Strategies for Pharma Procurement

Procurement plays a pivotal role in driving innovation. Here’s how companies can modernize their pharmaceutical procurement operations to achieve more impactful outcomes:

AI-driven supply chain management

We have already seen what artificial intelligence can do with data. With AI-powered analytics, it’s possible to significantly speed up such processes as analysis, research, and management, making it much easier to make important decisions on the go and detect problems before they occur.

Cloud-based platforms

A cloud-based procurement system might be the best solution to many issues regarding the transparency and efficiency of modern pharma procurement methods. Cloud-based procurement allows businesses to better manage their expenses, choose the best suppliers, organize all orders and available supplies, and even create a centralized system for many operations inside an organization.

End-to-end data traceability

Complete transparency is always one of the best ways to improve relationships between businesses and suppliers. Many organizations in the pharma domain are just starting to embrace the concept of end-to-end data traceability, where each stage of the supply chain is available for viewing at any moment. This visibility helps achieve maximized efficiency, improved patient safety, and protection against illegitimate products.

Logistics Solutions to Improve Pharmacy Procurement Process

With the rising number of sensitive medicines, how can the pharmaceutical logistic cycle keep expenses down while still complying with all safety requirements? Let’s discover the two main approaches to accomplish this. 

Implementing innovative technologies 

Cutting-edge drugs, such as stem cell therapy or large molecule biologics, require innovative transportation methods to keep the damage risks close to zero. Technologies allow pharmaceutical companies to collect and analyze a massive amount of data to ensure proper drug safety. 

One of the most common use cases is Internet of Things (IoT) sensors placed on containers and packaging to track humidity and temperature in real time. The importance of these solutions becomes all the more striking when one realizes that a staggering $35 billion is lost each year due to inadequate temperature regulation during shipments. Not only do sensors enable companies to comply with quality standards, but they also respond to risks in a timely manner during the actual transportation. For instance, technology makes it possible to modify a vehicle’s route or recharge the batteries in a temperature-controlled container if necessary. 

Widening the scope of supply chain partners 

Expanding the network of suppliers is associated with tangible benefits, such as cost optimization and efficiency. For instance, a global life sciences (LS) company could choose to partner with their suppliers to perform safety tests. Instead of sending these materials to their own laboratory once they receive the packages, they could trust the tests done by the suppliers. By opting for this kind of collaboration, these companies can considerably trim off their transportation costs and speed up time-to-market. 

Digital Transformation in Pharma Procurement 

It is no secret that the coronavirus hit the health sector the hardest. The pharmaceutical industry had to quickly find ways to optimize its procurement processes in order to tackle the hurdles the deadly virus brought upon businesses. Data analytics, e-procurement platforms, and blockchain technology emerged as the major trends to prevent procurement disruptions and boost supply chain resilience. 

Data analytics 

There is a reason data is called the new gold. For example, data analytics tools help businesses make more informed decisions regarding supplier negotiations. To choose the best supplier, businesses can analyze hundreds of options and sort them out into strategically important clusters. This categorization allows them to settle down on the right vendor based on the prices and upcoming purchases.

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms also take a lot of legwork from supplier management. Take, for instance, a pharma company that purchases ingredients for its new medicine. It has 200 suppliers in 120 strategically important clusters, with each supplier in numerous clusters. Advanced analytics solutions give the company a bird-eye view of each vendor’s performance in terms of quality, risks, price, and sustainability. 

E-procurement platforms 

The range of functionalities within e-procurement platforms notably varies. Certain platforms focus on facilitating compliance with regulatory benchmarks, while others, much like well-known sites such as Amazon or eBay, connect users with verified suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers.

Prior to e-procurement, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a global pharma brand, used old-school paper cataloging and communications over the phone. This made the procurement process more expensive, time-consuming, and ridden with errors. Soon, they realized they needed to shift to an e-procurement platform to easily manage content in any lab supply firm worldwide. Their solution now allows them to create requisitions, approve, distribute, and make receipts with just a few clicks.  

Blockchain technology 

Blockchain remains one of the main tech stories in pharmaceutical procurement. Blockchain refers to a secure database where real-time information is available to all parties. This, in turn, makes it possible to share anything valuable, including drug provenance or current temperature, improving supply chain safety and transparency.

Merck, one of the oldest pharma manufacturers, partners with IBM, Walmart, and accounting leader KPMG to take advantage of blockchain technology. Due to blockchain, pharmacists and healthcare providers (HCPs) can use an application to track the vaccine packages and get the full history of their journey from suppliers to their offices. 

Possible Case Studies & Examples

There are numerous cases where efficient procurement processes had a much bigger impact on the company than anticipated at first. Here are some potential use cases in the pharma industry:

Improving supplier relationships

Problem: A pharmaceutical company struggles with delayed material deliveries, which leads to revenue losses, production halts, and worsened relationships with stakeholders

Solution:

• Integration of a supplier performance management (SPM) system.
• Development of long-term partnerships with reliable suppliers.
• Fostering transparency in communication between the company and its suppliers.

Outcome:

• Reduced lead times.
• Savings of up to half of the previous expenses.

Cost reduction

Problem: A pharma company faces increasing production costs for active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Solution:

• Shift to global sourcing strategies to diversify suppliers and find cost-effective options.
• Negotiated volume discounts with preferred suppliers.
• Introduced reverse auctions for non-critical items.

Outcome:

• Reduction in API procurement costs.
• Improved risk mitigation by diversifying supplier base.

Increasing procurement processes’ efficiency

Problem: A pharmaceutical company’s manual procurement processes lead to inefficiencies and higher operational costs.

Solution:

• Implementation of an e-procurement platform integrated with ERP systems.
• Automated purchase order generation and approval workflows.
• Use of AI for real-time monitoring of supplier performance and market trends.

Outcome:

• Reduced procurement cycle time.
• Increased transparency and compliance.
• Operational costs cut.

Shaping the Future of Procurement in Pharma Operations

What does the future look like for procurement in the pharmaceutical industry? Here are some ideas:

Possibility of disruption of global supply chains

The past pandemic of COVID-19 has shown us how unprepared the pharmaceutical industry can be in case of a global crisis. When the pandemic hit, the pharmaceutical industry faced raw material shortages, logistical bottlenecks, and delayed production. The pandemic unraveled all the weaknesses and issues of supply chain management worldwide, which hopefully we will resolve in the near future.

Sustainable initiatives

In the future, suppliers with ethical practices will dominate the market. Laws will become far more strict, leading to the closure of businesses that fail to comply. However, companies that actively demonstrate their commitment to sustainability—such as responsibly sourcing materials, recycling waste, offering sustainable packaging, and taking other steps to protect our planet—will be preferred by consumers and stakeholders alike.

Automation

Will robots ever take over? This is a question that has existed for a long time, and while it’s unlikely that robots will completely replace human work, it’s possible that robotic automation and artificial intelligence will play a crucial role in supply chain management in the future. Thanks to automation, many pharma companies will be able to reduce errors, minimize risks, and speed up such processes as manufacturing, automation, and even research & development.

Data-driven decision-making as the new norm

Even though using data to make decisions is one of the most important strategies in the pharma industry right now, its potential still hasn’t been fully realized. With the help of real-time data analytics and such instruments as AI-powered analysis, it’s possible to get important insights at the moment of their discovery, which helps make the right decision faster.

Summing Up

With rising incidents of counterfeiting, safety concerns, and high production costs, pharma companies absorb a disturbing realization: regulatory compliance alone will not solve all problems in the procurement process. It will require investments in cutting-edge technologies to ensure supply chain visibility, supplier high performance as well as resilience in the face of unanticipated geopolitical shifts. 

Viseven, with over 14 years of experience, has consistently delivered innovative digital solutions to pharmaceutical and LS enterprises worldwide. Over this period, we have established long-term partnerships with more than 150 clients, including 50 globally renowned industry leaders. From idea to realization, we can help to build procurement solutions of any complexity. 

Need a hand with software development? Please contact our team to start cooperation. 

With every year, the use of technology in the healthcare industry grows exponentially. Automation has become a lot more than just a vision for the future, and many companies are now introducing it as a key solution to numerous challenges, such as low-quality patient care or high operating costs. Robotic process automation is the answer many have been looking for, and in today’s article, we will take a closer look at what RPA is in the healthcare industry context and how it can help your business thrive.

What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a type of technology that primarily focuses on automating various processes, often to help human workers cut repetitive tasks and achieve faster completion. RPA employs software robots, or bots, to carry out tasks such as data entry and extraction, insurance claims processing, insurance verification, payroll calculations, document verification, employee onboarding, and many others. Robotic process automation enables healthcare organizations to automate many areas of their work, creating more time and space to help patients feel more comfortable and get better.

Understanding the Role of RPA in Healthcare

Robotic process automation in healthcare is not just about automating some repetitive tasks and saving money; RPA has the power to impact many areas of business operations, including not-so-obvious things like legal compliance. Let’s discuss some of the benefits that make RPA so critical in the context of healthcare:

Improved productivity

Robots can work without breaks around the clock. Therefore, healthcare workers won’t have to take up all of their time on time-consuming, repetitive, and difficult tasks; instead, they can focus on providing high-quality healthcare and delegate some of their tasks to RPA solutions.

Increased patient satisfaction

Patients have different kinds of experiences when they use healthcare services: before, during, and after the service has been administered. The before and after experiences heavily depend on how fast the patient was assisted and how personalized and helpful the assistance was. With RPA, it’s possible to shorten the amount of time needed to make an appointment, answer questions, schedule doctor visits, and other activities that often involve long wait times.

Personalized patient care

By automating some in-house processes and workflows, healthcare organizations can focus on providing more personalized patient care. Combined with other technologies like artificial intelligence, this makes it possible to create fully personalized experiences built around patient preferences and schedules.

Better accuracy

When it comes to healthcare, many tasks are very error-prone and require a lot of attention to be done properly. For example, manual data entry is not only a time-consuming activity but also very demanding, with a high risk of mistakes. With healthcare RPA, it’s possible to mitigate errors and inaccuracies.

Compliance with industry regulations

Almost any bit of information healthcare organizations put out into the world must comply with regional laws and regulations. Anything that deviates from that compliance can be harmful to the organizations, the healthcare professionals who work there, and the patients. RPA systems can automate such processes as data collection, validation, regulations monitoring, MLR approvals, and risk assessment, helping companies handle healthcare data more safely and ensuring that the company’s actions align with industry standards and don’t break laws.

What RPA Capabilities Help to Improve Healthcare Operations?

When you think of healthcare robotic process automation, imagine it as something that can shaped to your needs. This is possible thanks to the vast array of benefits and solutions the RPA has to offer, including:

• Workflow orchestration;
• Data analytics;
• Data entry and extraction;
• Automatic reminders and notifications;
• Audits;
• Compliance checks;
• Financial reconciliation;
• Reporting;
• Hyperautomation;
• Automated email marketing;
• Tracking of medical equipment and supplies.

The RPA functionalities include a wide range of features, such as revenue cycle management, automated email marketing, healthcare lead generation, and much more.

TOP Healthcare Automation Trends Shaping the Future of Medicine

Technologies in the healthcare sector continue to evolve and advance, forcing the industry to change and adjust to the new age. Here are some of the biggest automation trends that are reshaping healthcare as we speak:

Tehelealth

The use of telehealth, also commonly referred to as telemedicine, has been on the rise since the Covid-19 pandemic. Telehealth is a set of practices and technologies that allow for long-distance patient-doctor communication and treatment. According to McKinsley, 55% of patients are more satisfied with virtual visits than face-to-face appointments. Thanks to telehealth, more people now have immediate access to healthcare, which is why it’s likely that this trend is here to stay for a long time and develop into something even more impactful.

The Internet of Medical Things

The Internet of Medical Things, which is a term derived from the Internet of Things, is a network of medical devices that are connected to the Internet and provide both patients and doctors to virtually connect. TIoMT can be a part of telehealth, but it also encompasses a huge variety of devices, such as wearables, in-hospital devices, smart pills, remote monitoring systems, and others. The Internet of Medical Things will continue advancing, automating repetitive tasks and improving patient monitoring and care.

3D printing

3D printing technology has quickly grown from just a few hospitals using it in 2010 to more than a hundred in 2019 and over four hundred in 2022. Right now, this number is likely to be more than five hundred. 3D printing can help develop and manufacture custom tools for surgeries and treatments, personalized devices, and even prosthetics or implants. There are countless opportunities in 3D printing, and it will continue to grow and evolve.

Artificial intelligence

AI has been one of the biggest trends of the past couple of years in healthcare, life sciences, and other industries. Right now, 94% of healthcare organizations use artificial intelligence or machine learning in some way. AI can significantly improve patient experience, reducing costs, providing faster access, increasing employee satisfaction, and influencing the lives of patients and healthcare providers.

The potential of RPA in Healthcare

The opportunities for using RPA in healthcare are quite extensive. Here are some ways in which healthcare organizations can use robotic process automation:

Remote patient monitoring

With the help of robotic process automation, patients who live in rural areas or have medical conditions that limit their mobility will be able to get care from anywhere. In the future, patients will likely be monitored remotely, and robots will do most of the job by constantly recording and analyzing the data provided.

Data management

RPA might become fully responsible for storing, verifying, and updating patient records in the future. Here is the thing: data lies at the heart of healthcare. It’s impossible to provide good care without assessing the patient first. However, acquiring, properly storing, and safeguarding medical data is a time-consuming and error-prone task. Automating it is a huge step toward enhanced patient care.

Inventory management

One of the most important responsibilities of any medical facility is to provide high-quality treatment and medicine, as well as use proper high-quality equipment to carry out patient care. And even though hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare organizations are doing a great job managing inventory, they surely need a hand with all those things they need to keep track of. This is where RPA software can help, fully automating such processes as ordering supplies, managing equipment, tracking orders, and optimizing resources.

Key Challenges of RPA in Healthcare Faced by Organizations

RPA is not a silver bullet, and there are some challenges a company must be prepared for if they are about to step on the path to digital transformation and automation:

Change resistance

For many healthcare workers, the introduction of any type of automation tool might seem scary, and this feeling is easy to understand. Some might worry that their work will soon be replaced by robots, while others fear that unnecessary changes will interrupt their routine, preventing them from achieving the desired results. Every healthcare organization that plans to introduce robotic process automation should prepare its workers for it, providing all the necessary educational materials and assistance in case of difficulties or questions.

Outdated systems and workflows

Automation requires thorough preparation and a certain degree of digital maturity before it can be integrated into the company’s process. The problem is that many healthcare organizations run on legacy software or outdated IT infrastructures that are not conducive to automation.

Cybersafety concerns

In healthcare, even the smallest security mishap can lead to serious problems. Automation is great, but is the chosen solution safe? Will patient records be protected? Are there any risks of data breaches? It’s crucial to consider all these factors before implementing RPA, as it will guarantee the safety of your employees and customers. You need to be sure your automation partner can design and implement a secure infrastructure for your patient data.

Lack of expertise

Robotic process automation in healthcare is a relatively new trend that many companies have yet to embrace or even consider. This is why it might be hard to find the right talent, making experts in RPA extremely valuable and harder to find, at least for now. The demand for specialists in this field continuously grows, but there are just not enough educational platforms and opportunities for those willing to study.

High cost

Automation of healthcare processes comes with a price tag some might consider unreasonable. It’s not just about the cost of the RPA solution but also the expenses associated with retraining staff, changing workflows, optimizing resources, etc. To mitigate this problem, at least in the short term, we recommend first selecting the processes that are the easiest to automate while being fairly impactful. By making these first automation steps fast and relatively simple, you’ll start to see your first ROI quickly, while you move on to automating more and more complex processes.

RPA Use Cases in Healthcare

RPA implementation will sooner or later become a necessary step for most, if not all healthcare providers. Here are some examples of how you can leverage RPA tools to enhance some of the critical processes within your organization:

Online patient scheduling

Most companies are ready to facilitate appointment scheduling that takes place completely online, and with RPA software, it’s possible to implement it without any complications. According to recent studies, about 80% of patients would rather choose a healthcare provider that offers online scheduling.

Patient onboarding

During all steps of receiving treatment, from coming to a medical facility for the first time to discharge, both patients and healthcare providers have to deal with huge volumes of data. To ease this process, healthcare organizations can use RPA to automatically upload and sort patient forms, allowing HCPs to later access this information in just a couple of seconds.

Digital patient surveys

Ensuring that every individual feels safe and cared for is one of the priorities for all hospitals and clinics. With RPA tools, patient feedback can be gathered without having to manually write messages or read through the responses—it can all be done automatically, providing HCPs with all the insights they need.

Billing

Medical billing comprises various steps, such as data entry, claims processing, insurance eligibility verification, and multiple others. Automating each stage of the process ensures that healthcare organizations and providers will be fairly compensated without long wait times.

Content automation

Many businesses are already automating the content creation process by delegating some of the content-related tasks to different software and platforms. For example, some companies use pre-approved templates to quickly create content on the go, while others use automation to edit and proofread content in just a few minutes.

Final Thoughts

From data sharing to improving clinical outcomes, robotic process automation can assist the healthcare industry in many ways. However, it is not a universal solution. To fulfill its role and help your organization automate its workflows and processes, it’s crucial to take all the necessary steps beforehand and properly prepare for the RPA implementation. It is also critical to choose the right processes to automate, start with small and impactful things, and progress to larger, more complex processes. As a result, you will achieve a level of digital maturity and process automation that cuts redundant spending and delivers exceptional patient outcomes.

If you are ready to start your journey in digital transformation, consider the Viseven team as your trusted digital transformation partner. Schedule a free consultation now to get answers to all your questions.

Massive challenges like the global pandemic forced many industries to rethink how they handle data storage, and pharma was no exception. When COVID hit, the urgent need to accelerate drug development meant shrinking timelines from years to months, with no room for compromises on quality.  

Cloud computing was one of the facilitators of this shift. Cloud-based tools allowed pharma companies to capture and share clinical data between research teams both securely and quickly. The rest is history: vaccines were delivered worldwide in record time, saving millions of lives.

In this article, we will explore the main use cases for cloud computing in pharmaceutical industry, its benefits, and the challenges that still need to be addressed. 

Intro to Cloud Computing in Pharma 

Cloud computing gives life sciences companies a flexible way to handle data storage. Instead of pouring money into physical data centers and servers, they can access remote, on-demand, storages as needed. This allows them to scale quickly, gain a competitive edge, and save money for more important things like research and development.  

Let’s not forget the massive amount of data the life sciences industry generates daily. Cloud-based systems help eliminate data silos, allowing companies to better use their data to drive business growth. Cloud computing empowers life sciences organizations to transform various business processes and adopt innovative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). 

Why Cloud Computing is Crucial in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Cloud technologies have revolutionized the life sciences industry. Let’s explore the areas that have seen the most significant changes.

Cloud computing accelerates drug discovery 

The gap between companies investing in cloud technologies and those avoiding it is set to grow. For example, AstraZeneca, which relies on cloud solutions to accelerate drug research and development, will likely get products to market faster than any company that has resisted this digital transformation.  

“Ultimately, the cloud is the latest example of Schumpeterian creative destruction: creating wealth for those who exploit it; and leading to the demise of those that don’t.” – Joe Weinman, Senior VP at Telx. 

This innovative approach has brought more than 40 successful drug discovery projects to AstraZeneca. Thanks to its partnership with AWS, it can conduct 51 billion statistical tests in less than 24 hours. By the end of 2026, the company will be able to analyze two million genomes. Isn’t scalability one of the most important goals each drug manufacturer is striving for? 

Thanks to cloud computing, research teams can collaborate and share their findings securely and efficiently. This allows scientists to analyze lab results and draw conclusions more quickly.  

Life sciences companies can adopt third-party software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for drug discovery or build custom tools in collaboration with a cloud provider. For instance, many pharmaceutical companies use cloud-based platforms for remote research and development labs, regulatory compliance, and clinical trial data management. 

Cloud computing facilitates effortless collaboration 

Cloud computing makes it easier for life sciences companies to communicate and collaborate globally. With cloud platforms, professionals can share ideas, seek second opinions, and fill knowledge gaps faster, speeding up breakthroughs in healthcare. Today, cloud-based collaboration tools help stakeholders keep communication open at every product lifecycle stage, from discovery to manufacturing.  

Cloud applications also let healthcare providers (HCPs) cooperate with patients, track their side effects, and prompt patients to seek care when needed.  For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) teamed up with Oracle to develop a cloud-based health check system that allowed the reporting of COVID-19 vaccine side effects.

This quick reporting helped the CDC gather crucial data on the vaccine’s effectiveness, contributing to its further improvements. Medical journals then used this data to debunk myths about the vaccine circulating online and raise public awareness about the deadly virus. 

Cloud computing provides secure data sharing for clinical trials 

High dropout rates in longitudinal trials are a big concern for drug manufacturers. An analysis of 71 randomized controlled trials published in leading medical journals shows that 18% of trials have a dropout rate of 20%, which leaves room for biased clinical results.  

Why do so many patients leave the clinical trials? Many are still designed with life sciences companies in mind, requiring patients to make frequent hospital visits without compensation for their time or effort. Cloud computing is helping to change this by enabling decentralized clinical trials. 

Source: Pharma Technology Focus 

Cloud solutions have shifted the burden away from patients. With decentralized trials, patients can now report their health status from the comfort of their homes. With less time commitment and fewer scheduling conflicts, it is no surprise that dropout rates have decreased dramatically. 

Besides, cloud computing pairs well with AI, allowing scientists to analyze clinical trial data with surgical precision. This is especially helpful in recruiting participants and designing the trials.

The cloud also merges with other technologies like electronic health records (EHRs), wearables, telemedicine, and mobile apps, enhancing patient engagement and communication. Sano Genetics is a great example of a cloud app that connects patients with clinical research opportunities tailored to their genetic data. Its Virtual Waiting Room provides personalized content to keep users engaged between trial stages, which helps boost compliance rates. 

Cloud computing helps to comply with regulations 

Cloud technology helps life sciences companies navigate a heavily regulated industry without the need to gather physical dossiers. The regulatory submission process has become much smoother and quicker. The regulatory bodies can now access company data directly from cloud servers and track drug safety in real-time.  

Traditional pharmacovigilance leads to time-consuming manual reporting. Cloud computing makes real-time monitoring possible, allowing timely detection of drug safety signals. The data submitted to the cloud lets regulators perform instant analysis and expedite approvals. 

What’s more, pharmaceutical regulations change and evolve rapidly, making compliance quite tricky. Cloud technology empowers companies to trace regulatory changes and revise processes and procedures accordingly. 

Cloud computing improves supply chain resilience 

Counterfeit products are a serious issue in the life sciences industry, posing a significant threat to patient health and safety. Cloud computing enhances transparency in the supply chain by enabling drug manufacturers to trace every component back to its origin.  

Real-time monitoring of a drug’s location drastically reduces the possibility of errors and prevents counterfeiting. Cloud-based systems collect data at every stage of the drug’s journey, combating the grey market and ensuring product authenticity. 

Cloud computing enhances pharmaceutical marketing efforts 

It is no secret that great marketing starts with having complete, high-quality data. Traditional on-premises systems often struggle with data silos, making it hard to share information and perform solid data analysis. This stifles effective customer segmentation, personalization, and omnichannel marketing efforts.  

Cloud computing solves this by allowing brands to centralize terabytes and petabytes of data securely. Marketing teams can easily collaborate with other departments and clients, sharing documents and files to create compelling campaigns.  

Additionally, advanced cloud analytics provide key insights into how to guide HCPs and patients through the sales funnel. It gives marketers a clear view of what really matters to customers – and what is holding them back. 

Let’s say an HCP browses a pharmaceutical company’s website. Cloud data analytics can monitor the pages they explore, the links they click, and even the areas where they linger. Marketers can then leverage this data to tailor personalized content that meets their specific needs. 

Not to mention, this kind of personalization is possible in real-time. Cloud technology coupled with AI data analytics helps life sciences companies gain data-driven insights and create engaging, relevant content on the fly.  

By analyzing the HCP’s actions on the website, AI-driven cloud analytics can choose the most relevant pre-approved modules and create content that is tailored to their immediate needs. Since customer preferences can shift rapidly, this gives pharmaceutical brands a significant competitive edge in engaging their audience. 

Let’s Talk Numbers 

The cloud market is piping hot right now. According to recent statistics, 95% of companies in sectors like public services, manufacturing, IT and technology, retail, and finance now use cloud solutions. It is no surprise that the global market is growing at a compound annual rate of 20%.  

Another key finding: 96% of respondents said cloud-based systems have exceeded their expectations. However, the survey also shows that only 42% of companies have fully moved to the cloud, while 55% still rely on on-premises solutions to some extent.

If the cloud is so effective, why are so many companies digging in their heels and resisting innovation? Let’s explore this further in the section below. 

Cloud Computing in Pharma Today: Challenges & Solutions 

Anything connected to the Internet can be vulnerable to cyberattacks. Moving your data from in-house servers to the cloud exposes your system to potential security risks. In addition, this change shifts responsibility for security from your organization to a third-party cloud provider, which can be difficult, especially if there are trust issues.  

However, if you choose a reliable cloud vendor like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure, these extreme worries are often overblown. Leading providers typically have hundreds of experts dedicated to data security, ensuring your data remains safe and is not accessed by unauthorized third parties. 

Data sovereignty is another key concern for most pharmaceutical brands as they decide whether to move to the cloud. Personal data is subject to the legal regulations of the country where the individual resides, which can make cloud adoption painful.  

For instance, if you are based in Greece and want to work with a trusted provider like AWS, you could run into data sovereignty issues, as AWS does not have a data center in your country.

To address this, many major cloud providers set up data centers in various countries to enable local data storage. Yet, they must navigate different internet governance regulations to make this happen. 

Moving to the Cloud with Ease

These days, nearly every sector has its own success story of moving to the cloud. However, this shift did not happen overnight. It has brought significant changes to companies of all sizes, impacting everything from business operations to internal processes. 

If you want to change your infrastructure, the Viseven team is here to guide you through the entire journey. We have over a decade of expertise delivering our cloud-based content experience platform, eWizard, and helping numerous pharmaceutical companies make a smooth move to the cloud. Our cloud services also cover cloud architecture design, consulting, management, DevOps as a service, and cloud cost optimization. 

Ready to turn the page to the cloud-based future? Get in touch, and we will reach out to you soon. 

Data is everywhere. No matter how big your company is or what its main services or products are, it’s likely that it relies on data for daily operations. Good record management practices, quality risk management, and robust compliance frameworks are standard procedures in industries like pharmaceuticals and life sciences. All of it is done to assure data integrity—the glue that holds together all measures and actions performed to keep the data safe, error-free, and complete. In our new article, you will learn more about data integrity in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry and why maintaining it matters so much.

Understanding Data Integrity and Its Relevance

Data integrity refers to the concept of keeping data accurate, reliable, and consistent throughout its lifecycle. It is a critical aspect of any organization, as data integrity makes data valuable, enables informed decision-making, and ensures adherence to life sciences and pharmaceutical regulations. Data integrity isn’t a software, service, or product; it encompasses various solutions contributing to improved data maintenance and quality.

Importance of Data Integrity in the Pharma Industry

It takes just one wrong data entry, breach, or incident for patients and clients to lose your trust. Data integrity is more than just data protection; there are many reasons why it should be a top priority for anyone in pharma and life sciences. Here are a few more reasons why it is so important to maintain data integrity:

Patient safety

Accurate and reliable data is a cornerstone of the healthcare industry. Achieving effective communication between a healthcare specialist and a patient is impossible if data the healthcare provider relies on data that can be misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misused. Data integrity is a way for healthcare institutions, life science companies, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to ensure that the information their employees utilize won’t lead to incorrect diagnoses or inappropriate treatments and, instead, positively impacts patients’ health and safety.

Ensuring the quality of products and services

Data integrity equals compliance with all legislations, regulatory requirements, and standards. And when all of these boxes are ticked, it means the products and services are safe for consumers. Even if they’re not the highest quality, they at least pose no risk to anyone’s health.

When it comes to improving the quality of products and services, there is another reason why data integrity is so important. Many companies use data insights to better understand their customers and develop better engagement strategies or more customer-centric solutions. With data integrity, companies can be sure that their data is 100% accurate, empowering businesses to be even more proactive with their decisions instead of taking too long to introduce any changes and improvements. High-quality data equals better patient experience, making data integrity’s role even bigger in the pharmaceutical industry.

Compliance with regulations

Maintaining data integrity is often intertwined with regulation compliance, which is why paying attention to both is even more important. Pharmaceutical companies work with data regularly, and the best way to protect both pharmaceutical industry workers and patients is by achieving full compliance with data integrity requirements and pharmaceutical regulations. This is why it’s so important for companies to utilize proper software for storing and retrieving data, even for processes like content creation. With tools like eWizard, you can guarantee regulatory approval of all your content without needing to go through content manually every time you create something.

Proof of data quality

Data integrity is a direct reflection of data quality. Maintaining one is impossible without maintaining the other, and only if both are preserved can data be trusted and used to make informed decisions. But how can you be sure that your data is of high quality? This is why data integrity principles exist. Adhering to them guarantees that all of the data you work with is accurate, easy to understand, consistent, and properly collected and stored.

Key Principles of Data Integrity

In the 1990s, the FDA developed a list of principles of data integrity, which still serve as a framework for working with data and documenting it. These are so-called ALCOA+ principles, and although there are 5 main ones, it’s continuously expanding, and some experts and companies add more guidelines to the list. Let’s take a look at the core principles used by businesses worldwide to this day:

Attributable

Each piece of data should be attributed to the person who generated it. This information should cover when the piece of data was created and who did it. This can be done with either a physical signature or an electronic one. If every record, document, and any other form of data indicates who was involved in the generation or creation process, it becomes much easier to trace back to the original source in case of any anomalies, errors, or inconsistencies.

Legible

All data pieces are supposed to be easy to comprehend, readable, and coherent. This principle emphasizes the importance of ensuring that data remains understandable at all times, regardless of when it is accessed and by whom. If only a few individuals can read and understand the data, its utility significantly diminishes. For data to consistently remain valuable, it must be kept accurate, easy to interpret, and safeguarded against misinterpretation.

Contemporaneous

According to this principle, any data recording should be made in real time. For example, if an event occurs and needs to be documented, it should be done at the moment it happens to ensure that all findings and observations are accurate and represent a real picture of the events and their correct chronological order. With contemporaneous data documentation, it becomes possible to easily avoid any errors and inaccuracies that might come up after data recordings take place.

Original

All data should be preserved in its original form, and copies should not be used as primary sources. If any piece of data is used after its documentation or creation, it’s crucial that it be attributed to the original source. This principle helps protect data, especially in the long term, by pushing companies, researchers, and manufacturers to create conditions where it is possible to safely store data for longer periods.

Accurate

All data should always reflect real events and conditions and be complete. All data presented, recorded, and stored should be error-free and complete. At the moment of documentation, data should be recorded without any changes to prevent falsifications and misinterpretations. To achieve data accuracy, every piece of data should be verified and only modified by authorized personnel with proper access.

Note: the “+” in the ALCOA+ abbreviation stands for extended principles created after the original ones. Some of these principles are Avaiable, Enduring, Complete, and Consistent.

Possible Challenges in Maintaining Pharmaceutical Data Integrity

Most data integrity issues are caused by a bad quality culture, poor behavior at the company, bad leadership, disorganized processes, or improperly used technology. In other words, there are quite a few challenges when it comes to implementing data integrity and maintaining it, such as:

Too much reliance on legacy systems

Many companies in the pharmaceutical industry are still using old, outdated systems to store and manage data. Most businesses realize this is a problem, but due to the inability to retrain staff or invest in better software, no changes have been made. The use of legacy systems might not necessarily be a bad thing, but consider the fact that every year, the use of data continues to increase, and with outdated software, it’s going to get harder to properly store and manage data, which could potentially lead to leaks and breaches if not taken care of.

Manual processes

Manual processes take a lot of time and are more unreliable and prone to errors. This has nothing to do with the level of expertise or experience of people who work with data. The human factor plays a significant role in gathering and managing data, and with the large volumes of data today, making manual processes error-free is more challenging than ever before. Minimizing human intervention is the best way to achieve maximum data collection and analysis effectiveness, leading to fewer mistakes and safety issues.

Poor and infrequent audits

Data auditing is a process of reviewing and evaluating a company’s data to guarantee its accuracy, reliability, and compliance with modern standards and regulations. Frequent auditing allows for better control of data and quick identification of any inconsistencies, anomalies, and errors. Data integrity inspections are a normal procedure, and businesses that desire to protect both their employees and patients should be ready to conduct regular audits to monitor and verify the entire data lifecycle.

Data integrity breaches and cyberattacks

Cyberattacks are probably the biggest enemy of data integrity. Hackers who get their hands on valuable data can do a lot of damage to it and the company that owns the data, such as distributing it to third parties, tampering with it, deleting critical information, etc. This is why it’s so important to implement access controls—cyberattacks can happen to even the smallest companies, so protecting data and its integrity should be a top priority for any organization.

Lack of proper training

It is true that some, if not most, data-related activities can be automated, but it’s not possible to eliminate human intervention completely. This is why it’s crucial to properly train everyone who might have to work with the company’s data; mishandling data or neglecting safety measures when accessing corporate information that’s not meant only for inner circles can lead to serious issues, including data integrity violations.

Current Key Trends in Pharma Data Integrity

As both life sciences and pharma industries continue to evolve, data integrity changes as well. New ways to achieve data reliability are already emerging, making once unbelievable technologies a tool for battling hackers, data loss, and other dangers that pose a risk to data integrity. Let’s take a look at 3 biggest trends in pharma data integrity right now:

Blockchain technology

Blockchain is one of the best solutions for maintaining and ensuring data integrity. Here is a thing: as said before, one of the biggest challenges of data integrity is cyberattacks and data breaches. Blockchain technology almost entirely solves this problem, as when data is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be changed even slightly without all participants agreeing to the changes. Moreover, blockchain offers much-needed decentralization, where there is no control by a single entity, which leads to increased transparency and minimizing data manipulation. With blockchain, companies can rest assured that their data is protected, properly recorded, and can be easily verified.

AI and ML technologies

Data has always been prone to errors, and with the rising amount of data in the world, it’s become harder to control data quality. With the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, it is now possible to detect any data integrity issues at early stages, allowing for corrective action to be taken before any anomalies or errors significantly impact. Artificial intelligence can help manage data quality and safety and reduce manual workload, thereby mitigating human errors and inconsistencies and lowering the risk of cyberattacks. And when it comes to security, adopting AI and automation solutions can actually cut breach costs and improve data protection, helping companies deal with data breaches more effectively.

Data governance frameworks

According to Gartner, 80% of organizations trying to implement digital transformation will fail because they do not take a modern approach to data governance. Data governance frameworks are crucial for standardizing various data documentation and management processes, including established procedures for gathering, storing, accessing, and retrieving data. Even small businesses today are building data governance frameworks to improve data management, as nearly every modern company collects and stores data in some form.

Final Thoughts

The role of data integrity in pharma is still evolving. With Pharma 4.0, it will become much easier to integrate good documentation practices, AI-powered tools and systems, blockchain, advanced analytics, and other important technologies to safeguard data and maintain its quality at high levels.

If you are ready to learn more about maintaining data accuracy and integrity and the best tools and solutions, leave us a message, and we will contact you immediately.

While the global pandemic feels like a distant memory today, the two years of strain on the healthcare system have left a lasting impact on the industry. COVID-19 highlighted what modern healthcare needs to be: preventative, participatory, and patient-centered.  

5G is emerging as a crucial tool to bring the sector closer to that ideal. Its technical advantages over 4G are evident – handling more connections at speeds up to 100 times faster.  

Although 5G is currently limited to large cities in developed countries, by around 2025, we can expect its reach will extend beyond the urban areas. As this trend unfolds, it is vital to understand the benefits 5G brings, how it impacts healthcare communication, and how healthcare businesses can leverage it. In this article, we will explore these opportunities. But before we begin, let’s define what 5G in healthcare is. 

What Is 5G? 

5G represents the 5th generation of cellular technology and is the gold standard in wireless communication today. Compared to its predecessor, 4G, it offers faster speeds, ultra-low latency, and greater bandwidth. These improvements enable 5G networks to reduce download and upload times, enhance reliability, and provide stronger connectivity.  

Like other transformative innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G transforms healthcare digital communication and data management. Its high-speed network connection significantly impacts clinical trials, provider-patient interactions, diagnostic evaluations, remote monitoring and interventions, and healthcare education. 

As Eben Albertyn, Chief Technology Officer at VodafoneZiggo, aptly stated: “The network of the future is already being built as we speak. 5G is an important part of that. The speed of technological developments that bring about countless new, smart opportunities enriching our lives is unprecedented.” 

Main Ways that 5G Benefits Healthcare 

The benefits of the 5G network in healthcare vary depending on the stakeholder. Let’s explore how this technology impacts insurance companies, healthcare providers (HCPs), pharma content, and pharmaceutical brands.  

Insurance companies  

Insurance companies focus on promoting the health of their insured populations. 5G technology plays a crucial role in preventing emergencies, detecting life-threatening symptoms early, and delivering quality care even to patients in rural areas.  

This is particularly advantageous for those with chronic illnesses and co-morbidities. For instance, using 5G-enabled patient monitoring devices for individuals with diabetes or cardiovascular conditions can save lives and prevent worsening symptoms, which, in turn, positively impacts insurance company’s bottom line.  

5G technology can recommend the next steps during surgical procedures based on the latest medical research and facilitate real-time consultations with remote healthcare professionals. Again, the reduced risk of surgical complications offers a range of commercial benefits for insurance companies. 

HCPs 

The pandemic exposed many flaws in healthcare. Hospitals avoided pouring money into costly inventory monitoring systems due to tight budgets and the limited return on investment. But when the crisis hit, HCPs were left worried about whether they had enough equipment to care for critically ill patients.  

High-speed 5G networks can be used not to track not only the equipment but also the bed availability and even people’s movements around the hospital. This real-time data helps manage hospital operations and curb the spread of viruses and infections.  

5G network also improves provider-patient interactions. Combined with sensors, teleconferencing enables providers to monitor patients’ vital signs without leaving their hospitals.  

With 5G’s ability to transmit large data packets, it is possible to track blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels multiple times a day. This marks a significant shift in patient care, as it allows for more accurate diagnoses and a better understanding of which treatments are effective and which are not, compared to relying solely on occasional hospital visits. 

Pharmaceutical companies 

Pharmaceutical companies can transform their approaches to clinical trials with the help of 5G networks. The success of these trials hinges on the continuous flow of patient data to assess the effectiveness of interventions.  

Traditionally, trial participants either visit hospitals for examinations to track vital signs or perform self-assessment and manually enter their data on a website. With a 5G network, life sciences companies can remotely monitor patients’ health in real-time using IoT devices.  

This immediate access to clinical data allows pharmaceutical brands to spot the links between treatments and patient outcomes faster, speed up trial timelines, and trim the related costs. If a treatment is found ineffective, drug manufacturers can quickly pivot, avoiding unnecessary expenses. 

Common 5G Healthcare Use Cases 

Earlier, we gave a brief overview of some potential use cases while discussing the benefits of 5G networks. Now, let’s explore them in more detail.  

Virtual consultations 

HD video empowers HCPs to keep the lines of communication open with patients, regardless of their location. Video consultations can be a viable solution when an examination does not require physical interaction. These consultations are ideal for initial assessments, visual diagnoses (like certain hair conditions or wound care), psychological sessions, or routine check-ups. High-speed transmission allows for effective communication, lowering the chances of a doctor mishearing and making a mistake. 

Virtual consultations ease the burden on patients by reducing the need for travel and lowering appointment costs. A study found that this level of patient involvement can cut down annual costs for patient visits by up to 31%. 

5G-enabled virtual consultations have also become a critical lifeline for people with disabilities or serious conditions that affect mobility. Patients in remote areas benefit from quick access to care and are less likely to postpone treatment. 

Remote patient monitoring 

Medical professionals generally have busy schedules, often seeing an average of 20 patients a day. Unsurprisingly, many HCPs experience burnout, which can eventually impact their clinical judgment and lead to compassion fatigue.  

The critical point is that not all 20 patients need to travel to primary care facilities. Sometimes, they do not have any significant complaints and just want to have their vitals checked.  

5G technology enables continuous remote monitoring of patient health throughout the day. This gives HCPs a fuller picture of their state and reduces their intense workload. Meanwhile, patients no longer must wait long to find an open slot in the doctor’s schedule. 

Additionally, some patients feel anxious and uncomfortable in a hospital setting. Using connected devices at home can eliminate this issue and often provide more accurate results, especially in cases with blood pressure or heart rate readings. 

Benefits of using 5G along with data management and analytics platform 

Education sessions 

Thanks to low latency and high bandwidth, 5G enables healthcare organizations to adopt advanced technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality in healthcare. These tools facilitate education for students by allowing them to immerse themselves in a learning environment without the fear of making mistakes.  

A stable and fast internet connection ensures that learners in remote areas receive quality self-education. Moreover, 5G supports seamless operation of educational applications, providing quick access to learning materials and facilitating effective communication between teachers and students. 

Assistance for people with visual impairments 

Activities like entering a coffee shop, walking the dog, or reading road signs are second nature for most people. But for someone with visual impairments, these tasks can be taxing.  

A 5G-powered AR/VR headset allows them to connect with an advisor in real time for help. This not only helps to improve their daily lives greatly but also reduces the risk of accidents. The reliability of 5G ensures they are never left stranded due to weak connectivity. 

Video-enabled medication adherence 

Medication adherence is crucial for achieving the desired clinical outcomes. However, it can be challenging for patients to stick to their prescribed therapy, especially when they have co-morbid conditions requiring multiple medications or when they are more likely to forget their treatment regimen due to underlying issues, such as mental health conditions. 

5G technology bridges the gap by connecting these patients with pharmacists or caregivers through high-definition video. This helps to ensure patients take the right medication at the right dosage and time. 

Connected ambulance 

In an emergency, every minute counts, and a delay in healthcare services can be fatal. A connected ambulance enables medical professionals to gather and transmit vital medical data before reaching the hospital. Wearables and HD video cameras provide real-time updates on the patient’s condition during transport to the emergency department.  

When the patient arrives, hospital staff are usually ready with the necessary equipment and know what actions to take. Sometimes, HCPs can connect with paramedics remotely to guide specific diagnostic evaluations or medical procedures. Ideally, this could mean the patient does not need to be transported to the hospital at all, receiving all necessary care on-site. 

Connected ambulance

Source: IoT Business News

Security Challenge and the Best Ways to Address It

When large volumes of data are transmitted, security challenges inevitably arise. And when that data is as sensitive as medical records, the security risks increase exponentially. 5G networks must be protected from cyberattacks to ensure safe healthcare interactions.  

There are three key strategies for ensuring the secure use of 5G networks in healthcare: 

Encryption methods 

Robust encryption methods must be implemented to protect data transmitted between endpoints. This ensures that even if data falls into the wrong hands, hackers will not be able to decipher and make use of it.  

As risks evolve, encryption strategies must also become more sophisticated to prevent cyberattacks. They should be agile and innovative enough to minimize the risk of hackers intercepting communications between 5G network users. 

AI-driven risk identification 

AI and machine learning (ML) should be leveraged to detect and respond to security intrusions effectively. These technologies are invaluable for isolating infections, identifying threats, analyzing traffic, and examining network packets.  

However, healthcare organizations should prioritize data security testing when using AI algorithms, as it is a technology still in development. This helps address privacy gaps that may emerge as innovation evolves. 

Comprehensive government response 

Government regulators should develop rules and standards to protect healthcare stakeholders’ privacy as technology expands. It is increasingly important to create a framework of standards for using connected devices, always-on networks, and data processing equipment. While these regulations must ensure the complete security of sensitive data, they must not impede the development of communication networks and interoperability.

Future Trends in 5G Network

As of 2024, the 5G healthcare market is worth an earth-shattering $85 billion. By 2034, this number is expected to soar to $1.8 trillion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.7%.  

The growing demand for improved provider-patient communication and the increase in the use of remote healthcare monitoring devices will continue to fuel this market growth. The increased bandwidth, low latency, and high speed of 5G will reshape healthcare, enabling pharma companies to discover drugs faster, supporting remote patient evaluations, and helping HCPs deliver medical services in distant areas without leaving hospital rooms.  

In the coming years, several healthcare trends will emerge with the spread of 5G.  

• As the number of patients grows, challenges related to managing patient data will become more pronounced. 5G will enable secure and seamless data transfer between HCPs and healthcare facilities.  
• Сost-saving measures will be crucial, with the ongoing shortage of medical professionals and constrained hospital budgets. 5G allows organizations to reduce in-person costs and alleviate the burden on HCPs.  
• IoT medical devices will be widely used to monitor patients’ health, providing real-time insights that will lead to more effective, evidence-based decisions regarding patient care.  
• HCPs will increasingly rely on exchanging high-definition videos and images, like mammograms and X-rays, to make clinical decisions remotely. 

Bottom Line 

Combining 5G with innovative technologies like AI, ML, and IoT can drastically change healthcare delivery, making it more connected and personalized. 5G can empower patients to become active participants in their care. This would improve their quality of life, reduce hospital visit costs, and eliminate long wait times for minor requests.  

5G enhances the personalization of healthcare. Activities such as remote examinations, interventions, and assistance share a common goal: prioritizing patients’ needs for convenience, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Ultimately, the success of any new technology depends on how effectively it addresses patients’ pains and needs –– and in this regard, 5G excels. 

In the pharmaceutical industry, customer relationship management is not just nice-to-have — it’s a fundamental necessity. Pharma is changing fast. New business models, complex regulations, and advanced technologies are pushing drug companies to work harder than ever to stay competitive. On top of that, the global pharmaceutical market has grown plenty in recent years, reaching an estimated $1.6 trillion in 2023. This is an increase of more than $100 billion compared to 2022.

Source: Revenue of the worldwide pharmaceutical market from 2001 to 2023, Statista

Just like in other industries, effective marketing and sales strategies in pharma rely on understanding and managing relationships with your clients. At the same time, the internet has made it easier for patients and doctors to find information about medicines, giving them more power to choose what works best for them.

Because of these changes, pharmaceutical companies are rethinking how they do business. Instead of just focusing on making different drugs, they’re now trying to understand their customers better. And you can’t do it well with spreadsheets and manual data tracking. 

That’s where CRM software comes in to help pharma companies maintain and enhance these relationships. So let us see what makes this technology so indispensable in the sector nowadays.

What is Pharmaceutical CRM?

CRM, or customer relationship management software helps you manage relationships and interactions with your customers or prospects, track sales activities, and optimize marketing strategies. Often this software offers features like data analytics, personalized engagement tools, compliance management capabilities, and more. Pharma CRM software enables companies to build better relationships and enhance engagement with customers, improve sales effectiveness, and overall drive business growth.

Main Advantages of CRM in the Pharma Industry

Current market research shows steady growth in the global pharmaceutical CRM market, confirming the increasing adoption of the solution. In 2023, the market size was valued at $4,156 million, reaching $4,356 million in 2024. Experts predict this growth will continue. They expect the market to grow by 4.8% each year from 2024 to 2033. By 2033, they think it will reach $6,643 million. The rising adoption of these systems can be attributed to several key benefits they offer to the pharmaceutical industry.

Better data management and analytics

The first big benefit of pharma CRM systems is that they serve as a centralized repository for all customer-related data, consolidating information and interactions that previously were scattered across multiple departments and systems. This centralization is advanced even further by the CRM’s ability to integrate data from different sources, like sales, marketing, research, and even external databases, providing a comprehensive view of each customer and the market as a whole.

Moreover, the real-time nature of data updates in a CRM solution ensures that information remains current and accessible. Sales representatives can input data during or immediately after their interactions with healthcare professionals, keeping everyone at the company informed and on the same page.

With this wealth of consolidated data, pharmaceutical companies can utilize analytics tools to gain impactful insights, from predicting future market trends to analyzing products’ performance across various regions. This empowers companies to focus on relevant metrics and make data-driven decisions.

In-depth view of a customer lifecycle journey

Another key benefit of pharma CRM software is the ability to track customer lifecycle journeys, allowing pharmaceutical companies to see and study the entire process of converting potential leads into loyal customers. 

This feature offers complete visibility of each HCP’s journey, from initial contact to becoming a regular prescriber or customer. The system tracks various stages such as awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, adoption, and loyalty for each product or service, allowing for a complete understanding of the customer’s progression. By understanding where each customer is in their journey, you can personalize your communication and marketing strategies accordingly.

Advanced workflow automation

Most pharma CRM software solutions can automate various sales and marketing activities. The CRM solution can automatically schedule follow-up calls, send reminders for important meetings, and even generate personalized emails to healthcare professionals based on their interactions and preferences. This not only saves time for sales representatives but also ensures consistent and timely communication with customers.

Marketing efforts also benefit greatly from automation. The CRM platform can automatically segment customers based on various criteria, allowing for targeted marketing campaigns. It can then track the performance of these campaigns in real time, providing valuable insights for future strategies. Automated reporting tools can generate regular performance summaries, saving hours of manual data compilation and analysis.

Key Features of Pharma CRM Software

Pharma CRM systems differ from traditional CRM software because of specific industry requirements and regulations. For instance, while standard CRM software focuses on general customer data, the pharmaceutical CRM system needs to be tailored to manage relationships with healthcare professionals, like doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. Hence, these industry-specific systems may often include features for tracking prescribing behavior and influence.

Real-time monitoring and insights

Getting real-time insights is crucial for any business, as it allows you to make decisions quicker and overall be more agile in your responses to market changes. This feature enables pharmaceutical companies to track and analyze data as it’s being entered or updated, providing visibility into different areas of business. Depending on your vendor, certain CRM platforms can even analyze and report how your audience interacts with your content.

At the heart of this feature are live dashboard updates. As data is being entered or changed, your dashboard should update automatically, giving you an instant view of required KPIs. This is valuable both for tracking sales representatives’ activities and results, and for marketing to see the feedback on their campaigns.

Closed-loop marketing

Closed-loop marketing is a process that uses client feedback and data to continuously enhance marketing efforts, creating a cycle of constant refinement. This detailed information on interactions, preferred channels, and more help sales team personalize their approach to meet the clients’ need and expectations. 

With a pharmaceutical CRM software both sales and marketing team can access real-time insights which are shared between the teams to guide sales strategies and marketing decisions. 

Consent management

Consent management is a feature that is rarely discussed, existing mainly in pharmaceutical CRM software. This functionality addresses the complex challenge of collecting and managing customers’ consent in the life sciences industry. As pharma companies grow, it becomes increasingly harder to handle consent manually. Not to mention, risky. 

Therefore, certain pharma CRM systems offer to automate the consent collection process while ensuring compliance with industry regulations. All collected consents are managed in a centralized platform, eliminating the risk of data loss, and allowing to see a full consent history. Sales representatives can send a tailored consent page to customers with checkboxes for different types of personal data. And if a customer refuses to consent, the CRM software immediately disables communications. 

Visits and route management

This special functionality in the pharma CRM system is designed to help out the field sales and service teams optimize their daily schedules and travel routes when meeting with healthcare professionals or visiting pharmacies. The CRM platform uses advanced algorithms to create the best itineraries, taking into account location, priority of clients, and time constraints. It also helps track travel time and distances between appointments and allows for adjusting schedules on the fly when unexpected changes occur

Sample management and compliance

Pharma businesses can occasionally send samples of their products to healthcare professionals as a part of their promotional activities. All of these activities need to be tracked. The sample management feature does just that. It monitors sample requests, manages inventory levels, records distribution, and captures data on sample usage and feedback.

The CRM platform ensures that sample distribution complies with industry regulations, which can vary by country or region. It typically includes features to set limits on the number of samples that can be distributed to a single HCP, track expiration dates, and maintain detailed records of all sample-related activities.

Omnichannel communication

If you notice that your communication with customers is getting ineffective and slow, it might be time to involve a CRM system that has a multi or omnichannel communication feature. Today, patients and HCPs interact through many channels, from phone calls to Instagram tags. A good CRM platform brings together these diverse customer interactions into one unified platform, ensuring that all customer queries are handled efficiently and no feedback falls through the cracks. With this integration you’ll be able to reach your target audience on their preferred channels, improving customer experience, and it will be much easier for your team to handle communications. In the end, you’ll have consolidated customer data with detailed insights, allowing you to make informed decisions.

How to Choose Your Pharma CRM

The pharma industry needs CRM software. Emerging regulations and policies, complicated procedures and processes, intense market competition — it’s all too much to handle without adequate technological assistance. Which begs the question — how do you choose the best pharma CRM software for your business?

First, it’s vital to understand your immediate goals and strategic objectives. Don’t just go for a CRM system that has the most features, because you might end up paying for functionality that you won’t ever use. Define the KPIs that you want to improve and focus on CRM software that is designed to do just that.

Another factor that’s crucial to mention is how a CRM provider helps its clients to migrate to new software. Often, migration is not a walk in the park, it needs to be handled professionally and with an individual approach. Ask your candidate providers about the whole process. Here are some questions that you might want to ask:

• Are you able to customize the CRM platform to ensure that it integrates with the existing tech stack? 
• Will you provide a dedicated manager to help us handle the migration?
• Are you helping clients with the import of data?
• Can the CRM software be customized to our requirements and workflow?
• Do you have a 24/7 customer support service?

Oftentimes, generic CRM solutions will not fit your needs compliance-wise. That’s why it’s best when a CRM platform is specifically designed for the pharmaceutical sector and includes compliance management features. Look for CRM that offers robust customer data management, sales force automation, and marketing campaign tools tailored to the industry.

Next, focus on the ability of a CRM platform to support digitizing customer experience. In the modern age, HCPs expect seamless, personalized interactions across various channels. Good CRM software should offer multi-channel engagement functionality, allowing your team to interact with customers through their preferred methods: email, mobile apps, online portals, and more. Look for features that enable personalized content delivery, virtual meeting support, and digital signature capabilities to enhance the overall customer experience.

Another crucial aspect to consider is the analytics and reporting capabilities of CRM software. The system should provide real-time insights into customer interactions, sales performance, and market trends. Advanced analytics can help you make data-driven decisions, optimize your marketing strategies, and identify new opportunities. 

Lastly, consider the vendor’s reputation, client portfolio, case studies, and future development roadmap. Choose a vendor with experience in the pharma industry who understands the unique challenges and requirements of the sector. Look for a provider that offers comprehensive training and ongoing support to ensure your team can fully utilize the CRM’s capabilities.

Bottom Line

As we’ve stated at the beginning and proved along the way — pharmaceutical CRM isn’t just nice-to-have, it’s an absolute must-have. By leveraging the power of industry-specific CRM, pharma businesses can streamline operations, build strong customer relationships, and stay ahead of the competition. From improving sales force effectiveness to ensuring regulatory compliance, the right CRM solution acts as a catalyst for growth. The industry continues to evolve, and those who embrace and optimize their CRM systems will be best positioned to thrive in the digital age of healthcare.