Adoption of Digital Health Initiatives in Chronic Disease Segment in Patient Engagement Domain by Pharmaceutical Companies Triggers and Impact

Abstract

Abstract newlineChronic diseases are the largest contributors to the Global Burden of Disease. As per World Health newlineOrganization, 41 million people died of non-communicable diseases. In India, chronic diseases newlineaccount for 60% of deaths nationally. Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns made remote patient newlineengagement a necessity and digital health assumed unprecedented importance as managing chronic newlinediseases was a global priority. Digital health initiatives (DHI) in the form of mobile health newline(mhealth) apps, virtual consultations, connected and wearable devices, gained prominence for newlineremote patient engagement. The objective of this research was to seek an understanding on the newlineadoption of DHI by pharmaceutical companies, in the patient engagement domain for managing newlinechronic diseases. Research questions focused on the types of DHI adopted, along with the triggers newlinefor adoption and the impact. An integrated approach of the Technology-Organization- newlineEnvironment (TOE) framework and the Iacovou model was treating a guiding reference to newlineunderstand the adoption. A qualitative approach using the case study method was adopted, using newlineboth primary and secondary data collection methods. The research was structured in two phases. newlineThe first phase focused on addressing the research questions around the adoption of DHI by global newlinepharma companies, which were headquartered in the US, UK, and Japan. The second phase newlinefocused on addressing the questions pertaining to the pharmaceutical companies operating in India. newlineThematic content analysis was adopted to analyze the qualitative data generated from interviews newlinewith senior leadership team members. newlineThere were 70 initiatives studied in phase 1, and 24 initiatives in phase 2. Interviews with 18 newlineindividuals were conducted. The findings indicated that there were three categories of DHI that newlinewere adopted, these were the diagnosis, treatment, and drug development phases. The major newlinetriggers for DHI adoption were Covid-19 pandemic, poor medication adherence, and the emerging newlinetechnology landscape. The impact wa