As early as Apr 2019, Pfizer (in collaboration with Catalia Health) launched the pilot of its Mabu wellness coach, an AI-powered robot for patient engagement. Mabu actually talks to patients across all diseases about how they are feeling and answers questions on their treatment — additionally, its Care Insights Platform delivers data and insights to clinicians at a specialty pharmacy provider to enable timely and appropriate outreach to the patient. Mabu is part of a Pfizer’s collection of digital tools known as Pfizer Digital Companion™ (this includes the LivingWith™ app that connects cancer patients with oncology support systems) that aims to improve patient experiences and outcomes.

In today’s healthcare, which is becoming increasingly consumer-driven by digitally-savvy and empowered patients, superior patient experience is critical. Patient-centered caretaking centre stage, and digital-led transformation is a vital aspect of healthcare organizations’ strategies across the entire patient lifecycle. Now, the U.S. federal government has introduced Value-based purchasing (VBP) – linking provider payments to improved performance by health care providers. This holds health care providers accountable for both the cost and the quality of the care they provide.

This paper looks at the patient value chain and the transformation required at its various engagement touchpoints. Starting from an insights-driven patient experience strategy, we will cover the strategic use of technology across patient engagement, operations, administrative functions, clinical decisions and research.