Visualization

Challenge:

As my organization was preparing to launch a drug (biologic) for a skin condition in the already cluttered  market (of biologics and bio-similars), the task for me (as a brand manager) was to figure out value ad  service(s) for the brand which will help differentiate the brand from the existing ones in the market.  There were clearly two sets of stakeholders: external (dermatologists, nurses and of course patients)  and internal (medical team, drug regulatory team, patient advocacy team and the marketing team). It  was a very difficult task at hand, as I had to figure out the entire patient journey, challenges faced by  patients suffering from the condition, prescription habits of dermatologists, what are the parameters  considered by a dermatologist while prescribing a biologic, role of nurses (if any) and then map these all  to come up with feasible option of value ad services(s).

Selection:

This was the first time that my organization was launching a drug in the dermatology segment and  hence we had very limited information at hand. Hence, to start with, I prepared questionnaires for  Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) with each of my external stakeholders – doctors, nurses and patients  to understand their role in the management of this condition. Once I had a reasonable idea of the  patient journey, doctor-patient discussion and dermatologists’ prescription habit, I decided to use the  tool of Visualization to map the entire process. I used different types of visuals to depict the high-level  process and swim-lanes for different stakeholders. This definitely helped me put the enormous amount  of data gathered from the FGDs into an easily comprehendible and a simple construct.

Application:

I chose to apply the Visualization tool because it was important to detail out the entire process in an  elaborate fashion to all stakeholders (internal & external) to be then able to discuss, debate and assess  the bottlenecks or pain points of the current scenario. It was also important that everyone understood  the process precisely and accurately, without missing out important details. Visualization really helped  me get each stakeholder on the same page. I then went out to the same group of doctors & patients  who I had had the FGDs with initially. I divided them into 8 different groups (3 groups of 5 doctors in  each group, 2 groups of 5 nurses in each group and 3 groups of 5 patients in each group). I handed each  one of them the visual depiction of the existing process and asked them to pin-point the most difficult/  tedious/ time-taking tasks in the process, or in other word the part of the process they wish they didn’t  have to do. I allowed them half an hour to discuss and come up with top two things (as a group) which  they were bothered/ concerned of. They could also suggest alternatives to the parts of their worries.

Insights:

Once I had all the answers and I put everything together, there were few things that stood out very  clearly:

Doctors – Most of the dermatologists practiced in stand-alone clinics and didn’t have a nurse to help  them with injecting the biologics (reconstitution of the drug, administering and monitoring). They  complained of injecting the biologic being highly time-taking and compared it to seeing two other  patients in that same time-frame. And as it’s a chronic condition, the injecting of the biologic for a  particular patient is not even a one-time process.

Patients – Since it’s a chronic condition and there is stigma attached to the disease (visible patches on  skin), they do not like stepping out of their houses to see their doctors at regular intervals and would  rather prefer to have the administrations at home. Also due to the stigma attached and myths of the  condition being communicable, patients end up feeling depressed, loneliness and even have suicidal  tendencies at time.

From here on, it was easy. We decided to partner with a healthcare company who could provide ‘at  home’ counsellor and nurse support for all our patients. We also ensured the nurses click photos of the  skin patches at regular intervals to share with the treating physician to keep them updated about their  patients’ improvement. The patient support program was a huge success and widely appreciated.

Approach:

Here, I used the Visualization tool only post the FGDs to map the entire process for further evaluation  and discussion with the stakeholders. But what I have learnt is that the tool of visualization is really  powerful and I would want to use it for conducting FGDs as well in the future. While conducting FGDs in  this scenario, there were many instances where we went round & round about a few subject as my  interviewee and I weren’t on the same page and had trouble communicating and coming to a same  understanding. And I strongly feel that the tool of Visualization can be used at such instances as well.


Visualization Challenge : As my organization was preparing to launch a drug ( biologic ) for a skin condition in the already cluttered market ( of biologics and bio - similars ) , the task for me ( as a brand manager ) was to figure out value ad service(s ) for the brand which will help differentiate the brand from the existing ones in the market . There were clearly two sets of stakeholders : external ( dermatologists , nurses and of course patients ) and internal ( medical team , drug regulatory team , patient advocacy team and the marketing team ) . It was a very difficult task at hand , as I had to figure out the entire patient journey , challenges faced by patients suffering from the condition , prescription habits of dermatologists , what are the parameters considered by a dermatologist while prescribing a biologic , role of nurses ( if any ) and then map these all to come up with feasible option of value ad services(s ) . Selection : This was the first time that my organization was launching a drug in the dermatology segment and hence we had very limited information at hand . Hence , to start with , I prepared questionnaires for Focused Group Discussions ( FGDs ) with each of my external stakeholders – doctors , nurses and patients to understand their role in the management of this condition . Once I had a reasonable idea of the patient journey , doctor - patient discussion and dermatologists ’ prescription habit , I decided to use the tool of Visualization to map the entire process . I used different types of visuals to depict the high - level process and swim - lanes for different stakeholders . This definitely helped me put the enormous amount of data gathered from the FGDs into an easily comprehendible and a simple construct . Application : I chose to apply the Visualization tool because it was important to detail out the entire process in an elaborate fashion to all stakeholders ( internal & external ) to be then able to discuss , debate and assess the bottlenecks or pain points of the current scenario . It was also important that everyone understood the process precisely and accurately , without missing out important details . Visualization really helped me get each stakeholder on the same page . I then went out to the same group of doctors & patients who I had had the FGDs with initially . I divided them into 8 different groups ( 3 groups of 5 doctors in each group , 2 groups of 5 nurses in each group and 3 groups of 5 patients in each group ) . I handed each one of them the visual depiction of the existing process and asked them to pin - point the most difficult/ tedious/ time - taking tasks in the process , or in other word the part of the process they wish they did n’t have to do . I allowed them half an hour to discuss and come up with top two things ( as a group ) which they were bothered/ concerned of . They could also suggest alternatives to the parts of their worries . Insights : Once I had all the answers and I put everything together , there were few things that stood out very clearly : Doctors – Most of the dermatologists practiced in stand - alone clinics and did n’t have a nurse to help them with injecting the biologics ( reconstitution of the drug , administering and monitoring ) . They complained of injecting the biologic being highly time - taking and compared it to seeing two other patients in that same time - frame . And as it ’s a chronic condition , the injecting of the biologic for a particular patient is not even a one - time process . Patients – Since it ’s a chronic condition and there is stigma attached to the disease ( visible patches on skin ) , they do not like stepping out of their houses to see their doctors at regular intervals and would rather prefer to have the administrations at home . Also due to the stigma attached and myths of the condition being communicable , patients end up feeling depressed , loneliness and even have suicidal tendencies at time . From here on , it was easy . We decided to partner with a healthcare company who could provide ‘ at home ’ counsellor and nurse support for all our patients . We also ensured the nurses click photos of the skin patches at regular intervals to share with the treating physician to keep them updated about their patients ’ improvement . The patient support program was a huge success and widely appreciated . Approach : Here , I used the Visualization tool only post the FGDs to map the entire process for further evaluation and discussion with the stakeholders . But what I have learnt is that the tool of visualization is really powerful and I would want to use it for conducting FGDs as well in the future . While conducting FGDs in this scenario , there were many instances where we went round & round about a few subject as my interviewee and I were n’t on the same page and had trouble communicating and coming to a same understanding . And I strongly feel that the tool of Visualization can be used at such instances as well .