To better understand the working relationship between health systems and the pharmaceutical companies that partner with them, The Kinetix Group conducted an exclusive survey of 100 US health system leaders including participants from Banner Health, Dignity Health, Mayo Clinic Health System, Partners Health Care System, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and more. This is the first in a series of posts on the results.
Understanding a relationship requires an examination of its critical elements. None are more important than trust, a precondition to any truly productive partnership. According to the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer, pharma continues to struggle on trust with the general public. With just a 58 percent score, it registers a mediocre level of trust despite 84 percent of the very same survey respondents agreeing that “business can pursue its self-interest while doing good work for society.”
But what about health system decision-makers? Our survey offered a 10-point scale, with 10 indicating “Extremely Positive”, and one indicating “Extremely Negative.” The vast majority – more than 75 percent of all respondents – rated their level of trust with pharma between five and seven. Some indicated that the information and services provided by the industry help in improving patient care. Conversely, those respondents that indicated lower levels of trust highlighted the profit motive, product promotion, and an overall lack of prioritization on population health as primary concerns.
A leader of a prominent health system offered a comment typical of those who gave pharma a low score: “The pharma industry is still primarily driven as typical for-profit organizations whose primary focus is to drive shareholder value, which is not always in alignment with the goals of many not-for profit health care organizations.” (Click image below to enlarge)
Clearly, there is work to be done in earning trust among health system leaders. For many life science companies, it begins with a reconsideration of its marketing approach to include unbranded tools and resources that demonstrate alignment with the health organization. After all, earning trust accelerates engagement – the key to a positive outcome for both parties.