2025.11.25
V. The Era of Hospital-Pharma Collaboration in
Patient Experience (CX)
Toward an Era Where Hospitals and Pharmaceutical
Companies Collaborate on CX
◆Designing consistent experiences together is the key to better,
more sustainable care
In modern healthcare, Customer Experience (CX) is not just about improving services, it has become a crucial factor that shapes the very quality of medical care. Historically, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies have interacted separately with patients and healthcare professionals. However, the future demands close collaboration between these two pillars to co-design truly patient-centered experiences.
◆Why Is Collaboration Necessary?
The patient’s treatment journey consists of multiple stages: consultation and treatment at hospitals, followed by taking prescribed medications. When hospitals and pharmaceutical companies pursue CX improvements independently, the results tend to be fragmented and limited, failing to deliver patients a consistent sense of reassurance and satisfaction. By working together and designing CX based on the voices of patients and healthcare providers, it is possible to improve patient understanding, medication adherence, communication in clinical settings, and operational efficiency, thereby enhancing the overall quality of healthcare.
Moreover, improving the working conditions and reducing stress for healthcare professionals including nurses is also a key factor in enhancing patient experience. To ensure sustainable staffing and viability in healthcare settings, it is necessary for medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies to support each other and strive together toward high-quality, patient-centered care.
Patient-centered healthcare is no longer optional; it is essential. The collaboration between hospitals and pharmaceutical companies listening sincerely to patient voices and co-creating consistent CX will be the key to unlocking a better future for healthcare.
◆Synergistic Effects of Collaboration
By sharing information and jointly designing CX based on feedback from patients and healthcare professionals, hospitals and pharma can enhance patients’ understanding of treatment and improve medication adherence. This collaboration also facilitates smoother communication within clinical settings and improves operational efficiency, ultimately elevating the overall quality of healthcare.
◆Looking to the Future
Patients’ needs and expectations are becoming increasingly diverse and sophisticated. To respond effectively, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies must break down barriers and cooperate in co-creating patient-centered CX. Such collaboration not only improves patients’ quality of life (QOL) but also contributes to the realization of a sustainable healthcare delivery system.
◆Co-Creation of Patient Experience Shapes the Future of Healthcare
The patient’s treatment experience encompasses multiple stages: from hospital consultations and procedures to the consumption of medicines provided by pharmaceutical companies. When hospitals and pharmaceutical companies independently work on improving CX, the outcomes tend to be fragmented and limited. However, when they collaborate and design CX based on the voices of patients and healthcare professionals, multifaceted synergistic effects can be expected, including deeper treatment understanding, improved medication adherence, smoother communication, and increased operational efficiency in clinical settings.
Improving patient experience is closely linked to the "workability" and "job satisfaction" of healthcare professionals such as nurses and pharmacists. To secure medical personnel and sustain frontline healthcare, it is essential for hospitals and pharmaceutical companies to cooperate as partners and build high-quality, patient-centered care experiences together.
Addressing the shortage of healthcare workers also requires flexible coping strategies.Besides measures that involve time, effort, and economic or health costs, "cognitive coping"
Such as recalling experiences of achievement or gratitude can effectively reduce stress. Activities that nurses and others can do at their own pace without overexertion enhance their sense of contribution to patients and lead to better outcomes.
CX should be a "positive experience" not only for patients but also for staff in medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies. Creating an environment that reduces stress and increases job satisfaction forms the foundation for new healthcare CX.
◆Leading International Examples of CX Models
1. Singapore: National University Health System(NUHS)
"One Patient, One Care Team" CX Model
NUHS CX model in Singapore operates the "One Patient, One Care Team" CX model, where a dedicated care team supports each patient consistently from consultation through post-discharge. All medical data are shared across the system to prevent redundant treatments and information gaps. They utilize PREMs (Patient-Reported Experience Measures) to improve services, especially enhancing care quality for chronic illnesses and the elderly. Multidisciplinary cooperation among nurses, pharmacists, and others helps reduce staff workload and improve working conditions.
2. United States: Cleveland Clinic "Patients First" CX Model
Since 2007, Cleveland Clinic has positioned CX as a core management strategy by appointing a Chief Experience Officer (CXO). All staff undergo empathy communication training such as "Communicate with H.E.A.R.T," enhancing CX quality. Real-time patient feedback using NPS (Net Promoter Score) is collected and incorporated. CX evaluation is linked to staff performance reviews, driving organizational culture change and increased employee engagement.
3. Sweden: Region Jönköping's "Co-Creation with Patients" Model
Region Jönköping in Sweden positions patients as co-creators of healthcare services, involving them in all improvement activities under a "co-creation CX model." They quantitatively evaluate medical quality and experience using PREMs and PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures). They ensure comprehensive "person-centered care" addressing physical, mental, and social needs. This sustainable regional collaboration model integrates government, healthcare institutions, and patients from policy formulation through implementation.
◆Patient-Centered Healthcare: Not an Option but a Prerequisite
As advanced CX models from Singapore, the U.S., and Sweden demonstrate, sincerely listening to patient voices and co-creating systems and experiences will become the new standard in healthcare. Hospitals and pharmaceutical companies walking together and thinking alongside patients will transform the future of healthcare for the better. The first step is precisely the "innovation of patient experience (CX) through co-creation."
To realize sustainable and high-quality healthcare, now is the time to unite efforts and create better healthcare experiences together. By sincerely addressing patient voices and designing systems and experiences collaboratively, sustainable and high-quality healthcare for all people can be achieved.
◆Closing Thoughts
The era in which CX collaboration between hospitals and pharmaceutical companies becomes the new standard is just around the corner. By walking this path together and thinking jointly, we can create better healthcare experiences that truly put patients first.
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