Viswanath Pilla Moneycontrol News
Abbott, the second largest drug maker in India, on March 19 announced the launch of a new digital platform to improve patient awareness, doctor engagement, and aid adherence with treatment plan to drive better health outcomes.
The digital platform called as a:care, enables consumers grant their doctor access to the health information they input. In addition it provides reliable healthcare information, reminds patient on taking pills, tracks medication consumption and uses gamification tools and reward points to incentivise patients for right behavior by offering discounts on purchase of medicines.
Abbott has tied up with 1mg as online pharmacy partner, and plans to include more such partners, possibly even health insurance companies going forward.
For doctors the platform helps them to keep a track of patient’s adherence to the treatment plan and improve quality of interaction at time of consultation. In addition the platform provides scientific videos to enable virtual learning for doctors.
“It’s a neutral platform, designed to bridge the communication gap between doctors and consumers,” said Jawed Zia, Head of Abbott’s Pharmaceutical Business in India.
The platform is not meant to make money, we don’t promote our products, Zia added.
The platform can be accessed by web or mobile for free. To active the full service of a:care, a consumer would need activation code that usually comes with doctor prescription.
Zia said Abbott wants to have at least one million consumers using their platform in next five years, through enhancements such regionalizing content and personalized health coach to better equip patients to manage their health conditions.
Abbott so far on boarded 2000 doctors, and is in the process of reaching out to more doctors.
Zia said all the data is collected with consent from users and follows all applicable privacy laws.
The a:care which is a global platform, currently includes three specialty chronic areas diabetes, thyroid and osteoarthritis, with plans to include more therapies in a phased manner later in the year.
Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly taking digital route not just to to improve patient outcomes, but to engage with doctors and patients more directly. Cipla and Sun Pharma are other companies that went digital.
US-based Abbott gained foothold in India, after it acquired the formulations business of Piramal Healthcare in a $3.7-billion deal in 2010. India generates about one-third of Abbott's $4.4 billion global established pharmaceutical business.
The company is focusing on high growth therapeutic areas such as gastroenterology,women’s health, cardiology, metabolic disorders and primary care.
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