Physicians are looking to pharmaceutical companies to help them keep patients engaged in their healthcare by providing patient services, according to the ePharma Physician 2014 study from Manhattan Research, part of Burlington, Mass.-based Decision Resources Group.

The study showed strong physician interest in patient support and resources from pharma, along with an expectation that the industry will take a leadership role in developing tools to help keep patients on track and improve patient outcomes. These findings come as accountable care organizations and meaningful use stage 2 incentives are pushing patient engagement to the forefront for healthcare providers and systems.

Key findings from the study include:

• Seven out of 10 ePharma physicians somewhat or strongly agreed that pharmas must provide more resources and services alongside drugs and treatments to stay relevant in the emerging healthcare system
• 35% of ePharma physicians said pharmas have a key role to play in driving progress in defining and meeting patient outcomes
• One in five ePharma physicians strongly agreed that they were interested in using patient resources from pharma that would help them meet patient outcomes goals
• Sales reps are the top source from which ePharma physicians want to learn about patient support and resources from pharma, followed by professional journals or web sites intended for a healthcare professional audience, and by email newsletters from pharma.

Monique Levy, vice president of research, said, “Physicians are connecting the dots. They understand that to succeed in an outcomes-based reimbursement model, they need to engage patients more. Pharma can provide them tools to help with this."