REMICADE has multiple indications, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, but only 60% of patients prescribed REMICADE go on to fill their prescriptions and receive ongoing treatment at infusion centers. This obvious “gap” in the patient journey and subsequent lack of patient adherence with therapy cost the brand millions each year.

The REMICADE VIP Experience unified stakeholders to improve patient adherence // Using a proprietary CX Audit, PulseCX identified the rational and emotional reasons why patients and other stakeholders don’t comply with therapy. These insights informed the Patient Journey Map. It plotted not only the functional aspects of therapy—the what, when, how, and where of the patients’ experience, as well as whom they’re talking to in the process—but also the “why” behind their behavior. To change patient behaviors, our Patient Journey Map had to identify not only the patient and stakeholder attitudes that drive these behaviors, but also the emotional drivers/connections associated with each functional step in the journey. Ultimately, PulseCX created a new customer experience (CX) that embedded the brand into the treatment journey. This allowed patients to become partners in their own progress and empowered them to lead the way to their own REMICADE adherence.

Untangling the web of stakeholder relationships and interdependent influences // Initially, Janssen focused their marketing efforts on GI physicians and patients. Through the CX Audit, PulseCX found that the stakeholder lens needed to expand to include non-infusion (non-IOI) HCP nurses, infusion nurses, and REMICADE sales representatives, all of whom played significant roles in the patient journey.

REMICADE CX Audit insights set the foundation for Patient Journey Map creation

• Key stakeholders were not equally sold on the value of infusion
• Sales reps were best positioned to resuscitate the market for infusion because they alone interact with stakeholders from diagnosis through adherence
• There was no need to develop new kinds of support for the diagnosis through maintenance stages
• While REMICADE had nearly 20 years of experience developing and refining programs, these programs needed to be more relevant and readily available

Translating stakeholder insights into the greatest opportunities to win // The unique CX Audit process (and resulting Patient Journey Map) uncovered the true motivational triggers for each of these stakeholders and the interaction points between them that could influence behavioral change. It also revealed a rich set of findings on stakeholders’ behavioral and emotional motivations.

Relevant aspects of the data were plotted into the Patient Journey Map to reveal viable Key Moments of Impact where the greatest impact could be made on behavioral change. Think of Key Moments of Impact as the customer pain points where you have an opportunity to enhance the brand value proposition and directly influence its use and ongoing patient satisfaction. In essence, these key moments in the patient journey represented opportunities for the brand to sway patient decision-making and spark other stakeholders to influence patients to improve adherence.

Building an empowering CX that pays off a primary brand goal // The REMICADE Patient Journey Map ultimately pointed to the need to create a patient experience that transformed the brand-adherence process from “Do It Yourself” (DIY) to “Very Important Patient” (VIP). Part of the solution was to provide patients with virtual prescriptions (along with their traditional prescriptions) so they could easily track the progression of prescription fulfillment online.

As patients interacted with the VIP Experience, they received appropriate communications specific to where they were in their adherence journey. The program also expanded the opportunity for influence by allowing patients to invite others—like their nurse, HCP, and family members—to join them on their journey and provide additional treatment support.