Due to the pandemic, self-medication and pharma companies are quickly switching to new technologies. This turning point could help improve patient care, cost-effectiveness, greater transparency, improved production, and drug development, ushering in a new era for the healthcare industry.
Digitalization is a process that has slowly spread in every industry, including healthcare. But what is it really? Digital transformation is the name given to the process of a company adopting new technologies to improve their business overall. This can be implemented through the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, process automation, internet, etc.
Recent events have helped speed up the digitalization of the healthcare industry, at a time when countries had to shut down their activities, limiting access to doctors, pharmacies, and hospitals. According to a study carried out by GlobalData, the online OTC and pharma market is projected to be worth US$ 767 billion by 2030, having experienced a 241% growth since 2014. The survey also showed that 35% of OTC and pharma industry professionals believed the COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated digital transformation by more than five years. In addition to that, online traffic on OTC & pharma websites experienced an increase of 35% over the past few years.
The digital transformation of the health industry, accelerated by the pandemic, translated into different sectors of the consumer healthcare and pharma market.
- The first huge change was the use of data science by OTC & pharma companies, which allowed them to improve the efficiency of their production lines, the analysis and digitalization of clinical trials, but also to improve the security of their data with the use of blockchain technology.
- Artificial intelligence has also helped the acceleration of drug discovery, manufacturing of products, and new disease diagnosis methods. Therefore, companies have been more inclined to adopt remote working during the pandemic and performed decentralized R&D or clinical trials. This has led to an easier internationalization of their activities.
- Lastly, digital transformation in the healthcare industry allowed for the surge of digital pharmacies, with platforms such as Amazon, Taobao, or Mercadolibre providing OTC and pharma products with easy access for consumers. Online pharma marketing (online advertisement, health influencers on social media, etc) has also increased consumer awareness of certain drugs.
Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash
Digital transformation is shaping the future of market entry. Technology is changing the way organizations interact with internal and external stakeholders, providing faster access to information and more efficient global collaboration.
Taking into account trends and developing the new right international corporate strategy is not easy, but we at Chameleon Pharma Consulting Group can assist you with that, and much more.
Feature Image at the top: Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
