Patient Advocacy: Optimizing the Structure of the Advocacy Function

STUDY OVERVIEW

Patient advocacy groups play a vital role in educating patients on new therapies and treatment options. Given their close relationship to patients, advocacy groups are critical partners for pharma as they seek to educate the public about new and existing therapies. The pharma function that works with patient advocacy groups has evolved as the industry seeks new and more effective ways to communicate with patient groups.

This research provides current benchmarks on the structure, staffing level, and communication processes that pharma advocacy groups are utilizing to increase their effectiveness. The study also contains a chapter that contains qualitative data from respondents regarding advocacy structure. Leaders who oversee the advocacy function within pharma can use this study to compare their metrics and structural approaches with their industry peers.


KEY TOPICS

• Understanding the “Advocacy” landscape
• Advocacy structures that work best
• Advocacy staffing
• Communicating with Advocacy Groups
• Profiling Advocacy Group experience & expertise

• Describe the structure of your company's patient advocacy function
• Is your patient advocacy function's structure appropriate
• How do you ensure that patient advocacy organizations can contact/communicate with your patient advocacy function personnel
• Estimate the number of FTEs in your organization that are dedicated to patient advocacy activities
• How many patient advocacy groups do you support
  

• Steady rise in the number of advocacy groups supported by companies: Participating companies predict an increase in the number of external advocacy groups that their organization supports. Currently, companies have an average of 22 patient advocacy groups. In the coming two years, participants estimated they will support, on average, 27 patient advocacy groups. Meanwhile, companies have about 6 FTEs in their patient advocacy groups, on average. These employees have more than 9 years of advocacy experience, on average.

This study engaged 74 leaders supporting patient advocacy at 61 life sciences companies and organizations. More than 60% of participants are at the director/ senior director level. Nearly 65% of participants are from the United States.

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