Allison and Cindy argue that many direct-to-patient (DTP) programs remain constrained by one-size-fits-all models that limit both patient experience and commercial performance. As patients increasingly expect convenience, choice, and price transparency, they suggest that manufacturers must evolve beyond static DTP channels toward more flexible, hybrid access models.
Click here to learn more about PHIL’s DTP 2.0 platform, PHIL Direct.
Read on for Allison and Cindy’s insights.
Beyond DTP 2.0: How Flexible Direct-to-Patient Programs Power Best-In-Class Patient Experiences
By Allison Bridges, SVP Client Success, PHIL Inc. and Cindy Eckert, Founder and CEO, Sprout Pharmaceuticals
As patients become more proactive about their health, seeking treatment on their own terms and at convenient times that suit their lives and preferences, there is a growing opportunity to build programs that proactively respond to how patients prefer to access and adhere to their prescribed therapies.
Leading brands are embracing flexible DTP 2.0 programs with hybrid workflows that empower patients with greater choice and control throughout their access experience, while providing commercial teams with strategic levers for improving brand performance. These programs prioritize choice and convenience, enabling patients to choose their desired intake, dispense, and payment pathways, to drive better patient outcomes and commercial performance.
To stay ahead, commercial teams must consider adopting flexible DTP programs designed to maximize patient pull-through, affordability, adherence, and experiences.
Leading with Patient-Centric Program Design
Effective DTP programs address common pain points patients experience when navigating traditional healthcare channels by providing:
- Predictable affordability: Patients see their costs clearly upfront with savings automatically applied, eliminating one of the biggest barriers to starting and staying on therapy.
- Specialized expertise: Patients meet with clinicians who actually specialize in their condition. This specialized attention creates a supportive experience for finding the best treatment path.
- Convenience built for real life: Telemedicine visits, online prescription management, home delivery, and patient support options, reducing friction that often prevents patient starts and adherence.
Embracing Direct-to-Patient as an Empowered Care Model
Flexible DTP programs evolve beyond a static access channel or marketing initiative; they are an empowered care model that equips patients with greater flexibility and choice over their access experience.
These programs offer patients multiple, adaptive payment pathways, including both cash and insurance coverage options, with eligible discounts and coupons automatically applied. This expanded approach improves price transparency and affordability, allowing patients to access therapy in ways that align with their preferences, coverage status, and financial situation, ultimately helping more patients move confidently from intent to initiation to adherence.
Customized DTP programs also enable brands to establish a strong presence throughout the patient experience. With tailored branded touchpoints throughout the access journey, patients experience continuity and clarity, building trust and strengthening the relationship with the brand. This heightened brand awareness is especially important when patients are independently searching for lifestyle therapies, such as weight management or sexual health, where convenience, privacy, trust, and brand reputation are top priority.
Building Trust with Healthcare Providers and Patients
Hybrid DTP programs give patients clear, transparent cost information and multiple options to access treatment, while directly integrating adherence tools and support found in most DTP models. These adaptable workflows help patients navigate financial considerations and provide clear options to minimize care delays and disruptions.
For healthcare providers, offering patients flexibility and choice builds trust in the access experience and supports the patient’s ability to follow through on treatment. When patients can choose the pathway that best fits their needs and receive proactive adherence support, providers gain confidence that patients are more likely to start and stay on therapy. At the same time, patients feel empowered, informed, and supported, deepening trust in the brand and their care team in providing a positive care experience.
Improving Commercial Impact Through Hybrid Workflows
Hybrid DTP programs guide patients dynamically to the pathway that best meets patient preferences as well as supports the brand’s broader commercial strategy. Data from PHIL programs showcases the potential commercial impact: when patients are given a flexibility of choice between insurance copay and cash price, 14% more patients are willing to pay for and successfully start therapy.
These adaptable workflows provide manufacturers with precise control over gross-to-net (GTN) performance. Rules-based logic allows high-deductible patients to be routed to the most commercially sustainable option, whether a predictable cash pathway or an optimized copay, ensuring access while protecting brand economics.
Evolving from Direct-to-Patient to Direct-to-Experience
Hybrid DTP programs evolve direct-to-patient into direct-to-experience: empowering patients with the flexibility to choose their preferred access pathways, making them more likely to start and stay on therapy with a better experience overall.
By introducing hybrid access pathways, manufacturers can capture a massive opportunity to help more patients move from initiation to adherence with confidence, while deepening brand trust and loyalty. Flexible DTP programs have the potential to improve clinical outcomes, strengthen patient and provider relationships, and maximize commercial performance, turning direct-to-patient from a singular access point into a strategic lever that transforms patient experiences.
To learn how your organization can embrace flexible DTP models that strengthen patient experiences and brand performance, discover PHIL Direct, the DTP 2.0 platform that’s powering pharma’s industry-leading DTP programs. For an estimate of your brand’s untapped commercial potential, leverage our GTN performance calculator.
Note: Sprout Pharmaceuticals is the creator of Addyi, the first FDA-approved treatment for hypoactive (low) sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in women.
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