Scott shares findings from CareMetx’s 2026 Patient Services Report, based on a survey of more than 100 patient access decision-makers across biopharma, consulting, and specialty care. The results reveal an industry in transition. Hybrid hub models are becoming the norm, technology enablement remains uneven, and interoperability is emerging as a critical gating factor for meaningful progress.
To learn more, download CareMetx's 2026 Patient Services Report.
Read on for Scott’s insights.
The State of Patient Access: What Industry Leaders Reveal in a New Survey About Hub Models, Technology, and the Road Ahead
By Scott Genone, Chief Product Officer, CareMetx
What emerged was not a single, settled model for patient services, but a field in motion. Programs are modernizing, experimenting with new technologies and adapting to growing specialty complexity- but progress remains uneven. The details offer a grounded view of how patient services operate today and where priorities are expected to shift over the next 12 to 24 months.
To view all the data, download the 2026 Patient Services Report.
Most Patient Services Programs Are Converging on a Similar Structure
One of the more notable patterns to emerge from the survey is the degree of consistency in how patient services hubs are structured today: nearly 60% of respondents report operating a hybrid model that combines internal teams with external partners. This concentration suggests a selective ownership model, in which manufacturers may opt to retain direct control over core elements of their programs, while engaging external partners to optimize areas where specialized capabilities or scale can materially improve outcomes.
Interestingly, when responses were filtered by therapeutic area or company size, however, this consistency gave way to more differentiated patterns, with certain segments significantly more likely to remain fully internal or notably more heavily outsourced. Consultant perspectives also offered a distinct lens, describing portfolios of clients that are actively rebalancing ownership models, either pulling certain capabilities back in-house or extending outward to partners as needs evolve.
Overall, signals point to hybridization as the prevailing structure as hub design remains an active area of recalibration across the industry.
Technology Enablement Is Advancing, But Unevenly
Another notable insight was how respondents characterize the current state of technology enablement within their programs. While innovation and advanced tools feature prominently in industry discussions, most respondents describe their operating reality today as only partially technology-enabled, with automation supporting some workflows while others continue to rely on manual execution.
When participants were asked to pinpoint where technology, point solutions, or AI are specifically being applied across the patient journey today, as well as where they would like to apply it in the future, a more nuanced view began to emerge. Examining responses end to end revealed meaningful variation by stage, highlighting clear differences between where technology is actively being leveraged today and where organizations are signaling the next areas of focus for technology-driven improvement across patient services.
Interoperability and Data Usability Are Emerging Gating Factors
As today’s programs increasingly adopt more modular, hybridized technology stacks and look to optimize specific points in the journey with point solutions and AI, interoperability is emerging as a defining capability and a growing constraint. Findings suggest that while ambition for connected, data-driven access models is high, readiness remains uneven. More than half of respondents indicate they are either not prepared or only somewhat prepared to meet interoperability and data-sharing expectations within patient access.
This gap becomes more significant when viewed alongside responses related to data. While more than 85% of respondents report confidence in the accuracy and completeness of the data they receive from vendor partners, they consistently cite challenges related to non-standardized or inconsistent data formats, limited actionability, and delays that prevent that data from being used to trigger workflows, support automation, or inform timely decision-making. In effect, the data itself is sound, but its lack of interoperability limits its operational value.
Taken together, these findings highlight a critical tension: As organizations layer in more specialized tools and technologies, the ability to normalize, integrate, and activate data across systems increasingly determines whether those investments actually deliver meaningful improvement. Interoperability, once viewed as a technical consideration, is now a central determinant of how effectively programs can translate data into coordinated action across the journey.
Looking Ahead: How Are Priorities Evolving?
These findings point to an industry actively reassessing how best to structure and support patient access. Programs are exploring what to retain in-house, what to outsource, and how to configure hub models to drive greater value and a more effective patient and provider experience. At the same time, organizations are selectively advancing technology enablement across the patient journey, applying automation, point solutions, and AI where they see the greatest opportunity to improve execution. As a result, interoperability and data usability are emerging as central determinants of whether today’s strategies can translate into meaningful improvement in access delivery.
Beyond the themes highlighted here, the survey surfaces additional insight into constraints on technology experimentation, emerging priorities for access modernization, and where respondents expect the most meaningful near-term impact across patient services over the next 12 to 24 months. Download the full 2026 Patient Services Report to explore the findings in detail.
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