How Can Pharmaceutical Sector Benefit from Technology amid Covid-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 more commonly known as the Coronavirus has disrupted life across all sectors, and the pharmaceutical industry has taken the biggest brunt exposing international drug shortage, insufficient global supply chain and inefficient cross-communication between pharmaceutical giants worldwide. These shortcomings are being termed as the key players in the delay of announcing a coherent treatment and/or preventive measure against Coronavirus.

Additionally, healthcare sector worldwide has reported an acute shortage of medical supplies due to the increased influx of patients.

Against the backdrop of the havoc his virus has wrecked worldwide, pharmaceutical companies have reallocated their resources, prioritizing the collective fight against the deadly pandemic. Recognizing the immediate need of a preventive/cure, pharmaceutical companies worldwide have started utilizing the potential cloud communication and the advanced information technology sector has to offer in order to reach a conclusive or at least viable solution.

How is the Digital Technology Reshaping Pharmaceutical Industry?

As most industries worldwide have experienced an increased dependence on digital technology, the pharmaceutical industry is not far behind. The Covid-19 pandemic has proven how digital revolution is not only limited to reshaping global boundaries but has made healthcare facilities more accessible and has increased the cross-communication between healthcare professionally eventually contributing to the benefits for humankind in general.

There are countless ways in which the pharmaceutical sector in particular has benefited from the digital technology. Here we have listed a few.

Remote Patient Support: Given the need of social distances during the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals and pharmacists are increasingly relying on providing remote patient support via on call services, emails, websites and mobile applications. Globally, people were advised to avoid visiting hospitals if suffering from mild symptoms of common cough, flu or long term illness which they have been battling for quite some time. Unless a medical emergency, patients were advised to seek remote support. HCPs and pharma professionals also adhered to the digital mediums to provide health care support to patients. This also increased the possibilities of treatments beyond prescriptions as doctors and pharmacists were enabled to provide healthy lifestyle guidelines, precautionary measures and physical exercises that could help patients fight ailments.

Digitally Powered Patient Trials: Covid-19 might have restricted HCPs access to human trials due to lockdowns and social distancing, but what no one thought earlier was how remote trials through digital means could conveniently resolve, what’s considered the second largest concern for both HCPs and pharmacists worldwide. Telemedicine, remote access to patient records, and virtual monitoring of patient response to certain drugs have all been factors playing a pivotal role in drug testing during the pandemic.

Cloud Communication & Data Sharing: Covid-19 led pharmaceutical companies and health care professionals around the world to join hands in search for a permanent cure for Corona virus. This increased the dependence on cloud communication, and made sharing of researches and treatments across borders convenient. There have been hundreds of thousands of webinars and cloud meetings in order to devise strategies to combat Corona virus. HCPs have also been able to make data-driven decisions based on the mass sharing of global patient data including symptoms, measures leading to improvement or deterioration in patient health, organic items helping improve patient health, as well as health care practices leading to a managed fight against the massive patient influx.

All in all, the pandemic has increased an overall dependence of the HCP and pharmaceutical sector on digital means and it will not be a far-fetched approach to predict this dependency continuing in the post-covid era.