Omni Know-How
August 25, 2025
One of the most rewarding projects I have ever worked on began with the critical task of defining a journey for people living with a chronic and potentially debilitating condition. Faced with new competitors in the market, my client wanted to secure their position by providing an exceptional treatment onboarding experience for patients who had been prescribed a therapy. In addition, they were determined to tackle patient adherence issues directly—a significant and complex challenge.
Here are three key learnings from creating a digital patient onboarding journey.
1. Begin with a Comprehensive Assessment of the Patient Experience
Our first step was to thoroughly assess the patient’s experience. Gathering information from a variety of sources was challenging but invaluable. This effort allowed us to map the current patient journey and uncover both gaps and opportunities for improvement. For example, we identified a welcome kit created by the agency of record, outbound nurse navigator calls with valuable scripts compiled by a third-party nurse support vendor, and a limited CRM-driven email program that repurposed content from an acquisition stream. We also mined the call center data to identify what issues patients faced and when, so that we could provide timely, proactive education. While it became clear that the patient experience lacked seamlessness, the wealth of data collected formed the backbone of our editorial and content strategy, ensuring it reflected the patient’s real-world experience.
2. Identify a Core Tenent
Through numerous interviews, we came to an important realization: while we could sympathize with patients, we could not truly empathize. One research interview stood out—a woman living with a chronic condition shared, “I never accepted my diagnosis until I had dinner with other people living with the same condition…it was cathartic in a way I could never have anticipated.” This concept of empathy became central to our program’s objective. Rather than simply creating a patient portal, we developed a community for people living with a chronic condition, enabling them to share stories, offer tips, and support one another. Our goal was to replicate the sense of connection our interviewee described and craved.
3. Persevere Through Obstacles to Stay True to the Vision
As with any program, we encountered resistance along the way. Building an authentic experience that truly reflects patients’ needs required innovative thinking and foresight. We considered potential objections from our medical, legal, and regulatory stakeholders, and prepared strategies to address their concerns. We established proxies, processes, and protocols to assuage and address concerns. Through perseverance, we succeeded in incorporating user-generated content and social sharing into the experience, reflecting the point of view of the people living with a chronic condition. This deepened engagement and allowed for a more authentic, empathetic experience.
The key takeaway from building this patient-centric community is clear: digital does not have to be impersonal. When approached with a human-centric and empathetic mindset, digital solutions can enhance connection and meaningfully support the patient’s journey.