Patient support services: PatientsForce wins a Global Views ESG Corporate Sustainability Social Innovation Award

"PatientsForce represents the force that supports patients, taking the patient as the starting point and using market supply and demand to fill the gaps in National Health Insurance coverage." Media-WIND Health Strategies general manager Sean Chang says, "PatientsForce builds a medication-benefit platform that creates shared value for doctors and patients. It is not a drug procurement platform, but an individual-patient-centered medication application management service. Through drug-benefit schemes supported by pharmaceutical companies or third parties, it helps cancer patients and patients on special medications reduce financial toxicity."

PatientsForce wins a Global Views ESG Corporate Sustainability Social Innovation Award

(Taipei, May 1, 2024) Media-WIND Health Strategies's PatientsForce Patient Support Program digital management platform service was today awarded the SME prize in the Social Innovation category of the 20th Global Views ESG Corporate Sustainability Awards, recognizing the company's impact and value in social innovation.

The PatientsForce Patient Support Program mainly provides support schemes for out-of-pocket new drugs, easing patients' financial burden and delivering patient-centered accompanying care. Through its digital management platform for case management, it serves tens of thousands of cancer patients and patients on special medications each year.

The financial burden of new cancer drugs has become a major social issue

The financial burden of new cancer drugs has become one of the major social issues Taiwan urgently needs to solve. According to a survey by the Taiwan Cancer Foundation, as many as 66% of cancer patients pay more than NT$300,000 out of pocket for medical care, and 20% pay out-of-pocket amounts of over NT$1 million. This financial pressure not only seriously affects patients' quality of life but also directly affects treatment outcomes, and may even prevent patients from receiving complete treatment.

In recent years, thanks to leaps in medical and pharmaceutical technology, new drugs and medical devices are launching faster. While a new drug is of course a new option for doctors and patients, without insurance coverage it can also be a heavy financial burden. In particular, as R&D and market costs keep climbing, the prices of recently launched new drugs continue to rise. Beyond public-private insurance collaboration to build a more complete social healthcare safety net, using the free-contract mechanism of the market, a Patient Assistance Program—a medication-support model provided by pharmaceutical-company foundations or third parties—is also a global market development trend and an important ESG issue for pharmaceutical companies.

PatientsForce's innovative solution: providing affordable new-drug support management

Media-WIND Health Strategies began developing patient support program systems back in 2015, and in 2021 received the Digital Health Industry Application Seal of the National Healthcare Quality Award from the Joint Commission of Taiwan. Through continued investment in system R&D and improved corporate governance, it now provides new-drug support services for nearly 60 international pharmaceutical companies, and has reduced patients' drug-cost burden by more than NT$5 billion. In addition, through its care team and smart healthcare system, more than 40,000 cancer patients have benefited.

"PatientsForce plays the role of a hub. When patients face difficult treatment, they are already having a hard enough time; what they need is practical resources and help," says Media-WIND Health Strategies operations director Vivian Wang. "We hope that through innovative business models and digital tools, resource providers—such as pharmaceutical companies, businesses, and other stakeholders—can transfer resources to patients more efficiently. Once a new drug enters National Health Insurance coverage, our phase of the mission is complete, and we transition to the next phase of accompanying care services."

Innovative service earns international recognition and keeps exploring more possibilities

The PatientsForce Patient Support management platform is not merely a digital system; it also embodies Media-WIND Health Strategies's practice of corporate responsibility on the ESG front. Media-WIND Health Strategies has not only joined international carbon-neutrality target agreements and continuously invested in R&D to optimize management processes and use digital tools to cut carbon emissions; it has also obtained ISO 9001, 27001, and 27701 certifications related to its patient support program system, sparing no effort in investing in patient-safety management systems. As a result, on its first-ever entry it earned the recognition of the judges of Taiwan's Global Views Monthly ESG Corporate Sustainability Awards.

"We do not want to see people fall into poverty because of illness. Even more, we hope healthcare equity can take into account patients of different means, and encourage innovation in pursuit of better medical and health quality—these are all values of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals," says general manager Chang. "All resources come from patients' needs and from the market forces motivated to provide resources to patients. Businesses are the force most motivated to put the SDGs into practice."

[About Media-WIND Health Group]
Media-WIND Health Group / Media-WIND Health Holdings comprises five companies—Media-WIND Communications, Media-WIND Health Strategies, MediCloud Biotech, Media-WIND Health E-commerce, and CareCompanion Life—and created the PatientsForce patient-benefit program management platform, focusing on the digitalization and management innovation of value-based pharmaceutical services, to realize the vision of helping everyone attain health and complete treatment.

Director, Media-WIND Communications Co., Ltd., Irene Ku