In an era where digital transformation is reshaping industries, healthcare stands at a crossroad. As patient needs become more complex and healthcare professionals (HCPs) demand timelier, personalized, data-driven interactions, traditional engagement models are falling short. While more than 80% of pharma executives report satisfaction with their current engagement strategies, only about 35% of HCPs feel their needs are being effectively met. Bridging this gap requires more than incremental change; it calls for a bold reimagining of healthcare operations powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Addressing Legacy Challenges in HCP Engagement
Traditional face-to-face visits, once the foundation of pharma engagement, are reaching the limit of their effectiveness. They are resource-intensive and increasingly unable to deliver the tailored support that HCPs now expect. The one-size-fits-all model struggles to meet the nuanced expectations of modern HCPs.
Shifting to omnichannel engagement is a positive step, but unlocking AI’s transformative potential is essential to bridge the gap between evolving expectations and current engagement models.
Unlocking the Power of AI in Healthcare
AI is emerging as a powerful enabler of smarter, more responsive healthcare engagement. From real-time data analytics to predictive modelling and automation, AI is revolutionizing the way healthcare organizations connect with HCPs and patients. While healthcare organizations collect vast amounts of data, much of it remains underutilized. AI bridges this gap by turning fragmented datasets into actionable insights, supporting more timely and relevant patient care and provider engagement. AI-integrated customer relationship management (CRM) tools can leverage these insights to tailor outreach to each HCP’s prescribing habits, channel preferences, and interaction history, enabling more effective communication.
In fact, Deloitte has identified five strategic areas where AI integration can enable healthcare organizations to maximize customer engagement. These include:
· Data-driven insights and key messages: Support more informed HCP targeting
· Dynamic communication channels: Ensures timely and seamless connections across various stakeholders
· In-depth customer knowledge: Recommends optimal engagement steps based on real-time insights
· High-touch personalization: Uses AI chatbots and advanced data analytics to create digital touchpoints with personalized experiences
· Streamlined engagement strategies: Targeted messaging that eliminates the need for heavy promotion
These areas are highly relevant in today’s evolving healthcare landscape, offering a structured framework through which AI can be deployed.
AI in Action: Enhancing Operations and Personalization
Predictive Analytics and Personalization
AI tools can analyze vast amounts of behavioral and prescribing data to determine when, how, and what to communicate to each HCP. This level of personalization not only enhances the effectiveness of outreach but also boosts the likelihood of timely and appropriate product usage. Approximately 75% of HCPs have expressed openness to interacting with AI-generated content as part of future pharma engagement strategies.
Workflow Automation
AI also plays a critical role in streamlining internal operations. For example, AI-enabled ambient listening tools used during patient consultations can capture and distill clinical notes automatically. Physicians using such tools report faster note-taking and more time for direct patient care, with almost 80% stating it improved clinical documentation and nearly two-thirds reporting time savings.
Operational Efficiency and Patient Engagement
On the patient-facing side, AI is also driving improvements. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants handle routine queries, assist with symptom self-assessments, and provide ongoing education. These solutions have been shown to reduce emergency room visits by up to 35%, while roughly 60% of patients said they felt better equipped to manage symptoms with the help of chatbot tools, freeing up care teams to focus on complex or high-priority cases.
Real World Impact
The real potential of AI comes into focus when we look at how these innovations play out in practice. Integrating advanced AI and analytics into CRM solutions like DKSH’s ConnectPlus by Euris can help to streamline communication efforts and ensure they adhere to healthcare protocols and standards. It can also personalize interactions based on real-time data, and provide HCPs with precise, targeted engagement strategies tailored to their needs.
For example, a pharmaceutical firm in Japan leveraged an analytics-enabled omnichannel approach to launch a new use for an existing primary-care drug. With AI, the company was able to analyze and identify HCPs most likely to adopt the new use of the drug with their patients. This AI-driven approach led to a 7% increase in the number of patients covered by the drug and made face-to-face interactions with HCPs more efficient.
This example underscores how AI is not just a futuristic concept; it is already delivering measurable value in the healthcare space.
Building the Future Together
As AI capabilities advance, the healthcare industry must go beyond adoption and rethink how teams collaborate and make decisions. Success will depend on aligning sales, marketing, and analytics to deliver personalized, omnichannel engagement tailored to HCP behavior. Partnering with AI specialists and data providers can enhance predictive insights and strengthen data ecosystems. At the same time, organizations should pilot AI-driven solutions through dedicated innovation teams, scaling what works across regions and product lines.
Overall, these approaches ensure healthcare organizations can engage HCPs more effectively with AI integrated omnichannel strategies that improve access gaps across Southeast Asia. As CRM platforms continue to evolve, integrating AI is essential to meeting rising expectations, ensuring continuity across digital and in-person touchpoints, and delivering better healthcare outcomes.
This article was published in Frontier Enterprise.
Sources:
• The case for change: Preparing for the future state of CRM technology in an evolving customer engagement environment | Deloitte
• Why Isn’t Healthcare More Personalized? | Harvard Business Review
• Accelerating Healthcare with AI: Reducing Administrative Burdens | Forbes
• The Use of Chatbots in Oncological Care: A Narrative Review | International Journal of General Medicine