We live in a world of unprecedented innovation, but so often patients are unable to benefit from the treatment and care they desperately need. At Avalere Health, we’re acutely aware of the barriers preventing patients from accessing healthcare. Through our EVERY PATIENT POSSIBLE mission, we are committed to uncovering the problems that have left people waiting for answers, trials, treatments, care, and hope across disease areas.  

One of the ways we’re pursuing our commitment to support every patient is through a deep understanding of behavioral science – the study of human behavior that draws from disciplines such as psychology, economics, implementation science, and beyond.  

Sub-optimal behaviors across the healthcare ecosystem mean that people around the world are suffering more than they need to from disease. Health systems are overburdened, and biopharmaceutical and health tech companies cannot fully realize the opportunities presented by their novel innovations.  

Non-optimized therapy including non-adherence not only costs the US more than $500 billion a year, it also leads to higher rates of complications for patients, increased hospitalization and poorer treatment results. At the same time, sub-optimal behaviors mean patients are also missing out on life-changing medical treatments.

For example, one study of advanced non-small cell lung cancer showed 64% of eligible patients were lost on the path to precision treatment due to gaps such as not receiving biomarker testing or the appropriate targeted therapy based on their results. If we can’t change these clinical behaviors, patients will continue to be lost in the system unable to benefit from the treatments they desperately need. 

Hope is not lost for the improved outcomes we know are possible. At Avalere Health, we have seen the impact of a laser focus on behavior change – from increasing vaccination intentions to  reducing time to treatment and improving the uptake of internal digital tools. By applying behavioral science, we can move the needle.  

Introducing the HUMAN framework 

There are no silver bullets. When we apply behavioral science, we do so with an insight- and evidence-driven lens, focused on sustained change, rather than a “quick fix” of throwing a “nudge” at a problem and hoping it sticks.  

That’s why we have developed the HUMAN framework – A simple yet robust approach, tailor-made for healthcare organizations, bringing together health-specific and broad models, as well as disciplines from health psychology to implementation science.  

The framework is a set of dimensions that, based on evidence and experience, influence in healthcare specifically. It can be used in market research, design thinking workshops, landscape analysis, change management, and more, to answer any question that involves understanding and ethically influencing behavior. For example, improving clinical trial recruitment and retention, patient-physician shared decision-making, or internal omnichannel transformation. 

Curious to learn more? Fill in the form below to:  

• Explore the HUMAN framework and its real-life application 
• Uncover 7 key principles to maximize the chance of successfully changing behavior 
• Reveal the numerous holistic factors driving behavior change 

Image references:

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