How can we support health care professionals in their practice?
Today’s health care professionals face many challenges, from taking on new tasks to managing patients with multiple diseases. Pierre Fabre Laboratories maintains strong, long-standing relations with them. Mr. Pierre Fabre, a pharmacist by profession, was always committed to building a relationship of trust with health care professionals, calling on them to contribute to the development of new products and services for the benefit of patients and public health. The company has remained true to this philosophy.
Communicating daily
How can we stay at the cutting edge of scientific innovation in medical matters? This is a question many health care professionals ask as the pace of innovation accelerates. To help them, the Pierre Fabre Group takes part in numerous professional conferences organized to present solutions and share knowledge. In 2022, the Group participated actively in almost 60 congresses around the world, enabling it to reach over 370,000 health care professionals working in different specialties. For example, Pierre Fabre attended the congress of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Paris in September 2022 and the congress of the European Association of Urology (EAU) in Amsterdam in July 2022, to meet doctors and present its solutions and tools for the treatment of patients with melanoma, colorectal cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. And our dermo-cosmetics teams were not to be outdone. They attended the European dermatology congress (EADV) in Milan in September 2022. A symposium was also organized by the Eau Thermale Avène brand on solar radiation and its harmful effects on the skin, while the Ducray brand focused on the topic of hair grafts.
The Group is regularly asked to contribute its expertise on subjects to complement training for future health care professionals. Philippe Augère, Director of Corporate Relations with the Pharmaceutical Profession, explains: “We work closely with pharmacy departments and training centers, giving regular presentations on topics such as smoking cessation or CSR.”
Helping with diagnosis
On a day-to-day basis, the Group also develops solutions to support family doctors who encounter patients with uncommon conditions. Advice from a specialist can help them to rapidly meet the therapeutic needs of their patient while generating savings for the national health insurance system.
To facilitate diagnosis of skin diseases, and via its Dermaweb platform, which was revamped in 2022, the Pierre Fabre Group has launched a tele-expertise service for general practitioners. This service, called Skindiag, allows them to submit photographs of pathological skin to dermatologists to receive their opinion within 48 hours. “This tool is free for general practitioners and a good example of our approach to supporting health care professionals. We are attentive to their needs and try to develop concrete solutions to meet them,” says Véronique Fabre, Global Digital Manager in the Medical and Consumer Patient Relations Department.
Facilitating patient cares
With this in mind, the Group is also developing tools in oncology. Patients treated for cancer face specific problems. To help pharmacists and their teams provide appropriate care, Pierre Fabre has developed a site called Oncoguide.com. Launched in France in 2021, it was extended to the Maghreb countries in 2022.
It helps them prepare and hold pharmaceutical discussions in the field of oncology. It is an effective toolbox, providing information on the pathology, on good treatment adherence, on supportive care to help reduce pain and discomfort caused by the adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and finally on patient psychology.
Pharmacy teams can use Oncoguide.com to better understand what patients and their caregivers experience and provide comprehensive support (emotional management, advice on nutrition and physical activity, return to work, etc.). Oncoguide.com is currently available in four languages.
Other tools are also available to health care professionals, such as the Tabagora platform to support smoking cessation and therapeutic education modules on atopic eczema.
Preparing for tomorrow
The Group is committed to supporting health care professionals beyond the scope of treatment, so has also developed a Pharmacie Engagée Green project with the agency Primum Non Nocere© to promote “green pharmacies”. This support solution enables the pharmacists involved to assess and professionalize their CSR approach, and to obtain the THQSE (very high-quality health, social and environmental) certification. To date, 22 pharmacies have obtained the label and are approached regularly by colleagues wishing to follow their lead.
The Retail Academy initiative also offers a series of training courses to increase pharmacists’ team management, business performance and CSR skills. Some 100 pharmacists attended the nine sessions organized in 2022.
Through these numerous programs, Pierre Fabre Laboratories strives to remain true to its founder’s wish: to be the leading and best partner of health care professionals.