Sharp focus

Digital-first demands

Digital-first patient experience is often reduced to ease: fewer steps; faster access, smoother journeys. But in healthcare, experience is inseparable from confidence, comprehension and continuity.

Ordering a prescription may feel transactional, but managing a chronic condition is not. The rapid uptake of GLP-1 treatments via online clinics and pharmacies has taken this dynamic to new levels, accelerating how quickly patients move from access to ongoing care needs.

Patients starting GLP-1 therapies often move quickly beyond the moment of prescription into questions about side effects, dose escalation, nutrition and long-term outcomes, often seeking answers beyond traditional clinical settings.

The same is increasingly true in men’s health. Online pathways for erectile dysfunction, testosterone deficiency, hair loss and mental health are often a first step for men who might otherwise avoid care altogether.

Digital anonymity lowers the barrier to entry, helping patients bypass stigma and embarrassment that still exist in face-to-face settings.

As more care journeys are compressed into digital environments, the responsibility placed on communication increases. The fewer human touchpoints a patient has, the more weight every message carries.

What is explained, what is omitted and how information is framed all become part of care delivery itself.

Patient trust

Trust has always mattered in healthcare, but digital-first services shape it in different ways.

When care is delivered in person, trust is reinforced through personal interaction, familiar settings and long-established institutions. In digital services, those cues are often missing.

Patients may never meet a clinician in person, so they rely much more on how clearly a service explains what it offers, who is responsible for care and how support is provided if something goes wrong.

Put simply, patients need to know that there are qualified professionals behind the service, that appropriate checks are being made and that they can easily reach a real person if they have concerns.

Trust is built over time through clear, consistent and understandable communication, not through a single reassurance statement or badge.

Every interaction matters. From onboarding emails and in-app messages to FAQs, follow-ups and responses within online communities.

Together, these moments shape whether patients feel confident using a service and continuing their care through it.

‘Digital-first patients expect dialogue, empathy and relevance in the moment of need’

New order

As online pharmacies and digital health platforms take on a greater role in chronic disease management, communications can no longer sit on the sidelines or rely on static, one-way formats.

Patients need to understand not only what they are taking, but why, for how long, what to expect and when to seek help. This is particularly important in fast-growing areas such as medicated weight loss, menopause and men’s health, where demand has accelerated faster than shared understanding.

In Europe, nearly 60% of adults are now overweight or obese, fuelling demand for pharmacological weight-management options.

Digital-first services and peer-led online communities are increasingly filling this gap, often becoming a primary source of often unchecked and unregulated information.

In this context, content is not an add-on, it is a central aspect of clinical intervention Education delivered at the right moment, in the right tone, through the right channel and voice can shape expectations, support adherence and reduce anxiety.
Done poorly, it leaves space for misinformation to take hold.

Careful navigation

Where official information feels insufficient, patients turn to each other. Online forums, Reddit threads, Facebook groups, TikTok and Discord communities have become important spaces for sharing lived experience, particularly around menopause, obesity and men’s health.

However, these environments also come with blind spots. Anecdotal advice can overshadow evidence, rare side effects can be amplified, commercial influence may be poorly disclosed and there is often no clinical oversight.

The challenge is no longer whether patients will seek information in these spaces, but how responsibly the healthcare ecosystem shows up alongside them.

For pharma companies, providers and healthcare experts, digital-first care requires a shift in mindset. Traditional one-way communication models struggle to meet patients where they now are.

Digital-first patients expect dialogue, empathy and relevance in the moment of need.

Responsible engagement does not mean dominating conversations or blurring promotional boundaries. It means supporting credible voices, collaborating with trusted healthcare professionals, listening to patient concerns as they emerge and contributing evidence-based resources designed for social and community contexts.

Partnering with platforms and creators that already command trust and are relatable can help reach these thriving online communities who may never engage with traditional healthcare communications.

Redefining care

As digital-first pharmacy becomes embedded in chronic care pathways, the implications go well beyond delivery models or channels. They touch reputation, relevance and long-term trust.

Patient experience is no longer defined solely by outcomes or convenience, but by how supported, informed and confident patients feel as they navigate care over time.

For providers and pharma alike, this creates a clear opportunity: to move beyond static patient communications and build living systems of information and engagement that respond to real needs in real time.

The organisations best placed to succeed will be those that treat communication as part of care itself by investing in insight-led, human and responsive engagement that scales with demand.

In an always-on world, trust is built through usefulness and presence, and how you show up for patients is what ultimately sets you apart.

Isabelle Scali is Head of Pharma at Brands2Life