Pharmaceutical manufacturers are accelerating investment in direct-to-patient models as policy shifts and rising consumer expectations reshape the industry landscape.
Chip Parkinson, CEO of Gifthealth, says the momentum behind these integrated models has moved well beyond the early-year predictions he outlined in January.
Parkinson originally flagged most-favoured-nation pricing pressure and evolving consumer expectations as the key forces pushing manufacturers toward technology-driven direct-to-patient infrastructure.
He now says those forces have only intensified since January, particularly following the launch of TrumpRx, which has further raised the bar for what patients expect at the pharmacy counter.
Patients increasingly expect the same speed, transparency and predictability from pharmacy services that they receive from retail e-commerce platforms, a standard that continues to climb.
That shift in expectation is pushing manufacturers toward more integrated models that combine technology with human support across both access and dispensing functions.
Parkinson is careful to distinguish this from a short-term trend, arguing the underlying drivers are structural rather than cyclical in nature.
He points to MFN pricing, gross-to-net compression and looming pharmacy benefit manager reform as durable forces that will continue reshaping the space throughout 2026 and beyond.
Real-time data, fulfillment reliability and integrated patient support are now baseline expectations, not competitive differentiators, according to Parkinson’s assessment of where the market stands today.
Anticipated PBM reform adds another layer of urgency, sustaining capital and strategic investment in direct models even as broader market conditions remain uncertain.
The Gifthealth CEO made these observations as part of Pharmaceutical Commerce’s H1 Review and H2 Outlook series, featuring industry leaders revisiting predictions made at the start of the year.
His remarks form part of a three-part video interview series, with the direct-to-patient structural shift emerging as a central theme for pharmaceutical commerce heading into the second half of 2026.