What Pharma Builds Next: Where DTP Access Meets PSP Support

This is Part 3 of “The Infrastructure Era,” a three-part series exploring the evolution of virtual care, the infrastructure gap in direct-to-consumer (DTC), and the future of pharma’s patient engagement model. Read Part 1 and Part 2 here.

For decades, pharma’s engagement relied on the familiar “ask your doctor” model. But today’s patients expect immediate, digital-first access to treatment. They search for DTP virtual care, streamlined affordability, and patient support programs (PSPs) that deliver continuity and trust.

In conversations with patients and caregivers, I hear the same frustration again and again; the system makes it too hard to stay on therapy. Sometimes it’s the cost. Sometimes it’s the handoff from one support program to another. 

Too often, it’s the silence when no one follows up. 

These gaps don’t just erode trust, they erode outcomes. And they’re exactly what the next generation of engagement must solve.

Patients expect immediacy, affordability, and continuity. They want to start treatment the moment symptoms arise, not after navigating weeks of wait times, unclear costs, or insurance barriers. And they expect the same seamless experience from healthcare that they already get in retail, travel, or finance. As I shared in a recent STAT webinar, virtual access has become a baseline patient expectation, not a bonus feature. 

This is why the next phase of pharma’s direct-to-patient (DTP) evolution isn’t about transactions. It’s about building longitudinal systems that integrate affordability, access, and adherence into one continuous patient journey.

What is DTP virtual care and why it matters for pharma brands

DTP virtual care refers to a model where pharma brands connect directly with patients—handling diagnosis, prescribing, financial support, and follow‑up—through digital channels. Unlike standalone PSPs, this integrated model builds virtual care infrastructure that drives affordability, access, and longitudinal adherence, ultimately enabling better engagement, outcomes, and brand loyalty.

From digital front door to DTP virtual care

In the wake of rising patient expectations and mounting pricing pressure, pharma must modernize how it engages with patients. Pharma’s direct-to-patient (DTP) programs have made access easier and more digital. Patient support programs (PSPs), meanwhile, are pharma’s long-standing investment to help patients afford and stay on therapy. The industry spends billions here, yet traditional PSPs often make little impact because they are complex, fragmented, and invisible to most patients.

This is where the real opportunity lies. Digital PSPs, linked directly with DTP, can become pharma’s secret weapon. Unlike consumer health brands, pharma will never outcompete on reach or social buzz since regulation makes that impossible. But pharma can outcompete on what truly matters. That means price, assistance, and seamless digital journeys that take patients from first access to long-term therapy support across brands and therapeutic areas. That is the competitive edge no outside player can replicate.

The next generation of pharma engagement will demand more than a digital front door or post-prescription support. It requires a seamless virtual care infrastructure that connects the first moment of brand engagement to the long-term journey of adherence, education, and outcomes.

Why traditional DTP and PSP programs fail to deliver value

Historically, DTP and PSP programs have operated in parallel, often run by different vendor ecosystems and data stacks. DTP focused on getting patients started, typically through cash-pay or coupon-driven fulfillment. PSPs entered later, offering copay help, logistical coordination, and adherence tools.

That lack of handoff is exactly where outcomes are lost. Patients are dropped between systems. Payers and providers receive fragmented data. Brands lose visibility into critical metrics—undermining adherence, patient engagement, and the opportunity to reinforce therapeutic value. 

Building a seamless patient experience with DTP virtual care and PSP integration

Imagine a patient who visits a brand website, completes an intake, and receives a prescription in minutes. Instead of navigating coverage alone, she is immediately enrolled in financial support, verified for benefits, and guided with personalized follow-up.

That’s the power of integrating DTP virtual care with PSP support—shifting from a one-time transaction to a continuous, patient-centric digital journey. A truly seamless experience increases patient trust, affordability, and long-term engagement.

This isn’t hypothetical. It’s the model Wheel is enabling today and how the experience shifts from a transaction to a continuous relationship.

Benefits of integrating digital PSPs into the pharma virtual care model

By embedding PSP functions within the DTP onboarding process and clinical navigation, pharma can:

• Improve PSP utilization from the first moment of contact
• Reduce drop-off between access and adherence steps
• Deliver real-time outcomes tracking, enabling actionable insights from day one
• Extend patient relationships, particularly critical in LOE retention and cash-pay scenarios

How a unified DTP + PSP model powers scalable, compliant virtual care

The most impactful programs will integrate affordability support at the front door, enable digital access that transitions smoothly into clinical navigation, and provide warm handoffs into ongoing support. PSP tools must be part of the therapy onboarding and follow-up journey, not bolted on afterward. Real-world outcomes tracking should be embedded at every step so data is captured consistently and visibly from day one.

For brands, this model reduces drop-off, increases PSP utilization, improves outcomes alignment, and extends patient relationships without adding friction.

Why pharma must evolve DTP virtual care strategy now

Patients are more discerning, more digital, and less forgiving than ever before. In this environment, the cost of underutilized PSPs and fragmented DTP models is high. And brand equity is now built across the full treatment journey, not just at the point of prescription.

Meanwhile, the economic and policy climate is forcing accountability. From MFN pricing to IRA implementation, pharma must prove real impact and close persistent access gaps. Patients are demanding continuity. Policymakers are demanding evidence. 

And the market is demanding both, right now.

Setting a new standard for pharma engagement with digital PSPs and virtual access

This is not about building another access layer or alternative payment model. It is about enabling sustained engagement, measurable adherence, and real-world outcomes at scale. Consumers transact. Patients need continuity, coordination, and support, especially when they are not in direct contact with a provider.

Pharma’s next model must reflect that reality.

At Wheel, we’re building the underlying virtual care infrastructure behind this DTP+PSP model. Our platform supports the journey from intake and prescribing to enrollment, adherence, and follow-up. This enables pharma to embed affordability, streamline compliant telehealth access, and deliver a more unified and outcomes-focused patient experience.

This is a call to commercial and brand leaders to stop thinking in campaigns and start thinking in infrastructure. Because the path forward is not another tactic. It is a new model that connects access, support, and outcomes into one seamless experience.

Across this series the story has been clear. Pharma wins when it does three things. It meets people where they are. It redefines the relationship through DTC and DTP convergence. And it out-services not only traditional competitors but also digital health challengers.

The advantage comes from delivering price, assistance, and seamless journeys that consumer-first brands simply cannot replicate.

That is how pharma becomes the hero of the digital and AI-driven future. It will partner with companies that can rebuild the stack entirely and commit to a journey that creates lasting value for both patients and brands.

For more on how pharma can build patient trust through virtual care, read Building Trust in Pharma: Leveraging Virtual Care for Consumer Engagement.