Beyond the Script: Patient Compliance
Date: 11/20/2007
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Length: 00:05:40
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Thought Leader: Tyrone Brewer, Chief Operating Officer, inVentiv Patient Outcomes
In this episode, Tyrone Brewer, outlines the dynamic challenges plaguing pharmaceutical companies’ efforts to improve patient adherence and persistency. He also discusses how an integrated approach that engages all relevant audiences can lead to optimal patient outcomes.
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Transcript:
My name is Marah Walsh. We’re here with PharmaVOICE Industry Vision. Today, our guest is Tyrone Brewer, Chief Operating Officer at inVentiv Patient Outcomes. inVentiv Patient Outcomes is a newly launched division in the inVentiv family of companies.
Welcome, Tyrone.
Tyrone: Hi, Marah. Thanks for having me.
Marah: Tyrone, we’re here today to discuss a new way of looking at patient outcomes outside of clinical metrics and why improving patient compliance and persistency, or outcomes in this case, is the best financial interest to the pharma companies. Can you tell us, Tyrone, why pharmaceutical companies are starting to focus more intently on patient compliance and persistency.
Tyrone: Despite the development of great therapeutic options, many patients still don’t thrive or achieve the optimal results from their treatment. The reasons for these poor patient outcomes can vary from lack of education about the disease or treatment, to the inability to afford medicine, or to the lack of adherence to their therapy. Regardless of the reasons, the effect is negative for everyone – the patient, the healthcare provider, and the healthcare industry.
Just to give an example of how issue impacts the industry, consider the issue of patient adherence. According to the World Health Organization, only 50% of the patients with chronic conditions take their medications as prescribed. For pharmaceutical companies, this translates into roughly $1 in lost revenue for every sales dollars realize and more importantly, it leads to more than 125,000 needless deaths every year.
So while companies have historically invested time, money and resources in acquiring new patients to new prescriptions, they are now increasingly expanding their focus to support the patient after the prescription is written.
Marah: Tyrone, what are the biggest obstacles the industry needs to overcome in terms of improving patient outcomes after the script?
Tyrone: There are a variety of challenges the industry faces when it comes to patient outcomes after the prescription. The biggest being education, access to medication and adherence. Let me explain.
When talking about education, there is a lack of education and retention of information by patients. In fact, in a recent study, more than 60% of the patients couldn’t correctly recall what physicians just told them about their medicine just 10-80 minutes after receiving the information. Clearly, that’s a problem since they're responsible for managing their own treatment regimen.
Access. In the US, there are over 40 million people who are uninsured, and this number continues to grow, which has expanded the need for patient assistance programs to support the indigent. In addition, there is a growing number of individuals who are underinsured or deterred from accessing medication due to high out of pocket expenses.
And then finally, adherence. The reason for non-adherence can vary from concerns about side effects, to the belief that the medication is no longer needed because the patient feels better, or they just simply forget. These three reasons result in an enormous number of patients who have less than optimal outcomes. Many, in fact, will actually get sicker or develop more serious conditions.
Marah: These issues have long plagued the pharma industry. Going forward, what are some effective strategies that companies should be using to address these challenges?
Tyrone: Pharmaceutical companies have developed a variety of programs and tactics to address these challenges, some that have been effective, some that have not. The bigger issue is that these programs are often created in isolation with little to no connectivity to a broader strategy, or to other initiatives that may have similar objectives. For example, recently while working with a pharmaceutical manufacturer, we discovered this client had over 20 different 1-800 numbers – over 20 different numbers. So you can only imagine the confusion that this had in the marketplace.
Providing an effective solution to these dynamic challenges require pharmaceutical companies to take an integrative approach that will engage all relevant audiences to achieve optimum outcomes.
To illustrate what I mean, let’s consider a multi-channel adherence program targeting both patients and healthcare providers. Research has shown that many physicians recognize adherence as an industry issue, but don’t believe it affects their practice. In this scenario, a team of academic educators or medical science liaisons could provide healthcare professionals with local level data to demonstrate how the issue impacts their practice and providing them with tools and tactics to help them address the adherence issue with their patients. To augment this program, the pharma company could also target patients with a direct mail campaign from the local pharmacist that will provide additional educational information about the patient’s disease, their medication, a simplified explanation of potential side effects and key benefits on taking their medication. This communication could also direct individuals to a 1-800 number or website for additional educational information, testimony, tips or helpful hints to achieve optimal outcomes.
Marah: Thank you so much, Tyrone, for providing a different slant on the importance of improving patient outcomes and illustrating where companies are falling short today.
Don’t forget to check out our other videocasts at www.pharmavoice.com/videocasts.
If you have any comments on this episode, or if you’d like to be featured in a feature videocast, send an email to feedback@pharmavoice.com.
Thank you.
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