Solving patient compliance: Pharma’s multidimensional challenge
LONDON (August 29, 2007) - Patient non-compliance with doctor prescribed medication regimens is a significant challenge for healthcare providers and pharmaceutical makers. Experts estimate that patient non-adherence costs the pharmaceutical industry in excess of $30 billion a year - not to mention, the chance at a fuller, healthier life for countless patients.
But the opportunity is even greater. Clinical researchers report that for most prescription drugs, patient compliance rates are 50-60%. With some disease states, however, compliance drops as low as 10-20%. So, even modest improvements in adherence and persistence can have significant, positive impacts on not only revenues for drug makers, but expenses for third party payers and outcomes for patients.
Improving compliance is a win-win for everyone in the patient care equation.
Solving the patient compliance challenge isn’t easy, however, according to Ganesh Vedarajan, a principal at ZS Associates.
“It’s a very multidimensional problem and there is usually a complex combination of reasons why patients are non-compliant with their medication regimens,” Vedarajan says. “Some of these reasons are easily addressable, but others are much more systemic and difficult to comprehend.”
Identifying and reaching the right patients is difficult, he says. But some emerging research and technologies offer new promise.
“There is a lot of research being done in patient psychographics that will allow us to better understand patient lifestyles and tailor programs and messages to have a greater impact,” Vedarajan says. “And new anonymous patient level data sources in the US and other places are making it easier to target programs to patients and their individual needs.”
But truly solving the patient compliance conundrum is a societal problem, he says, that will require a multi-stakeholder, collaborative effort among a broad range of important players, including doctors, payers, pharmacists, patients, pharmaceutical makers and others.
“Pharmas simply can’t say, ‘I have money and I can solve this problem on my own,’” Vedarajan says. “It’s a problem for society as a whole and one that will take a collaborative effort to solve.”
But he is quick to point out that pharma can lead the charge by bringing the right stakeholders to the patient compliance table.
Join Vedarajan and a first-rate panel of other industry experts at eyeforpharma’s 4th annual Patient Adherence & Persistence USA Summit November 12-13, 2007 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia to see first-hand how leading pharmaceutical companies are strengthening communication with patients and sharpening their competitive advantage with new technologies to boost revenues.
As always, the emphasis will be on equipping you with the practical information and tools you need to tackle new patient adherence and persistence initiatives in your own company or make your existing approaches even more effective.
To learn more or to register to attend, please visit www.eyeforpharma.com/pcusa07
