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Method of Drug Delivery Can Have a Huge Effect on Adherence Levels

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"Pharma needs to ensure it pays attention to how patients feel about the way they are taking their medication. By listening to patients, pharma can help simplify adherence for the patient."

This is just one of the messages Christine Milligan, as Team Leader of the ISPE’s Patient Initiative, will be delivering at the Patient Summit this June in London. The ISPE Patient Survey Project Team recently carried out a global survey of patients to learn more about clinical materials provided to patients and their opinions on the overall experience. The aims were clear: to understand the patient experience with investigational products and increase the collaboration between global regulatory bodies. Among other conclusions, the survey found that kit differentiation (i.e. changing how the patient took the medication) had an enormous impact on the individual patient’s perception of the ease of use. In other words,  changing the mode by which the patient took their medication had a huge effect on the patient’s experience and  could easily ensure  the right amount of medication was taken at the right time. Blister packs and topicals were found to be most preferable distributor in the eyes of the patient. Patient adherence, as ever, is a huge issue for Pharma. The results of the survey clearly demonstrated that there are ways the industry can facilitate compliance. However, Pharma can only put these changes in place if the industry listens to what patients say and pays attention to their feedback.

At Eyeforpharma’s 11th Annual Patients Summit, 17 to 18 June, London, Christine will guide delegates through this and other key findings from the survey. Emphasizing that pharma needs to be accountable for patients’ recent experiences, she will explain not only how this can help pharma improve the patient experience, but also how and why recent experiences have informed current attitudes and perceptions towards pharma. One issue, which will be emphasized hugely at the Patients Summit, will be the need for increased stakeholder collaboration in order to truly improve the patient experience.  Discovering ways in which the patient experience can be improved is good news; however, it can only be implemented if all stakeholders, along every stage of the patient journey collaborate. For more details of the Patients Summit, please visit the website: http://goo.gl/fXSDz3  

By:
Sophie Akister
VP Patient Engagement