Situation
Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among men in both Ghana and Nigeria. A major pharmaceutical company working in both countries developed a drug to better treat patients with the disease, but the company noticed many doctors were not willing to prescribe the potentially living-saving medicine, and many patients were either unwilling or unable to pay for it.
Solution
Axios believes that effective treatment adherence programs are personalized to the needs of individual patients. To design a more effective solution to help patients stay on treatment, Axios turned to its proprietary Patient Needs Assessment Tool (PNAT).
PNAT assesses the risk factors that could lead the patient to stop treatment and helps determine the most effective adherence interventions for that particular patient based on his/her identified risk factors. It was built around the five dimensions of adherence set by the World Health Organization (WHO). It uses a qualitative and semi-quantitative questionnaire to identify and document individual patient risk factors and apprehensions that may lead to poor adherence or discontinuation of treatment. The results are then used to develop a personalized adherence plan targeting these risk factors to support patients in their treatment journey.
In the case of MS patients in Saudi Arabia, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, local MS patient associations and other parties, the following services were made available to improve treatment adherence and improve a patient’s quality of life:
- Educational sessions for patients to increase awareness and knowledge about MS and treatment
- An on-demand support careline to receive and answer patient queries
- Ongoing treatment reminders and follow-up plans
- Patient forums to help empower and motivate patients and caregivers
- Auto-injectors to ease a patient’s injecting process, available upon a patient’s request
Results
Axios uncovered several findings that supported the development of a more sustainable access strategy for a critical access medication in Nigeria and Ghana, including:
Addressing patient affordability. A combined income-tiered and commercial scheme would result in the most financially sustainable scenario for patients and the company, while maintaining competitive advantage
Need for holistic program. A patient’s willingness to pay was not always linked to their ability to pay. The program needed to address both financial and non-financial barriers, such as disease and treatment awareness, emotional support and transportation gaps
Sustainability message was key. While doctors were aware of the product’s effectiveness, they were often unwilling to recommend treatment to their patients if they don’t believe their patients will continue the treatment plan until its conclusion. This made it important to emphasize the fact that the program would be designed to support patients for the full length of their treatment course.
