Situation
Healthcare systems across the globe face a similar core set of challenges. Chronic, non-communicable disease rates are increasing, and the medications needed to treat those diseases are often specialized, innovative medicines. The nature of such treatments means that they can often be more costly than non-specialized medicines, straining healthcare system budgets and leaving patients responsible for more of the cost. This issue is particularly prominent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Knowing many patients won’t be able to afford a full course of these medications, doctors often have no choice but to stop prescribing what could otherwise be useful — potentially life-saving — treatment. Patients are then faced with the difficult option of using less than optimal medications, or trying, often unsuccessfully, to cover the cost of the specialized treatment on their own.
To address this, a multinational pharmaceutical company wanted to initiate a global Patient Support Program (PSP) platform to help overcome the financial difficulties patients face around the world – specifically patients living with select cancers and gastrointestinal diseases.
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
Unlike bonus schemes (buy X, get Y free), the sustainable models described above enable patients to complete their full course of treatment even if they cannot afford to pay for it in full. This helps them get the most medical benefit out of their treatment. In return, it enables the manufacturer a sustainable growth in emerging markets by reaching a larger number of patients, rather than leaving behind those who cannot afford even discounted prices. Having benefited many patients who had little hope to recover, the program now aims to include other innovative, specialty care medicines. Results include:
- Thousands of patients currently enrolled
- Extended duration of treatment
- High physician acceptability
- Financial sustainability for patients and companies
