New Thinking in Patient Adherence

Patient non-adherence is estimated to represent $290 billion per year in avoidable medical expenses in the United States alone. Consumers’ motivations for non-compliance are complex; up to 80% of people are intentionally not taking their prescription drugs as directed.

There is no better time for pharma companies to reflect on their patient-adherence strategies. Not only is it more cost-effective to focus on retaining, rather than acquiring, customers, but it is also an ideal way of working with other stakeholders, as patient-centric policies are implemented in healthcare systems round the world. Moreover, digital innovations are creating new opportunities for stakeholders to join forces in a concerted effort to educate patients about why taking their medications is so essential to their health.

New Thinking in Patient Adherence goes far beyond presenting data on consumer behaviour. This comprehensive and insightful report reveals a shift towards a more holistic approach to the problem, and reviews a wealth of innovative tactics that are being used to address compliance and persistence issues worldwide. You’ll learn about new ways that leading pharmaceutical companies are collaborating with other healthcare stakeholders, including clinicians, pharmacists, payers, and health systems.

Key features of New Thinking in Patient Adherence include:

• Roundup of the latest intelligence on why consumers do not follow doctors' orders
• Leading adherence trends - focus on clinical outcomes, and greater coordination among stakeholders (with insights from Novo Nordisk's DAWN study - showing that collaboration with stakeholders is key)
• Detailed examination of pharma collaborations with pharmacists, physicians, payers, and health systems
• Latest adherence strategies, solutions, and technological innovations

This up-to-the-minute report provides details on effective educational initiatives, and the very latest technological solutions, including:

• How pioneering pharma companies, including GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, are reorganising to prioritise adherence initiatives
• Practical strategies and tactics to address adherence issues
• Up-to-the-minute view of the latest available solutions

New Thinking in Patient Adherence answers key questions including:

• Why have so many adherence interventions failed?
• How are new technologies being harnessed to improve adherence?
• What economic factors are drviing adherence-focused collaborations between pharma companies and insurers?
• How are the critical roles in patient adherence played by primary care physician and pharmacists changing?

“It is a multi-dimensional problem. And one important aspect is how patients relate to their physicians and pharmacists. I believe there are more than 40,000 articles published on adherence and more than 90 percent of these have looked almost entirely at patient behaviour alone.”   – Colleen A McHorney, Senior Director of US Outcomes Research, Merck.

“There is not one single barrier to adherence. That is why it is so important to work collaboratively. For consumers to change their behaviour they need to be aware of the problem. That means they have to see messages all around them—at the doctor’s office, at work, at the pharmacy.”  – Rebecca Burkholder, vice-president of Health Policy at NCL.

“As integrated health networks start to introduce key performance indicators for what actually happens to the patients in their care and to become more accountable, pharma companies have more incentive to move towards collaboration.”  – Thomas Forissier, Principal, Life Sciences Strategy, CapGemini Consulting.