Today’s guest post comes from Kimberley Chiang, Vice President of Biopharma Commercial Solutions at CoverMyMeds

Kimberley highlghts the crucial roles of field reimbursement managers in removing access and reimbursement barriers. She then identifies the keys to successful implementation of field reimbursement services.

To learn more, register for CoverMyMeds' November 13, 2024, webinar: Specialty Therapies & Field Reimbursement Services: Driving Better Outcomes for Brands and Patients.

Read on for Kimberley’s insights.
Read more »

Today’s guest post comes from Chris Dowd, Senior VP of Market Development at ConnectiveRx.

Chris examines three key trends that will affect patient support programs: the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), legal/regulatory battles over copay adjustment programs, and uncertainties following a national election. He then outlines three actions that should guide manufacturers' preparation.

To learn more, register for ConnectiveRx’s free webinar on December 11: The Perfect Storm? Patient Support Programming in 2025 and Beyond.

Read on for Chris’s insights.
Read more »

Starting COVID-19 patients on prophylactic anticoagulation within 24 hours of being admitted to hospital has been linked to a reduced risk of mortality.

Pharmacy negotiators have discussed proposals to take “a patient registration-based approach” to the community pharmacy contractual framework.

More than half of patients with asthma in the UK are “potentially overusing” short-acting β2-agonists, according to research.

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on the use of “Big Data” to identify and solicit potential clinical trial participants. The premise is that large consumer data aggregators like Experian can target patients with certain diseases through correlations with non-health behavior. Examples given include “a preference for jazz” being associated with arthritis and “shopping online for clothes” being an indicator of obesity.

We've seen this story before.

In this way, allegedly, clinical trial patient recruitment companies can more narrowly target their solicitations* for patients to enroll in clinical trials.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that I was interviewed by the reporter of this article, although I am not quoted. My comments generally ran along three lines, none of which really fit in with the main storyline of the article:

1. I am highly skeptical that these analyses are actually effective at locating patients
   
2. These methods aren't really new – they’re the same tactics that direct marketers have been using for years
   
3. Most importantly, the clinical trials community can – and should – be moving towards open and collaborative patient engagement. Relying on tactics like consumer data snooping and telemarketing is an enormous step backwards.

The first point is this: certainly some diseases have correlates in the real world, but these correlates tend to be pretty weak, and are therefore unreliable predictors of disease. Maybe it’s true that those struggling with obesity tend to buy more clothes online (I don’t know if it’s true or not – honestly it sounds a bit more like an association built on easy stereotypes than on hard data). But many obese people will not shop online (they will want to be sure the clothes actually fit), and vast numbers of people with low or average BMIs will shop for clothes online.  So the consumer data will tend to have very low predictive value. The claims that liking jazz and owning cats are predictive of having arthritis are even more tenuous. These correlates are going to be several times weaker than basic demographic information like age and gender. And for more complex conditions, these associations fall apart.

Marketers claim to solve this by factoring a complex web of associations through a magical black box – th WSJ article mentions that they “applied a computed algorithm” to flag patients. Having seen behind the curtain on a few of these magic algorithms, I can confidently say that they are underwhelming in their sophistication. Hand-wavy references to Big Data and Algorithms are just the tools used to impress pharma clients. (The down side to that, of course, is that you can’t help but come across as big brotherish – see this coverage from Forbes for a taste of what happens when people accept these claims uncritically.)

But the effectiveness of these data slice-n-dicing activities is perhaps beside the point. They are really just a thin cover for old-fashioned boiler room tactics: direct mail and telemarketing. When I got my first introduction to direct marketing in the 90’s, it was the exact same program – get lead lists from big companies like Experian, then aggressively mail and call until you get a response.

The limited effectiveness and old-school aggressiveness of these programs comes is nicely illustrated in the article by one person’s experience:

Larna Godsey, of Wichita, Kan., says she received a dozen phone calls about a diabetes drug study over the past year from a company that didn't identify itself. Ms. Godsey, 63, doesn't suffer from the disease, but she has researched it on the Internet and donated to diabetes-related causes. "I don't know if it's just a coincidence or if they're somehow getting my information," says Ms. Godsey, who filed a complaint with the FTC this year.

The article notes that one recruitment company, Acurian, has been the subject of over 500 FTC complaints regarding its tactics. It’s clear that Big Data is just the latest buzzword lipstick on the telemarketing pig. And that’s the real shame of it.

We have arrived at an unprecedented opportunity for patients, researchers, and private industry to come together and discuss, as equals, research priorities and goals. Online patient communities like Inspire and PatientsLikeMe have created new mechanisms to share clinical trial opportunities and even create new studies. Dedicated disease advocates have jumped right into the world of clinical research, with groups like the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Michael J. Fox Foundation no longer content with raising research funds, but actively leading the design and operations of new studies.

Some – not yet enough – pharmaceutical companies have embraced the opportunity to work more openly and honestly with patient groups. The scandal of stories like this is not the Wizard of Oz histrionics of secret computer algorithms, but that we as an industry continue to take the low road and resort to questionable boiler room tactics.

It’s past time for the entire patient recruitment industry to drop the sleaze and move into the 21st century. I would hope that patient groups and researchers will come together as well to vigorously oppose these kinds of tactics when they encounter them.

The good folks down at eyeforpharma have asked me to write a few blog posts in the run-up to their Patient Centered Clinical Trials conference in Boston this September. In my second article -Buzzword Innovation: The Patient Centricity “Fad” and the Token Patient - I went over some concerns I have regarding the sudden burst of enthusiasm for patient centricity in the clinical trial world.

Apparently, that hit a nerve – in an email, Ulrich Neumann tells me that “your last post elicited quite a few responses in my inbox (varied, some denouncing it as a fad, others strongly protesting the notion, hailing it as the future).”

In preparing my follow up post, I’ve spoken to a couple people on the leading edge of patient engagement:

• Abbe Steel, CEO of HealthiVibe, which is focused on bringing greater patient input into the earliest stages of trial design through focus groups and patient surveys
• Casey Quinlan, co-founder of Patients for Clinical Research, which aims to be a force in patient education and engagement for clinical trials

In addition to their thoughts, eyeforpharma is keenly interested in hearing from more people. They've even posted a survey – from Ulrich:

To get a better idea of what other folks think of the idea, I am sending out a little ad hoc survey. Only 4 questions (so people hopefully do it). Added benefit: There is a massive 50% one-time discount for completed surveys until Friday connected to it as an incentive).

So, here are two things for you to do:

1. Complete the survey and share your thoughts
2. Come to the conference and tell us all exactly what you think

Look forward to seeing you there.

[Conflict of Interest Disclosure: I am attending the Patient Centered Clinical Trials conference. Having everyone saying the same thing at such conferences conflicts with my ability to find them interesting.]

By fostering collaboration and seamless data integration into healthcare systems, the industry is laying the groundwork for a future in which “personalized medicine” is so commonplace within clinical practice that we will just start calling it “medicine.”

The post Driving Genetic Testing Adoption and Improved Patient Care through Health Data Intelligence appeared first on MedCity News.

In 2018, opioid overdoses in the United States caused one death every 11 minutes, resulting in nearly 47,000 fatalities. The most effective treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) are three medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.

In vitro diagnostics (IVDs) play an indispensable role in modern medicine. Health care providers routinely rely on these tests—which analyze samples such as blood or saliva—to help diagnose conditions and guide potentially life-altering treatment decisions. In 2017, for example, clinicians ordered blood tests during about 45% of emergency room visits in the United States, according to the Centers...

Between 1999 and 2014, opioid use disorder (OUD) among pregnant women more than quadrupled, risking the health of the women—before and after giving birth—and their infants. As states grapple with COVID-19’s exacerbation of the opioid crisis, several are taking innovative steps to address the needs of high-risk groups, including low-income, postpartum patients with OUD.

Hospitals across the U.S. have significantly restricted the use of pain medications containing narcotics. This shift comes amid […]

The post Pain Management in Crisis: Why Hospitals Are Limiting Pain Medications and What This Means for Patients appeared first on World of DTC Marketing.

CCFA Partners is an innovative network where patients and researchers work together. Become a part of groundbreaking research: www.ccfapartners.org.

Dr Aluvihare

The Eeva Test - Courtnay and Michael's IVF Journey

Elliott Vichinsky, MD, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland

Video 1 Preview Image Caption

Uniting Voices Across Europe to Show Support for Head and Neck Cancer Patients

Time to Talk CINV� Video

Northwestern Mutual Honors Moms of Childhood Cancer Patients this Mother�s Day

Robotic "coaches" programmed to guide stroke patients through rehabilitation exercises could soon be tested in Scotland.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) serves as a widely recognized curative treatment option for patients suffering from inborn errors of immunity (IEI).

medlinkNaloxone/medlink, a life-saving medication, is commonly administered by first responders to individuals who have overdosed on opioids and still have a pulse.

In patients hospitalized for medlinkacute myocardial infarction/medlink (MI), the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin offers significant kidney protection.

Young patients on psychiatric medications frequently receive potentially harmful drug combinations. Researchers examined New York State Medicaid records

Highlights: AWAK Technologies' wearable peritoneal dialysis (PD) device could allow kidney patients to perform

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that a doctor is not liable for his patient's death. The doctor may only treat his patients to the best of his ability.

bHighlights:/bul class="group-list punch-points"li Refusal by patients or kin restricts ICU entry/li liGuidelines tackle the futility of

As climate change continues to drive up summer temperatures, a decade-long study from Spain has uncovered a startling revelation: on the hottest days,

People with medlinkknee osteoarthritis/medlink (OA) often avoid doing exercise, reports a new study. bKnee osteoarthritis patients refrain from

Wearable devices like smart watches and health trackers can adversely affect health and increase medlinkanxiety/medlink among patients with irregular heart rhythm.

People with severe mental illnesses are falling through the cracks when it comes to oral health care, according to new research by the University of York.

It's perfectly natural to feel a bit nervous before heading to the dentist, but a team from the American Dental Association (ADA) suggests avoiding marijuana before dental appointments.

First-line treatment recommendations for managing short-term medlinkdental pain/medlink in adults and adolescents aged 12 or older include nonsteroidal

People in the general population or those with low risk should keep LDL (low-density lipoprotein) medlinkcholesterol/medlink, often referred to as "bad" cholesterol, below 100 mg/dL.

A new treatment that activates the immune system to fight cancer has boosted the survival rate for patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma to an impressive

Research has uncovered the role of the p53 gene in ulcerative colitis, suggesting a potential new drug target to prevent disease progression to cancer.

Cancer patients who quit smoking within six months of diagnosis significantly improve their survival chances, according to a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The strain on healthcare infrastructure in India is immense with just 20 health workers per 10,000 people who are unevenly distributed across regions, said Dr.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Singh Patel, announced that up to Rs. 50 lakhs per patient has been allocated for the

Individuals suffering from both medlinkposttraumatic stress disorder/medlink (PTSD) and medlinktype 2 diabetes/medlink experience significantly

Primary care providers are ideally suited to tackle medlinkemotional eating/medlink due to their ongoing relationships with patients, as highlighted by Jana DeSimone Wozniak, Ph.

medlinkAuditory hallucination/medlink is a type of illusion, where people hear sounds that aren't there. This may be caused by issues in how the medlinkbrain/medlink processes sound.

Addressing opioid use disorder significantly decreases the high suicide rate, which is eight times greater than that of the general population, for those with opioid dependence.

Compared to those from non-distressed communities, patients from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities had a 10% higher relative risk of graft failure

Two individuals in the United States who received lung transplants have contracted a lethal Legionella bacterial infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (!--ref1--).

In a second historic procedure, surgeons in the United States successfully transplanted a medlinkpig heart/medlink into a patient suffering from end-stage

Richard "Rick" Slayman became the first person to undergo a genetically modified pig kidney transplant. However, two months post-surgery, Slayman succumbed,

The availability of medlinkdonor kidneys/medlink can be enhanced! This is the outcome of a recent investigation conducted by UC Davis Health. Transplant

Patients born with genetic medlinkblindness/medlink experienced significant visual improvements after a single treatment with gene therapy developed