Solution for non-adherence to therapy – Patient Support Program (PSP)

Patient support programs are common in the EU and US and have been in application for many years, since many studies show that collaboration between the pharmaceutical industry and the healthcare systems through such programs is greatly beneficial to both the patient and the healthcare system. As a result, costs become lower as patients take their therapy properly and understand their health status better.

Patient support programs aim to provide better care and support to patients on specific therapies and in circumstances when these are required. Such circumstances most commonly include:

• Medicines for long-term treatment of chronic diseases that patients must take regularly in order to maintain their positive effect on their health status (even though patients may not see their immediate effect, which discourages many of them from adhering to therapy).
• In case parenteral administration is required at home: for many patients, a single training in outpatient clinics provided by the healthcare system is not sufficient to encourage them to administer their prescribed medication at home.
• Taking therapy for rare diseases: in this case, it is extremely important for the patient to receive proper education about the disease itself, which is conducted by a trusted professional involved in the program, most often a nurse specialising in the respective field.

Program implementation methods may include:

• Personal conversation with the patient
• Telephone calls (outgoing or incoming, possibility of setting up a toll-free number)
• SMS reminders
• Smartphone applications specifically designed for a particular diagnosis/drug
• Other modes of interaction depending on patient needs.

It is important to emphasise that strict measures of data protection regarding patient information are taken during program implementation. All data is carefully stored and is never made available to the PSP sponsor.

As previously stated, inadequate adherence or non-adherence to therapy constitutes a major problem, while well-designed and properly implemented patient support programs offer a solution to this issue. Marti Farm recognises this and offers a comprehensive service package with all the support and patient-centred approaches as a solution, ensuring optimal utilisation of the healthcare system. Our expert team enhances the wellbeing and provides benefits to each of the participants in the patient support program.