The Reuters Pharma & Patient USA 2020 virtual conference included a number of shorter presentations that focused on specific approaches to help drug companies better meet the needs of patients. Patient Worthy attended two of these presentations which focused on two distinct topics: relieving patient burden during clinical trials and the benefits of developing a peer mentorship program for patients.
Patient Burden in Clinical Trials
Joel Roberts of Syneos Health discussed several strategies that drug companies can use to help reduce the burden on patients that are participating in clinical studies. Syneos has quantified the burden on patients and has used that data as a guide for how to proceed. Ultimately, these companies have every reason to make clinical trial participation as convenient as possible in order to meet recruitment goals.
An estimated 20 percent of trials miss their recruitment goals by at least 15 percent. Unfortunately, this is partially a result of potential participants seeing the burden of participation as too high. Overall, the number of procedures being conducted in trial studies has increased. Burdens include expenses, travel requirements, and flexibility. In an example given by Joel, the company reduced burden by covering certain expenses (such as hotel stays), increasing the schedule availability for in-person appointments (such as allowing weekend visits), and providing the option for remote visits.
Peer Mentorships for Patients
Jean McCoy of the Health Perspectives Group presented about the beneficial impacts that peer mentorship (in which a patient is able to talk to another person who is living with their specific illness) can have on patient outcomes and experience. A survey conducted by the organization revealed that 86 percent of respondents had at least some level of interest in speaking with a mentor. Patients were most interested in talking about making decisions about treatment and learning more about the treatment experience itself. 88 percent of these respondents also expressed interest in being a mentor once they became experienced.
Mentor programs can decisively increase a patient’s likelihood to start a certain therapy if it is recommended by the peer mentor. Patients have expressed interest in mentor programs across different disease states and in having mentors experienced with a medicine they were already using.
Stay tuned for more stories about Pharma & Patient USA 2020.
