Adherence Experts' Insights

"The prescription starter kit is a vital strategic opportunity for marketers to facilitate and model success for a patient. Starter kits are not new and have long been part of the medication initiation process. They are used to deliver product samples as well as dosage information. But by using this traditional medium to address the motivational problems challenging patient compliance, we have the opportunity to encourage a patient’s personal efficacy—to turn on their sense of personal accountability. Knowledge alone does not drive behavior change. This approach, deeply rooted in understanding what inherently motivates the individual, marries the action of the patient with the action of the medication to drive nonclinical differentiation and go beyond the benefit of what the medication alone provides."

Ann Friedman Ryan
SVP, Director of CRM & Interactive, EvoLogue, part of CommonHealth

"Extending communication between the doctor and patient beyond the office visit also is critical to an effective adherence program. Recently, we launched a health magazine sent to patients’ homes compliments of their doctors. According to a market research study of 40,000 readers, 77% of patients are more compliant with their treatment because they received the communication and information from their physicians as opposed to other sources they found less trustworthy."

Kenneth Freirich
Executive Vice President, Health Monitor Network

"A powerful financial incentive strategy to get patients on therapy would be to combine a medication rebate strategy with your sampling strategy. For example, a coupon can be handed from the HCP to the patient along with the Rx sample and prescription at point of care. The coupon provides an instant rebate to the patient at the pharmacy, reducing out-of-pocket expense and offsetting unfavorable tier positioning. Oftentimes the brand prescription drug co-pay ends up being cheaper than the generic drug co-pay."

Cheryl Ann Borne
e-Marketing and Relationship Marketing, Novo Nordisk

"In addition to educating patients, it is imperative to keep the physician informed. Very few adherence programs today fully address this critical need, dealing exclusively with the patient despite the physician’s demonstrable influence on patient behavior. Physicians for the most part are appreciative of the receipt of net new information about their patients and are usually happy to incorporate interim reports into each patient’s medical record. The content of the patient feedback reports can radically accelerate physician understanding of the product and thereby increase confidence in subsequent prescribing and support. For example, a recent program that we implemented increased patient adherence, measured in refilled prescriptions, between 17% and 26% and generated new sales of $5.5 million as physicians’ confidence in the brand increased."

Stanley Wulf, MD
Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, InfoMedics


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