Development and Application of Direct Data Capture for Monitoring Medication Compliance in Clinical Trials

Customer-centric product presentations for monoclonal antibodies

Delivering customer-centric product presentations for biotherapeutics, such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), represents a long-standing and paramount area of engagement for pharmaceutical scientists. Activities include improving experience with the dosing procedure, reducing drug administration-related expenditures, and ultimately shifting parenteral treatments outside of a controlled healthcare institutional setting. In times of increasingly cost-constrained markets and reinforced with the coronavirus pandemic, this discipline of "Product Optimization" in healthcare has gained momentum and changed from a nice-to-have into a must. This review summarizes latest trends in the healthcare ecosystem that inform key strategies for developing customer-centric products, including the availability of a wider array of sustainable drug delivery options and treatment management plans that support dosing in a flexible care setting. Three disease area archetypes with varying degree of implementation of customer-centric concepts are introduced to highlight relevant market differences and similarities. Namely, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and oncology have been chosen due to differences in the availability of subcutaneously dosed and ready-to-use self-administration products for mAb medicines and their follow-on biologics. Different launch scenarios are described from a manufacturer's perspective highlighting the necessity of platform approaches. To unfold the full potential of customer-centric care, value-based healthcare provider reimbursement schemes that incentivize the efficiency of care need to be broadly implemented.

Using text message reminders in health care services: A narrative literature review

INTRODUCTION

Despite the extensive use of mHealth behavior change interventions, questions remain about the use of technology-based reminders in delivering health care services. Text messaging, or short message service (SMS), is one reminder method that has been extensively researched. Most SMS-reminder research is distributed across a range of health care outcomes. The aim of this article is to systematically review the aggregate impact of these reminders on overall health care outcomes.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted and yielded 2316 articles. Studies were included if they used SMS reminders to support patient health care outcomes. Study methodology was aligned with the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews.

RESULTS

Following screening, 162 articles met inclusion criteria. Of these studies, 93 investigated medical compliance reminders and 56 investigated appointment reminders. The review found that nearly all the SMS-reminder studies helped improve patient medical compliance and appointment reminders. Additionally, researchers reported numerous benefits from using SMS reminders, including ease of use, relative inexpensiveness, and rapid and automated message delivery. Minimal risks were reported and most participants found the reminders to be acceptable.

DISCUSSION

Text messages appear to be an effective reminder mechanism to promote improved patient appointment and medical compliance. Reminders should continue to be evaluated and improved to determine the most effective timing and frequency of messages for improving outcomes.

Relationships between determinants of adjuvant endocrine therapy adherence in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Interventions that promote adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) adherence are critical to improve breast cancer survival. The development of interventions would benefit from a better understanding of the reasons for adherence and the causal relationships of determinants using theoretical or model approaches. The aim of the present study was to identify reasons for AET adherence in breast cancer patients with sequential relationships and inter-relationships.

METHODS

A total of 210 participants with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer who received AET completed a questionnaire assessing demographic/medical, psychological, and endocrine therapy (ET)-specific factors. A descriptive analysis was performed to identify meaningful variables. Selected variables were subjected to hierarchical regression and path analyses. The path model was tested and modified based on the research framework and the results of regression weights and model fit.

RESULTS

Analysis of sequential effects showed that ET-specific factors contributed the largest proportion of variance (13.4%) to predict AET adherence, followed by psychological factors (4.6%) and demographic/medical factors (3.1%). Analysis of inter-relationships showed that demographic/medical factors such as AET regimen type and cancer stage have direct effects on AET adherence, whereas psychological factors contribute indirectly through the mediating effects of ET-specific factors.

CONCLUSION

Assessments and interventions that encompass the patient's medication beliefs, self-efficacy, and depression are needed to promote AET adherence.