Pharma Can Double Sales in Two Years by Increasing Patient Adherence
Pharmaceutical product teams can recapture lost sales and even double sales if they can help patients stay in therapy over two years. What patients need from the pharmaceutical industry are education and information materials that they can understand and that motivate them to stay in therapy.
McLean, Virginia (PRWEB) May 19, 2009
A message from Dr. Dorothy L. Smith, President and CEO Consumer Health Information Corporation: "Patients can make or break the success of a product. Product teams that are able to meet the needs of their patients will not only survive these tough economic times but they will also recapture lost sales. A product team can double sales if they can help a patient stay in therapy over two years. Sales can easily triple if the patient stays in therapy three years. No other industry in the world has such a window of opportunity for increasing sales but also helping people receive a good therapeutic outcome. The challenge is to meet the needs of the patient."
Dr. Dorothy L. Smith, (http://www. consumer-health. com/biography. htm) President and CEO Consumer Health Information Corporation (CHIC) and an expert in evidence-based patient adherence program development and REMS, spoke about the importance of the patient's role in successful therapeutic outcomes to an audience comprised of pharmaceutical industry executives, clinicians and researchers.
Dr. Smith stressed that, "In today's volatile economy, the number of patients who are cutting costs and not filling their initial prescriptions has doubled from 10% to 20%. As many as 50% - 85% are not refilling their prescriptions for a variety of reasons other than cost."
Currently, patients prescribed medications for the treatment of chronic conditions are making decisions to drop out of therapy at an alarming rate (see the attached chart).
Recapture Lost Sales
When patients drop out of therapy unexpectedly, the monies invested to have a physician write the initial prescription are lost. The area above the curve represents lost sales due to patient nonadherence. Assuming 90% initial compliance, lost sales equal approximately 60% at two years and up to 80%-90% at three years depending on the specific product.
The key to recapturing lost sales is to educate and motivate patients to stay in treatment. It is a win-win situation. Patients will have improved treatment outcomes and decreased healthcare costs. When patient education is done correctly, product sales should at least double.
Help Patients Get Through the First Year
Research shows that when patients are able to manage their medications for one year, they are more likely to stay in therapy and not drop out.
Dr. Smith urged the pharmaceutical industry to develop more effective patient education programs during the first year of treatment. These programs must:
Teach patients how to integrate the dosage regimens into their daily lifestyles so that taking the medication stops being a hassle. Teach patients how to manage side effects correctly so they do not become frightened and stop the drug suddenly. Be evidence-based, practical, and motivational and meet patient comprehension requirements. The majority of patients are receiving information they cannot understand. Give patients the information they need at the different stages in which they make decisions. This means that health professionals need different patient tools at each of these different stages. It is a waste of money for a pharmaceutical company to encourage health professionals to redistribute the same patient material at every clinic visit. Teach patients how to recognize signs of progress. When patients are convinced that a medication is helping them, they will be more likely to decide to stay in therapy. Dr. Smith summarized that, "Providing patients with information they can understand will lead to better health outcomes, decrease patient dropouts and boost product ROI."
Let Us Help You Develop Patient Education Programs That Increase ROI
Read about the 5 Major Pitfalls to Avoid in Patient Adherence Programs (http://www. consumer-health. com/5PitfallstoAvoid. htm)
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Patient education programs work if they meet the needs of patients and health care professionals. We want to help you succeed in realizing the maximum untapped revenue of your product. Since 1983 Consumer Health Information Corporation (http://www. consumer-health. com/) has specialized in the development of FDA-approved patient labeling and innovative evidence-based patient education and REMS programs (http://www. consumer-health. com/services/srv_pharm. htm) that increase patient adherence and retention. Our customized programs have made it possible for product teams to increase sales as well as meet the needs of patients, physicians, pharmacists, consumers and sales reps.
Copyright 2009 Consumer Health Information Corporation. All rights reserved.
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