A learning curve in medication adherence

Chris Evans, vice president, innovation, West Pharmaceutical Services, guides us through patient education – the missing piece of the adherence puzzle

Several biologics coming onto the market offer the potential to make a difference in the lives of patients with incurable-but-controllable conditions such as diabetes and Crohn’s disease. These innovative therapeutics aim to improve patients’ quality of life by not only reducing symptoms, but also offering new independence enabled by at-home treatment.

Many of these new drug formulations are being paired with self-injection systems that may require a little extra training for effective use and, therefore, need innovative approaches to patient education. The typical illustrated instruction sheets can be greatly assisted by ‘look-alike’ training systems that allow patients to practice administering medications before actually doing it with a live product.

West recently announced a collaboration with Noble, a patient onboarding innovator, to develop validated training solutions for self-injection systems. Together, West and Noble will offer multisensory education programmes and technologies for patients using West’s SmartDose Electronic Wearable Injector and other self-injectors. Collaborations like this can positively impact patient safety, medication adherence and satisfaction. Additionally, they can improve data and feedback collection to lend valuable insights regarding potential product refinements.

Such training initiatives are a way drug packaging and delivery system manufacturers can add significant value to their pharmaceutical customers’ drug development cycles.

Custom training systems & feedback to patients

An essential element of training for self-injection systems is customising them to offer precise feedback so the patient is assured they’re following the instructions correctly. Delivery system education programs can help ensure patients administer the right dose in the right place with the least amount of discomfort to improve the patient experience and maximize the benefits of both the drug and the delivery system.

Feedback can include sounds and lights that indicate correct use of the trainer. They can also indicate incorrect use in the form of negative feedback, in real time, thus prompting patient or user correction. Auditory and visual cues are particularly important in this era of global drug procurement, because they cut through language barriers and regional contrasts in healthcare delivery.

Why are these training systems suddenly more important? Patients are self-administering care in their own homes more than ever. Yet, a recent study by Noble analysed by Auburn University indicated that more than 60% of patients self-reported that they didn’t completely read the instructions for their self-injection systems before using them the first time.

If instructions with pictures are worth a thousand words, how many is a copy of the actual drug delivery system worth, especially when it is enabled to show right and wrong in terms of operation? With that in mind, manufacturers of injectable drugs can greatly benefit from offering this level of patient education.

Insight for manufacturers

The second element of training systems afforded by the latest technology is data tracking and analysis. Drug delivery systems can be programmed to store or transmit statistics on patient learning – what goes well, what mistakes they make – back to the manufacturer who, in turn, can analyse and make design improvements.

This data is incredibly valuable – even more so when coupled with analysis from human factors studies. West works closely with Insight Product Development to conduct human factors testing and examine the usability of drug delivery systems. Combining feedback from training systems with insights from real-world usage studies leads to the development of self-injectors that are user-friendly and meet patient’s lifestyles needs throughout their treatment journey.

Addressing patient motivation

The missing piece in patient education, as the Noble-Auburn study shows, is motivating patients to take the time to complete their training. Well-designed training systems can not only offer feedback, but also validate that the patient completed training and demonstrated competency in using the drug delivery system.

To help address barriers to adherence, West collaborated with HealthPrize Technologies to develop a connected health offering that is designed to improve and reward medication adherence with unique technologies in a gamified environment. The offering integrates HealthPrize’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) medication adherence and patient engagement platform into injectable drug delivery systems with an app that tracks and rewards patients for taking their medication. This type of rewards-based patient motivation and engagement can be tied into delivery system training regimens as well.

While the technology creating these exciting new patient-education programs might be cutting-edge, the idea behind it is timeless: Enriching patient wellness by improving medication adherence. Drug manufacturers need partners who are constantly innovating to deliver on this over-arching goal that ultimately benefits all the partners involved in drug development and procurement. Creating a digital health ecosystem that accounts for all pieces of the adherence puzzle—from education to ongoing treatment—is the next-generation means to get there. The combination of West’s experience, internal capabilities and external collaborations provides a full-service offering to customers that supports both drug product lifecycles and patient adherence.