Q&A with Phillips-Medisize: Connected health and drug delivery

EPM speaks to Kevin Deane, vice president of Front-End Innovation and Connected Health at. Phillips-Medisize about the promise of connected health in drug delivery for patients, pharmaceutical providers, and the healthcare industry.

Why is connected health important to drug delivery?

It’s important to get as close to the point of actual medication administration and the events that surround it. Self-administering medication, while it sounds very straight-forward, is actually very challenging and emotionally draining for patients who have chronic and debilitating conditions. Why?  One reason is because when some individuals take a prescription pharmaceutical to manage their health, it psychologically reminds them that they’re ill. The goal is to help patients take their medication as prescribed to improve adherence and manage their condition.

What are the key benefits of a connected drug delivery system to healthcare providers?

How can healthcare providers determine the effectiveness of treatments without understanding how, or even if, patients are taking their prescribed medication? When trying to provide a continual diagnosis and treatment plan for patients, the healthcare provider (HCP) needs to assess how the prescribed medication is working over time. The HCP may only be able to draw upon conversation with the patient to determine how they are taking their medication. However, patients often don’t remember the details of how well they’re adhering to their medication, which presents an incomplete picture of what's actually happening. The advantage of a connected drug delivery system is that it provides accurate information about when, at what level and exactly how patients are taking their medication, compared to the original prescription. This data helps to provide a clearer indication of how well the treatment regimen is working and whether adjustments are required.

What about the advantages of a connected drug delivery system to the payer?

Traditionally payers have been reimbursed for prescription drug treatments based on consumption, not necessarily effectiveness. Now the model is shifting toward pay by result. A connected health system provides a deeper understanding of whether patients are taking their medication in the way that has been prescribed by the physician and how effective the treatment is in managing their condition. Having a more detailed view of actual health outcomes may provide a better measure for reimbursement.

Finally, what are the benefits to patients?

From the patient perspective, there are two key benefits. First, a connected health system gives patients a better understanding of how they’re administering their medication, whether they're taking it in the right way and at the right point in time. Automatic timers and alerts embedded in the drug delivery device, for example, remind them when it’s time to take their medication. Many injections require or suggest site rotation in order to limit the impact on different areas of the body, and a good connected app is able to offer that guidance to patients as well.

Second, a connected health system provides a lifeline back to the healthcare community. Once patients leave the safe environment of a hospital, they’re faced with managing their condition by themselves, which can make them feel isolated or alone. A connected drug delivery system links them back to a level of healthcare support and has the tools needed to address questions and manage their condition more effectively when remote from a hospital or clinical setting.

What is the role of patient support programmes, and how can a connected health system complement them?

Patient support programmes (PSPs) are generally third-party programmes sponsored by a pharmaceutical company, but function as separate entities and are resourced by clinicians and nurses.  Their sole responsibility is to support patients in self-managing their condition in the home environment.  They’re often very knowledgeable about the particular disease in which they’re supporting patients and typically communicate via phone, email and text with patients, following a set of defined guidelines.

Up until now, however, PSPs lacked true visibility into measuring the impact of their interventions on patient behaviour and medication adherence. Connected health systems capture real-time data to show evidence of how well patients are adhering to their treatment regimens and whether they require a higher level of support. This data can be viewed through a PSP web portal or dashboard at the individual level to personalise PSP outreach, as well as at a community level to further identify and triage those patients within a given territory that need more support. In essence, the system shines a light onto specific individuals and groups that aren’t taking their medication as expected so that a PSP can tailor intervention to get patients back on track.

What are some features or functions of connected health systems under exploration?

We are building systems that are effective in capturing and displaying medication information. The next step is utilising this data to define and implement successful interventions. It is one thing to identify that someone is not taking their medication effectively, but it is quite another thing to affect a positive change in behaviour; a virtuous circle that improves adherence to medication, leading to better outcomes and reduced overall healthcare spend. This is the goal that everyone in this area is targeting.

What future trends will be pivotal to successful connected drug delivery?

There are four main trends shaping the future of connected drug delivery. First, as explained above, is understanding more about what motivates patients, so that we can define and implement successful interventions. The second trend is around scalability, moving from small pilot studies to large global programmes and shared infrastructure where we can start to benefit from economies of scale. This will help implement connected health solutions at a lower cost base, so that they can be used more broadly in the market. The third trend is around integration. As healthcare continues down the path of digital, medication adherence data will be shared from proprietary systems to leading EMR systems, allowing HCPs to view this data from anywhere. And, fourth, analytics is going to be a key driver for connected health systems going forward.  We’ll see a trend in how patient data is used more effectively to understand patient behaviours tied to drug performance and even the relationship between taking medication and improved health outcomes.  This will guide more tailored and personalised care delivery at both the individual and patient population levels.