The Pharmaceutical Industry is Leaving an Estimated US$25 Billion on the Shelf Every Year Through Lack of Patient Compliance

Business Wire,  June 18, 2008  

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DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/a99980/keywordpharma_conf has announced the addition of the "KeywordPharma Conference Insights - Patient Compliance Europe" report to their offering.

Doctors have probably been telling people to 'keep taking the tablets' since the earliest shamans and folk healers were first frustrated by the non-compliance of their prehistoric patients.

Today, the pharmaceutical industry is leaving an estimated US$25 billion on the shelf every year through lack of patient compliance. Events like eyeforpharma's conference, Patient Compliance Europe, now in its third year, reflect a growing recognition of the importance of patient compliance and its impact on revenues.

Current estimates put non-compliance possibly as high as 50-70%. This is despite the well-known fact that poor compliance is associated with a lower quality of life, poor clinical outcomes, increased hospitalisations and higher overall healthcare costs. Clearly, compliance is actually synonymous with patient well-being.

So, why do people stop taking the pills? The conference drew a key distinction between types of non-compliance. There is intentional non-compliance, where patients choose not to comply with a medical regimen, reflected in unfilled prescriptions or filled prescriptions not taken, or where patients refuse treatment. And then there is unintentional compliance, where patients don't understand the appropriate use of medicines, take them at the wrong time or the wrong dose, don't understand the instructions or simply forget.

There are a whole range of influencing factors at work behind non-compliance. One set of factors is the patient's general health beliefs (e.g. 'medication is dangerous', 'I will get better on my own', 'invasive or aggressive therapy is not worth it' and 'new medicines are better than old ones'). These are underpinned by the patient's general social and economic characteristics, such as age, educational level, self-rated health ('I feel OK so I stopped taking the tablets'), cultural and religious beliefs and, importantly, what friends and partners think about the medicines.

Addressing compliance issues means understanding consumer behaviour. How does the consumer perceive his/her problem? How bothered are they by it? What is motivating the non-compliant behaviour? What are the barriers to compliance? And what is the patient-physician dynamic?

Executive Summary:

Patient non-compliance is an expensive and widespread problem for the pharmaceutical industry. With rates of non-compliance sometimes as high as 70 per cent, drug companies are losing around $25 billion each year simply through patients not taking their medicine. The impact on clinical outcomes, public health and healthcare costs is severe.

The Patient Compliance Europe Conference, organised by eyeforpharma and held in Amsterdam on 1-2 June 2006, explored the major issues surrounding patient compliance, showcasing research and case studies from major European pharmaceutical companies and how they are addressing the problem.

This Conference Insights review outlines the most pertinent issues from selected presentations at the event. It examines the most common reasons for patient non-compliance and looks at methods to combat them. It offers advice and guidance on how to implement a successful compliance programme, based on real market experiences.

The issue of who has 'ownership' of compliance is discussed: is it the responsibility of the brand manager, medical affairs or senior management? And who should play the role of educator: the doctor, the pharmacist, the nurse or the drug company?

The report finds that the overall responsibility lies with the pharmaceutical industry, which - public health aside - also stands to benefit most from an increase in compliance. Yet, despite a growing armoury of tools with which to educate patients on the value of medicine, a general apathy to tackle the issue head-on pervades the pharmaceutical industry. Despite conference rhetoric to the contrary, the industry doesn't regard compliance as a major issue. And the smart brand manager who introduces a compliance programme will be elsewhere in the industry by the time its long-term impacts are realised.

Key Topics Covered:

* Patient Compliance Europe - Programme

* Introduction

* About the author

* Reasons for non-compliance

* Implementing a compliance programme

* Terminology and techniques for improving compliance

* Who is responsible for compliance, and who pays?

* Routes for providing valuable information

* The obstacle of regulation

* Tools and technologies

* Which channel, what time?

* The patient and adherence programmes

* Who 'owns' the compliance programme?

* Are pharmacists the answer?

* Workshops

* Conclusions

* References

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/a99980/keywordpharma_conf

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