Case Study: Optimizing a Patient Support Program to Improve Therapy Adherence

The Client Situation

A manufacturer’s specialty product required administration by a registered healthcare professional via a once-monthly intramuscular injection. This manufacturer had chosen Innomar Strategies, the leading provider of specialty support programs in Canada, to provide a full-service patient support program (PSP) with integrated specialty pharmacy distribution and nursing/clinic services. As a result, patients could either receive treatment in one of the Innomar Strategies clinics throughout Canada, or an Innomar Strategies registered nurse would visit the patient at home.

As Innomar Strategies worked closely with the client to design a best-in-class program tailored to their business needs, the client developed an appreciation for Innomar Strategies as a partner, and not just a vendor. After the program launched, Innomar Strategies continued to demonstrate their commitment to partnership by identifying ways to adapt the program and optimize the client’s results.

The Innomar Strategies Solution

After reviewing the program’s key performance indicators, the Innomar Strategies team identified that some patients had challenges with adherence and persistency to treatment. The data showed that patients were not maintaining proper treatment schedules and they were missing clinic appointments on a consistent basis. So we determined the root cause of the problem and made recommendations for how to adapt the PSPs to better meet patient needs.

First, we worked closely with our client to fully identify and clarify patient treatment patterns.  Next, the team monitored persistency and dosing trends by tracking injections month-over-month of patients who were using our injection services. The Innomar Strategies team found a consistent adherence issue among patients not receiving any at-home nursing services.

In addition, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the patient program database to uncover any other key indicators leading to lack of adherence.  The analysis revealed that ‘ease-of-use’ and ‘convenience’ were significant differentiators between patients who received their injection in an in-clinic setting compared to those who were using our at-home services.

It was clear that patients receiving at-home injection services for this particular product were more compliant to their treatment schedule.  Armed with this information, our client’s brand team was able to provide a business case to expand and promote the at-home injection services to all existing patients within the support program.  Furthermore, once this new push for at-home services was in place, Innomar Strategies was in a position to track and monitor the promotion’s effectiveness and impact on patients.

The Outcome

The results of promoting Innomar Strategies’ at-home nursing services were substantive. The team monitored the impact of the changes to the program and found that:

• After 6 months, overall persistency increased by more than 70% in the program
• Patients perceived the client’s product as being “more convenient to access”
• 91% of patients strongly preferred home injections to in-clinic injections

Start a Conversation

At Innomar Strategies we are committed to forming true partnerships that extend beyond the critical launch phase. We start by working closely with you to design and implement a wide variety of specialty services that are tailored for your brand. And we remain committed to your success over the long-term. With proactive strategic guidance from industry experts, we help you adapt your integrated services to meet changing stakeholder needs and market dynamics so you will always optimize your results. Partner with Innomar Strategies to improve product access, increase supply chain efficiency, and enhance patient care.