The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on physicians, including how they learn about and integrate new products into their practice. While not all saw a decline, close to 1 in 3 Specialists and close to half of GPs say their use of newly launched products declined during the pandemic, primarily due to a lack of pharma presence, reduced patient volumes overall and just a general lack of comfort using new products.
The Performance of Patient Support Providers During The Pandemic
We surveyed 152 physicians in the U.S. to gauge their opinions on Patient Support Program (PSPs) providers during the pandemic. Physicians surveyed include GPs, Hematologists, Medical Oncologists, Rheumatologists, Pulmonologists, Endocrinologists and Infectious Disease Specialists. Overall perceptions of PSPs compared to before the pandemic have generally improved – especially in terms of responsiveness and the expertise of individuals working on PSPs.
Pandemic Impact On Patient Support Programs
PSPs play a significant role in ensuring that patients have the best possible experience during their journey – especially in specialty therapeutic areas where treatments tend to be more expensive. The pandemic has made it more challenging for patients to access support and services for their medical conditions. This has put additional pressure on company-sponsored PSPs to further enhance their offerings to help patients in the best way possible.
PSPs have become increasingly important for patients since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result now have an even more significant influence on physicians’ treatment selection process. For the most part, physicians acknowledge that PSP providers have adjusted well to the new reality brought forth by COVID-19. About a third even think that PSP providers have improved their performance since the onset of the pandemic.
How Patient Support Program Providers Adjusted To The Pandemic
Physicians feel positive about how Patient Support Programs (PSPs) have evolved in the past two years – especially in terms of responsiveness and the expertise of individuals working on PSPs. The main unmet needs at this time remain the range of service hours and the availabilityof nurses remotely (either by phone or virtually). Many specialists believe that biosimilar PSP providers have struggled more than originator drug PSPs since the onset of the pandemic – mainly because of they do not have as many employees and offer a smaller range of services.
COVID-19 Impact on Patient Support Programs
Patient Support Programs (PSPs) play a significant role in ensuring that patients have the best possible experience during their journey – especially in specialty therapeutic areas where treatments tend to be more expensive. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more challenging for patients to access support and services for their medical conditions. This has put additional pressure on company-sponsored PSPs to further enhance their offerings to help patients in the best way possible. PSPs have become increasingly important for patients since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result now have an even more significant influence on physicians’ treatment selection process.
How COVID-19 is affecting HCPs as vaccinations take hold
As the COVID-19 vaccination campaign ramped up in the Spring, and rates of infection dropped, a return to normality appeared to be on the horizon. However, with widespread vaccine hesitancy paired with the virulent spread of the delta variant, we are once again left with an uncertain view of the future.
Throughout the past year, MD Analytics has been monitoring the effects of this uncertainty, and the pandemic in general, on the practices and perceptions of HCPs. Ongoing changes in workloads, patient assessments, and interactions with pharma have had direct and meaningful impact on the healthcare industry.
Pandemic’s Impact on HCPs Practices and Vaccination Campaign Perceptions
The COVID-19 vaccination campaign is underway in Canada. However, the pandemic has significantly altered HCPs’ practices to date. These changes have impacted workloads, patient assessments, and interactions with pharma. A year into the pandemic, a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign is underway. This begs the question, how are Canadian HCPs doing today? What do they foresee moving forward? Our latest short survey presents the current state of HCPs’ practices in Canada and their assessment of the government’s management of COVID-19.
Virtual Medical Conferences – Promoting your brand to a digital audience
Virtual medical conferences are on the rise, but are they here to stay?
As a result of the pandemic over the past year, conference organizers and medical brands were set scrambling to find a solution to limit cancelations of key medical conferences. Resulting virtual platforms advanced quickly to emulate the face-to-face conference experience through a digital means. While many virtual medical conferences were successful, in terms of strong participation levels to many key events both national and international, questions remained as to how well they met the needs of physicians, other healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical and medical device companies sponsoring these events.
Remote detailing for pharma – Physicians’ perspectives
The detailing of healthcare providers through virtual means has become a staple for pharmaceutical brands and is essential for any go-to-market strategy. When face-to-face detailing was put on hold this past year, healthcare providers began experiencing an even greater volume of requests for virtual interactions. For pharma brand teams, ensuring your approach to digital communications matches with the preferences of providers is important in helping your messages get through to your target prescribers.
In our latest quick poll, conducted in March 2021, MD Analytics sought to gain clarity around current remote detailing preferences and identify the components of an “ideal” remote interaction.
The Future of Medical Conferences is Virtual
Each year, providers and health industry professionals travel from locations around the world to share and discuss the latest developments in medical care. For several years now, conferences have been experimenting with digital features that allow participants to engage remotely, avoiding the burdens of travel. However, the scope of content available to digital participants had often been limited and physician adoption was low.
Remote Detailing for Pharma – Physicians’ perspectives
Our 5-minute online survey conducted in the fall of 2020 sought to gain clarity around remote detailing. This study was conducted with 339 Canadian physicians who are members of the MD Analytics healthcare panel and the results provide actionable recommendations on how to form a more ‘ideal’ pharma remote detail.
Will the Impact of COVID-19 on Physicians’ Practices Become the New Normal?
The COVID-19 crisis has significantly impacted physicians’ practices; but how and to what extent? Physicians have been managing significant workloads, while learning on the fly how to navigate and setup virtual meetings. Maintaining high levels of patient care while minimizing in-person interactions has also been challenging.
Does Online Advertising Click for Physicians?
Strong online advertising and messaging are key to maximizing impact of any marketing campaign. With recent restrictions on in-person interactions, online advertising and messaging play an even greater role in reaching physicians. Our findings from a survey of n=227 Canadian physicians show that 82% of Canadian physicians have increased their use of online platforms as a result of COVID-19, 48% significantly so.
Physicians’ Perspectives on Cannabis Legalization – One year later
In October 2018, the use of recreational cannabis was legalized across Canada. Looking back at the past year, physicians remain divided in their views towards this new legislation, though support skews towards younger GPs. This legislation has impacted the use of prescription treatments and patient visits in a number of key therapeutic areas, though not to the degree that was anticipated 12 months ago.
Real World Evidence – Does it influence prescribing decisions?
Real World Evidence (RWE) is a growing area of research that, pivoting from the rigorously controlled standards of randomized controlled trials (RCT), is based on a model driven by real world patient data. Real World Evidence stems primarily from an observational analysis of a sample in a less controlled environment. Focused on the efficacy and outcomes of therapies in a real world setting, RWE provides a unique lens not attainable from traditional clinical trial research.
Physicians’ Perspectives on Pitfalls in the Patient Journey
In the healthcare system, a patient’s journey to optimal care presents many obstacles. There are numerous steps involved from the onset of a medical condition to the moment when satisfactory results are achieved. This healthcare survey seeks to reveal key opportunities within the patient journey that would assist patients along their way and ultimately improve outcomes. Further healthcare market research could also be conducted by disease area to dig deeper into these insights.
Are Canadians Taking Unnecessary Risks with Their Health?
Over a 3-day period, MD Analytics surveyed 1,000 Canadians that are responsible for making health-related decisions. It was found that respondents are often choosing to not to see a physician when health-related scenarios arise, citing self-diagnosis or lack of convenience as their key reasons. Respondents are also strongly likely to visit a walk-in clinic instead of their family physician, with convenience again mentioned as the key reason.
Biosimilar Use in Cancer Treatment – Current attitudes and perceptions
Biological drugs, protein-based products derived from living cells using biotechnology, have been used since the 1990’s as a treatment option for cancer patients. Since 2009, biosimilar therapies (therapeutically equivalent subsequent entry biologics) have been available in different therapeutic areas in Canada, and are now on the verge of becoming available for use in oncology.