Topical Data

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.

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.

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 (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.

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.

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.

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.

The Canadian Senate recently passed Bill C-46 which will allow for the legal use of recreational cannabis across Canada by Fall 2018. While some physicians anticipate this new legislation will impact their practices with patients electing to try recreational cannabis instead of more traditional prescription medications or medical cannabis, others anticipate increases in patient visits related to dependence and psychotic symptoms.

Traditional in-person continuing health education (CHE) programs remain the most attended format for Canadian physicians practitioners, however preferred sources of CHE vary widely by generation. As educational activities are an important channel to communicate important scientific data about new treatment options, program success will benefit from a tailored approach to CHE delivery.