Pharmaceutical industry trends: a changing patient pathway

Not all medicines are created equal. Neither are all medicines are equally obtainable. Difficult patient pathways for vital pharmaceuticals are common in the NHS, with companies such as Nordic Pharma helping the UK healthcare system to source essential medicines efficiently and rapidly. One particular patient pathway that has suffered from a lack of understanding and professional support from pharmaceutical companies is that of rheumatoid arthritis.

Defining patient pathways

Patient pathways are simply the time a patient spends interacting with NHS providers. The NHS defines a patient pathway more precisely as

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The specific route that a particular patient takes from the first referral request received date … that will continue for chronic or recurrent conditions and it will also continue even if the patient declines treatment as they may have treatment for the same condition at a future date

Pharmaceutical industry trends have meant that companies in the UK are not traditionally involved in streamlining or improving pathways. However, there is a new emergent model of NHS care which is more open to collaboration – as set out in their five-year plan.

Whilst having elicited some negative responses in the past, joint working initiatives and partnerships with pharmaceutical firms and consultancies have improved patient care as well as generating additional research and healthcare income. Mike Thompson, CEO of the APBI, has stressed how proud he is of the pharmaceutical industry’s impact. It is in this spirit that Nordic Pharma UK and Spirit Access are now collaborating.

Source: Pixabay

Working alongside market access consultancy Spirit Access, Nordic Pharma UK is aiming to gain a better understanding of the rheumatoid arthritis patient pathway, and identify new avenues for adding value. One such innovation is the new auto-injecting PEN system, as well as the associated services derived from the new product. The new PEN system utilizes methotrexate, a chemotherapeutic cancer treatment used in severe rheumatoid arthritis cases – and Spirit Access will use their knowledge of the UK’s healthcare system to ensure the product has the best possible reach and uptake.

Patient pathways: analyze and improve

Spirit Access will be analyzing previously-existing data concerning the patient pathway and interviewing key opinion leaders about how best to change industry trends in this aspect of pharmaceuticals. Focusing primarily on the progression of rheumatoid arthritis in patients, Spirit Access should be well-positioned to highlight the inefficiencies of the current patient pathway and to work in partnership with Nordic Pharma UK, the NHS, and patients to deliver the best possible improvements.

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Source: Pixabay

With a business model known to have driven up to 700% savings in treating conditions such as diabetes, the transparency of and specialist knowledge available to Spirit Access (and many companies like it) is certainly proving a plausible alternative to more traditional, nationalized methods of improving care.

A new image of the pharmaceutical industry?

Many pharmaceutical companies are frustrated by negative press with regards to their association with the NHS. But Nordic Pharma UK is optimistic about how they and Spirit Access can use their extensive knowledge and experience to improve the current healthcare system. According to Tony Bratt, the UK General Manager for Nordic Pharma, this collaboration with Spirit Access will

add value not only to our business but assist us in demonstrating the value we can then add to the NHS and ultimately, patients

If you enjoyed reading this article, why not check out our top ten pharma trends in 2018?