Early and ongoing clinical educator involvement reduces treatment drop-out rates

CASE STUDY (US)

Early and ongoing clinical educator involvement reduces treatment drop-out rates.

The Challenge

Patients enrolled on a support program for a rare lung disease were dropping out in significant numbers, citing concerns over side effects and feeling overwhelmed by a complex and lengthy treatment regime.

The patients had to wait up to four weeks for insurance approval before receiving their medication and then spoke to a clinical educator, before which time their concerns went unaddressed.

Our Solution

We introduced an earlier clinical educator call once the patient was prescribed the medication but before they received them, providing an opportunity to set expectations, provide reassurance and prevent patients administering without proper training.

We also ran patient journey workshops to identify and tackle gaps and challenges at various stages. This led to us adding extra contact points to make sure patients continued to understand proper administration and overcome key milestone barriers.

The Results

Within the first three months, early clinical educator involvement led to fewer patients dropping out of the program. It also helped reduce the time between enrollment and the first treatment dose being self-administered by an average of three days.

Feedback has been consistently positive, with patients and care partners appreciating the opportunity to discuss their treatment with a clinical educator.

• 15% decrease in program dropout before medication starts.
• 10.5% improvement in discontinuation rates within the first 60 days
• 11% (or 3-day) decrease in time between program enrollment and first dose

This program was awarded ‘Persistence/Adherence Program – Gold Winner’ at the 2023 PM360 Trailblazer awards.