Why Patient Understanding Directly Impacts Adherence

In a world where immediate access to information is ubiquitous, it might seem strange that low patient understanding is still a front running influencing factor in patient adherence – but there is evidence to show this might be the case.  In fact, a lack of understanding, or a misunderstanding, of a disease and its treatment, combined with a lack of patient confidence in their ability to self-manage, can be compounding factors in low patient adherence. 

At Mash we are all about the “Why?” So, why, when information is theoretically so easily accessible, is patient understanding so low? 

This problem is often attributed to the fact that many physicians (the leading influencers in adherence according to a recent Capgemini report) are restricted in the amount of time they have available to diagnose patients, let alone educate them on the benefits of self-management and compliance.

But, taking the UK as an example, between 1992 and 2007, primary care physicians actually increased the amount of time they could spend with patients, with the average doctor-patient consultation in England now lasting around 11 minutes.  But is increasing the amount of time spent with patients what is needed to increase patient adherence? We feel that in a system where up to 40% of orally treated cancer patients are non-compliant, the problem must be deeper than a simple matter of consultation length.

A recent US study showed that physicians tend to overestimate the amount of information they provide a patient, and underestimate the amount of information a patient would like, during a consultation. In reality, the average doctor only spends 49 seconds discussing a new medication with a patient – a fact which is unlikely to change as a result of minimal increases in face-to-face time. With those statistics in mind it is perhaps less surprising that the recent Capgemini report suggested that up to 50% of patients leave a consultation unsure of their physician's instructions.

To really address the understanding=adherence problem, the attitudes of the healthcare industry towards medication education within the confines of a consultation need to be addressed.  Practitioners require the means to understand their patients’ educational needs and the tools with which to address the knowledge gap. Patients, for their part, may need to adjust their expectations regarding what they need to know from their doctor, and what they are able to educate themselves on – and will consequently need adequate support to self-educate and self-manage.

Therefore, the problem of adherence is not a question of time, but a matter of communication and how that time is used to effectively communicate with a patient to satisfy the evolving requirements of a consultation: to provide not just a diagnosis but also the education needed to enhance patient adherence. But that is a topic for another blog...

Catriona Raleigh

Account Executive

Publishing Evolved

I recently attended a day seminar by the leading evangelists from Adobe -  the market leaders in creating software for graphic and multimedia designers.  Any creative agency will have someone in their ranks who uses Adobe’s Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator on a daily basis.

These programmes, and the way designers use them  (primarily for creating printed and web based materials), hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years. That is until recently, with the mass introduction of more powerful smartphones, web applications and tablet devices (like the ipad) -  and a little thing called E-pub.

E-pub is essentially, a digital version of a printed piece, formatted specifically for the user’s tablet or smartphone. The user downloads the item and then can read it at their leisure.

With this new way of producing and accessing media, comes a new way of thinking, so our approach to how we can deliver key information gets a much- welcomed additional platform to work on.

At Mash, we often create families of printed materials, such as detail aids, leavepieces and posters. With the introduction of E-pub, we can now offer something new to our clients to fit inside and further enhance these suites of materials.

As the design studio manager for Mash, the thing that has really excited me with E-pub is how we can make content much richer and more engaging, while still delivering the same key messages and data as a printed item.

With printed materials, it is sometimes hard to make the reader interact or fully absorb the data or messaging you are trying to convey.  With E-pub, by doing something as simple as animating a graph, embedding a KOL video or using a 360 degree image that the user can manipulate, you can not only give your information a whole new dimension, but the messages will resonate with greater impact.

For the younger generation, e-pub and the web is the standard way they now access information.  Newspapers and printed magazines are looking to be a thing of the past.  If someone wants to know about the latest dietary supplement, they don’t go to the pharmacy first, they go straight to Google. At Mash, we can offer our clients materials that enable their target audience to easily access their information, and that can only be a good thing. If we can embed the key messages a little deeper at the same time, then even better!

We aren’t anywhere near the point where for example, a digital detail aid will replace a printed detail aid or the personal interaction of a sales rep, but we are at the point where tablets and smartphones are becoming so common that we can expect an e-publication as standard when launching or rebranding a new product.  At Mash, we welcome that with open arms as it gives our creative thinkers a whole new toolbox through which to deliver compelling information within the healthcare market.

In conclusion, E-pub offers an exciting list of possibilities for medical marketing and the way that healthcare practitioners consume information.  It’s in the early stages, but there is no doubt that it’s going to take off in a big way over the next 24 months.  It really does enhance a message, rather then just deliver it in a prettier way. With 3D models, layered images of anatomy with zoom functionality for more detail, videos and sounds, publications within publications….the list of possibilities is endless. I, for one, am very excited!

For more information on how Mash Health can help your company deliver medical marketing e-publications, feel free to call us for a friendly chat on 02089775358.

Craig Hodgkiss

Design Studio Manager