ABSTRACT
Introduction: Patient adherence is a major challenge for the successful management of any chronic disease, and ulcerative colitis (UC) is no exception. Patient adherence is closely related to patient preference of medication and formulation used. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate patient and physician perspectives around UC treatment preference. Methods: This study was conducted in France, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Physicians and UK inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) nurses answered an online questionnaire. In addition, adult mild-to-moderate UC patients, treated with oral mesalazine, were invited to answer a 30-min online survey which included a conjoint exercise. Results: 400 patients, 160 physicians, and 20 IBD nurses participated in the survey. 68% of patients were taking tablets and 32% granules. Physicians stated that from their perspective patients are more adherent to tablets than granules (76% vs. 24%), patients tended to have better relief of symptoms with tablets (69% vs. 31%), and patients found tablets to be the most convenient formulation (61% vs. 39%). From the patients' perspective, when questioned which formulation they prefer, 58% answered tablets, 37% granules, and 5% none of these. When patients were asked about some negative attributes of tablets, the highest agreement was for "I would like to take fewer each day" (6.1/10) and "I wish I could take fewer at a time" (5.4/10). Conclusions: The majority of UC patients in this survey prefer the tablet formulation. A high strength tablet overcoming the high pill burden could be a good solution to address patient expectations.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pharmaceutical treatment prescribed according to patient preference for a formulation may have a positive impact on adherence to treatment and consequently on treatment outcomes. AIM: This study aimed at understanding patient preference for pharmaceutical formulations and attributes that trigger patient preference and physician perception of patient preference. METHODS: Between August and September 2017, gastroenterologists and patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis from France, Germany, Spain, and the UK participated in an online survey. The investigation was exploratory in nature, and descriptive results are presented. RESULTS: Patient (n = 380) preference appears to be driven by the appearance (format, shape, size, and color - 44%), number of units per administration (39%), and number of administrations per day (17%). Gastroenterologist (n = 159) preference is instead driven by the number of administrations per day (55%), number of units per day (26%), and tablet size (19%). Overall, 254 (67%) patients preferred a tablet formulation, 111 (29%) preferred granules, and 15 (4%) other formulations. According to gastroenterologist perception of patient preference, only 49% of patients prefer tablets, 38% prefer granules, and 13% have no preference. After switching from granules to tablets, 25% patients expressed negative feelings for granules. However, after switching from tablets to granules, 44% of patients still have positive perceptions of tablets. Among patients receiving tablets (n = 255), 18 (7%) perceived their treatment to be not at all effective versus 16 (13%) patients receiving granules (n = 125). A similar proportion of patients in the two groups perceived their treatment as extremely effective (48 vs. 46%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Patients generally prefer tablets. Patient and gastroenterologist perception of patient preference for different oral drug formulations is triggered by the same attributes but with inverse importance. To improve adherence, patients should be involved in the choice of the treatment formulation.
