during COVID-19

Teamwork, Digital Tools Keep PAPs on Track

Being flexible, embracing technology and making more coordinated efforts to service providers and patients are all lessons that drug manufacturers and patient assistance programs (PAPs) can take from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a panel of experts at Informa’s PAP Critical Update 2021 virtual event.

Despite it being a difficult year, there were some positive notes to draw from, said Tommy Bramley, PhD, the president of the Lash Group, a patient support services division of AmerisourceBergen, during a discussion about forging a better path for patients in the wake of a pandemic. Lash Group and others adapted quickly to meet the demands of the COVID-19 crisis in different ways, including working with manufacturers and health care providers to ensure patients received uninterrupted access to their medications.

Remote Teams Ready

Xcenda, a consulting and field reimbursement services company that is also part of AmerisourceBergen, already had remote field teams in place that it quickly leveraged to ensure the company was offering engaging services to its providers, said Katie Wilson, the vice president of innovative field solutions. When the pandemic hit, staff had to rapidly determine how best to showcase their program materials and make them available digitally, as well as train employees on how to have meaningful communications with providers virtually and use web conferencing technology.

“We leveraged our existing provider relationships, and that turned out to be instrumental as the pandemic continued,” Ms. Wilson said. “As [physician] offices figured out how they would see patients and how to use telemedicine, we were able to meet them where they were, give them what they needed and have meaningful interactions.”

With a significant decrease in patients visiting provider offices and job uncertainty amid a spike in unemployment rates, Lash Group worked with manufacturers to identify what they needed for their specific patient populations to ensure the most vulnerable patients would receive care, said Todd Wells, the vice president of operations. They developed multiple contingency plans for how to support patients in a variety of different scenarios, working with manufacturer partners. “Thankfully we didn’t have to implement those extreme contingencies, but we were certainly ready,” he said.

“While we all hope to never experience another pandemic, the experience showcased a collective ability to embrace virtual interactions and automation,” Mr. Wells said.

“We’ve seen the adoption of a virtual patient portal we launched continue to increase, as well as the use of virtual injection training services,” he added. Manufacturers also were open to accelerating technology to optimize the patient experience.

“I don’t see us going backward,” Mr. Wells said. “In fact, we will continue to automate every step we can to allow our ... counselors to focus on the most complex cases and direct patient contact.”

Taking a Deeper Dive

There’s been a lot of movement from manufacturers and PAP administrators to take a much closer look at the effects of the economy on patients and providers using these program, noted Dale Hanna, the director of product management at Lash Group. One hurdle has been the affordability of treatment, and some of the inequities associated with that “really came to light” during the pandemic, Mr. Hanna said.

“A lot of patients actually dropped off treatment,” he added. “As a society, we’re actually going to see a much longer-term impact to overall patient health because of that.”

Many providers and patients are not aware of PAPs, including those offering copay assistance to help overcome financial barriers. This knowledge gap presents an opportunity for manufacturers to build better awareness, Mr. Hanna said. His division has been helping its manufacturer clients look at what flexibility they have. As just one example, he noted, payors and manufacturers can work together to change thresholds for patient eligibility. Manufacturers also can simplify processes for their providers and patients, perhaps allowing patients to self-manage their own assistance and benefits online or helping providers enroll patients without needing a lot of clicks outside of electronic health records, Mr. Hanna noted.

The presenters cited several additional steps for ensuring PAP success: • Understand the patients and their therapy services, including social and economic barriers to care. • Use predictive analytics to see where

falloff occurs and intervene. • Be flexible with program design. • Look to partners to see what’s going on at a broader level. • Be a part of the solution as it relates to health care policy. • Approach policymakers with constructive ideas that are patientcentric. • Embrace innovation, whether digital technologies, automation or other ideas. • Lean on partnerships. As Mr. Wells noted, “A great business partner has the benefit of seeing what’s working across the board and can bring those ideas to you.”

10 Steps to Ensure PAP Success

1. Leverage existing provider relationships 2. Take a close look at hurdles 3. Close the knowledge gap 4. Understand patients and their needs 5. Use predictive analytics 6. Be flexible 7. See what partners are doing 8. Give policymakers patient-centric ideas 9. Embrace innovation 10. No entity is an island

—Karen Blum

The speakers reported no relevant fi nancial disclosures other than stated employment.

THE MCMAHON GROUP, LLC McMAHON PUBLISHING McMAHONMED.COM

Sales, Production and Editorial Offices: 545 West 45th Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10036 Telephone: (212) 957-5300 CT Office: 83 Peaceable Street, Redding, CT 06896 Specialty Pharmacy Continuum, Circulation Dept., 545 W. 45th St., 8th Floor, New York, NY 10036.

We endeavor to obtain relevant financial disclosures from all interviewees and rely on our sources to accurately provide this information, which we believe can be important in evaluating the research discussed in this publication. of charge. If you are a hospital pharmacist and do not receive the publication, you must add your professional address or make your address change directly with Specialty Pharmacy Continuum, Circulation Dept., 545 W. 45th St., 8th Floor, New York, NY 10036. You can also fax your request to (815) 366–8297, or send it via email, circulation@mcmahonmed.com. If you are not a hospital pharmacist but would like to re ceive Specialty Pharmacy Continuum, please send a check for $70.00 (U.S.) or $90.00 (outside U.S.) for a year’s subscription pay able to Specialty Pharmacy Continuum to McMahon Pub lishing, 545 West 45th St., 8th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Please allow 8 to 12 weeks for delivery of the first issue. In dividual issues are $9.00 (U.S.) or $12.00 (outside U.S.).

Founded in 1972, McMahon Publishing is a family-owned medical publisher of clinical newspapers and specialty periodicals, and creates continuing medical education programs and custom publications. As the second largest publisher of medical newspapers, McMahon produces Anesthesiology News, Gastroenterology & Endos copy News, General Surgery News, Infectious Disease Special Edition, Pain Medicine News, Phar macy Practice News and Specialty Pharmacy Continuum.