pLOG

2024-04-01

The main obstacles to the promotion of patient support services in Taiwan

Patient Support Programs (PSPs) play a crucial role in assisting patients in accessing necessary treatments, improving medication adherence, and optimizing disease management. However, both in Taiwan and the United States, the promotion and utilization rates of these programs often fall below expectations, still facing multiple obstacles.

Obstacle 1: Limited Awareness of Patient Support Programs

A major hindrance to the promotion of patient support programs is the lack of awareness among patients. Studies have shown that nearly 60% of American patients have little to no knowledge of available medication support programs. A similar situation exists in Taiwan, where both patients and physicians exhibit significant gaps in awareness. This is primarily due to regulatory ambiguity and compliance management, requiring program providers to carefully communicate with the market.

In Taiwan, the healthcare system relies mainly on the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, where most patients bear relatively little financial burden for medical expenses. Therefore, patient support programs mainly target newly launched self-pay specialty medications. Changes in reimbursement policies under NHI and commercial insurance also affect the strategic motivations of providers offering patient support programs. According to surveys in the United States, 42% of physicians are unaware of which patient support programs are available. While there is currently no relevant survey data in Taiwan, it is estimated to be similarly low.

Obstacle 2: Insufficient Alignment with Patient Interests

Even if patients and physicians are aware of the existence of patient support programs, they may not actively participate if they do not see the benefits of involvement. Nearly half of American patients believe that pharmaceutical companies do not understand their needs, leading to doubts about the efficacy of such programs. In Taiwan, patient support programs primarily aim to supplement the deficiencies of the NHI. However, if the programs fail to address the key concerns of the target patient population, such as making prescription medications more accessible and affordable, patients will lack motivation to participate. Apart from alleviating financial burdens, patient support programs mostly focus on resolving administrative issues that disadvantage patients, a challenge seen in both Taiwan and the United States. Sometimes, patients may not clearly understand these medical support services. Physicians may also perceive them as not directly benefiting their interests.

Consequently, patient support programs become additional administrative burdens in the medical journey. If they do not streamline administrative processes or integrate seamlessly into existing workflows, healthcare providers may lack the time or willingness to adopt them. In the United States, 11% of healthcare professionals believe that the time required to understand patient support programs outweighs the value they provide. In Taiwan, due to the existence of the NHI system, administrative tasks for doctors are relatively simple, making the integration of patient support programs into clinical services even more challenging.

Obstacle 3: Complexity of Procedures and Poor User Experience

A patient support program that is overly complex to register for and use will struggle to attract patients and physicians. In the United States, 80% of patients prefer to interact with healthcare institutions digitally. If a support program fails to provide a smooth experience, patients are likely to abandon it.

In Taiwan, while it is a technologically advanced region, the digital transformation of healthcare services is still ongoing. Taiwanese patients expect seamless, user-friendly digital platforms. If patient support programs fail to overcome barriers to digital management and efficiency, the likelihood of successful implementation of project-based patient support programs may decrease.

Additionally, healthcare providers in Taiwan and the United States face challenges such as heavy administrative burdens and tight manpower. If the program's procedures are too cumbersome to integrate into existing workflows, they may not have the time to promote them actively.

Strategies by PATIENTSFORCE

To increase the adoption rate of patient support programs in Taiwan, PATIENTSFORCE Health continuously innovates patient support models, aligning with NHI reimbursement policies and commercial insurance strategies to develop affordable new pharmaceutical support programs, including:

Proposing innovative support strategies to pharmaceutical suppliers in line with government healthcare payment policy trends. This includes compliant drug donation management plans and systems, as well as new PSP solutions tailored to the needs of different disease types that require self-pay medication or medical devices.

Enhancing information provision to patients and physicians. Through policy and industry advocacy, real-time demand-driven patients and physicians or institutions can cooperate to provide accessibility to patient support programs under regulatory compliance.

Simplifying program procedures and developing user-friendly digital platforms. PATIENTSFORCE's Patient Support Management System (Medicare Pass) has been successfully implemented in Taiwan, with thousands of physicians using the platform to provide patient support medication applications. The system provides clearer guidance on the patient support journey and has been awarded the National Healthcare Quality Award by the Taiwan Medical Association.

Integrating programs into physicians' existing workflows by providing auxiliary tools such as autofill forms to reduce additional burdens. This is a direction currently under development, with active exploration of collaboration possibilities with medical information system vendors.

Continuously optimizing and developing programs based on data insights to meet the needs of different stages. Recent efforts include the use of real-world data on the benefits of services provided during the service period as evidence for applying for NHI reimbursement. This underscores the value of PSP's data management services.

The uniqueness of patient support programs requires a deeper understanding of the local healthcare environment and user needs. Adapting localized strategies tailored to specific diseases is essential. Compliance management standards should be prioritized alongside flexible requirements that meet the maximum common denominator of customers. This ensures pharmaceutical providers gain clearer strategic benefits and enhances PATIENTSFORCE's ability to innovate services.    

                                                                                                                                                                                              President of PATIENTSFORCE, Sean Chang