How Does Pharma Learn to Speak Patient? The “Patient Voice”

How Does Pharma Learn to Speak Patient? The "Patient Voice" By Sara Ray, MA We have all, at one time or another, been patients. True or false? If you answer true, it is likely that you are a person who has experienced only acute illnesses, meaning you get sick, feel lousy, get treated, you feel better. You return to your normal activities. You get back to life. Before getting to the language of patients or “patient voice,” it is useful to understand that “we are not all patients.” Carolyn Thomas, writer and patient advocate, explains that, [...]

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Jul 2019By |0 Comments

Genetic testing: What patients and caregivers understand and value

Genetic testing: What patients and caregivers understand and value By Richard Tsai There’s been an explosion of information about genes, genetics and genomics since completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003. Stories about remissions achieved through pharmacogenomics and immunotherapy and disease risk factors identified through genetic testing fill both online and offline media. Today, direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing companies--which make kits available at between $100 and $200-- have huge databases of genetic information. In fact, even if you have never used a kit, you may be able to be identified through these databases if [...]

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Jun 2019By |0 Comments

Are You Listening to Patients? Patient Preferences and Clinical Trial Design

Are You Listening to Patients? Patient Preferences and Clinical Trial Design By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD, MSPH Last fall, over 1500 Inspire members living with sarcoidosis, scleroderma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, arthritis and psoriasis, completed a  survey on exploring patient preferences and insights on clinical trials. Our recent webinar, "A Hopeful Mindset," described preliminary results. Thirty-nine percent of respondents had cancer, 32% had a chronic condition - arthritis or psoriasis - and 29% had a rare disease. Over the next few months we will be sharing more details from the data.  Last week in "5 Benefits [...]

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Jun 2019By |0 Comments

5 Benefits of Patient Focused Drug Development Sponsors Need to Know

The Patient Is Speaking: 5 Benefits of Patient Focused Drug Development Sponsors and CROs Need to Know By Sara Ray, MA Since the 2012 FDASIA reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) and the 21st Century Cures Act ‐‐ Directing and Enabling Patient Focused Drug Development in 2016, integrating the patient perspective has been a priority. Our research team has conducted studies with patient and caregiver Inspire members for a variety of sponsors. I'd like to describe how these research projects produce important patient insights that inform and can improve clinical trials. Patient focused drug [...]

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May 2019By |0 Comments

Virtual Patient Engagement: Inspire and the NIH Clinical Center

Virtual Patient Engagement:  Inspire and the NIH Clinical Center Engagement with patients and caregivers is at the heart of Inspire’s community of cancer, chronic, and rare disease support groups.  While there are many ways Inspire can help the industry engage with a targeted patient population, virtual patient engagement  and authoritative expert content are central to that engagement.  For example, we recently conducted five webinars and started a new discussion post series called “Ask the Expert.” During these webinars and through the question-answer format of the “Ask the Expert” series, Inspire educates and engages members, [...]

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Jan 2018By |0 Comments

Introducing Inspire Recruit

Introducing Inspire Recruit Commonly discussed statistics on patient enrollment and retention in clinical research paint a bleak picture. Clinical trial on-time completion rates are low--only around 20%. This is due in part to the fact that 85% of clinical trials fail to retain enough patients.1 The causes may lie in the low levels of knowledge about clinical trials. A recent survey found that only 19% of the public felt very informed about clinical trials.2 The actions of Inspire’s 1.3 million members reflect this uncertainty.  Searching Inspire for “clinical trials” yields over 50,000 unique discussions. “Looking for clinical [...]

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Jan 2018By |0 Comments