An inclusive approach to patient care
Zal Press, Vice Chair and Patient and Community Advisory Committee at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, on advocating for patients’ rights (1,162 words, 5 minutes)
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A highlight of the 16th Annual National Pharmaceutical Congress (NPC), held in Mississauga, Ont. on Nov. 2, was the session on 'Diverse Voices' regarding the importance of an inclusive approach in the pharma industry. The session was presented by Specialty Health Network by Shoppers. During the first six weeks of 2023, starting today, NPC Healthbiz Weekly will summarize each of the presentations by the "Diverse Voices" panel. Here is the second instalment.
Even though patients are directly affected by medical treatments, they are not usually involved in the decision-making process. Advocating for patients’ rights and establishing a more inclusive system in healthcare is essential for optimal care, according to Zal Press.
In his presentation called “A Patient Perspective,” Press emphasized the benefits of an inclusive approach to patient care. He believes it is important to establish a life-cycle approach to healthcare.
“What does a life-cycle approach mean? Well, it's pretty closely related to what the Dutch health care authority refers to as appropriate care, which entails four basic principles,” he said. “One [principle] is care that is effective for a reasonable price. That's a value. But that's about money, not about people.” He added that the other three principles help patients and healthcare professionals make decisions together and focus on prevention and health instead of illness.
Press also referred to a Dutch study that showed patients had no influence on the outcomes of their treatments. Also, they were not involved in the decision-making process, especially in the early treatment stages. “If you think about it, groups without a lobby have no voice due to the focus on product-driven interventions,” Press said. He added that patients who belong to marginalized groups or live in rural communities are often even less involved.
He talked about how other countries have started to adopt an approach that involves patients more directly. “The French parliament passed an act to create a patient association in France with a broad mandate for patient and public involvement. That includes hospitals and other care environments as well as regulatory environments,” he said.
Press added that this act would focus primarily on people who have typically not been represented, such as those with disabilities, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations. “It [The French regulation] also has a broad safety mandate and a role to defend medical accident victims and advocate for patients’ rights.”
Sweden is also leading the way in patient care, passing a bill of rights for patients. This bill has managed to change the dynamics around the involvement of patients in healthcare. He said Governments and regulators had no choice but to listen.
According to Press, there are some processes in place to ensure patient involvement here in Canada through the new CADTH Strategic Plan. “CADTH has now committed to principles like equity, diversity, and inclusion. That involves not just looking at things through a lens of equity and inclusiveness, but fostering new and robust health systems.”
THIS WEEK 01/17/23
The U.S. FDA has approved Airsupra (albuterol/budesonide), formerly known as PT027, for the treatment and prevention of bronchoconstriction in adult asthma patients.
Health Canada has approved Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low (IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) breast cancer who have received at least one previous round of chemotherapy or have developed disease recurrence.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo have created a computational model to accurately predict the growth of brain tumours.
Takeda announced that the National Medical Products Administration of China has approved Exkivity (mobocertinib) for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor Exon20 insertion mutations.
LISTEN NOW
In season eight of the NPC Podcast, Angelina Brathwaite, Senior Client Partner, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Leader for the Americas at Brunel, talks about women's leadership in the pharma industry, community advocacy, and the true takeaways of formal education. Hear her in conversation with podcast hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea and Mark McElwain.
CANADIAN HEALTHCARE MARKETING HALL OF FAME
The Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame awards were established in 2002 to honour healthcare marketers who have contributed to our vocation and inspire others.
More than 100 honourees have been selected during the past 18 years. In the selection committee’s view, they represent a cross-section of the qualities that make our business unique and fulfilling. NPC Healthbiz Weekly will acknowledge one past Hall of Fame Honoree each week.
2022 Inductee
Mark Degen
Brampton, Ont.
It was pure serendipity that started Mark Degen on the pharma career that would lead him to his current position as Sun Pharma’s Country Manager for Canada. “I didn’t even know what pharma was,” he said. “I had a family friend who worked at one of the companies. And she said: ‘You have a science degree, why don’t you become a pharma rep?’ So I investigated it and started finding sales managers and sending my resume and I got into pharma. I was 25.”
From that early sales and marketing position at DuPont, then rising through directorial positions at Jansen to the position of Vice President of New Business Development and Clinical Communications, to CEO of the startup CanKare Pharma Inc. to high-level positions at AstraZeneca and Takeda to his current position, Degen has seen the industry from many levels and angles.
Through those experiences, he said, he has learned three important lessons.
First, “as an industry and working for the industry, you have a responsibility to the patients. The better job you do, the better physicians know how to use the products and the better they can treat patients and have better outcomes,” Degen said.
Second, “employees are people first, employees second. It is the same with customers.” Forming relationships and building trust with the people you interact with is key, said Degen. “Because if you don’t have that rapport and trust, they're not listening.”
Third, “you never really accomplish anything yourself. Everything is always done in teams and collaboration.”
Among all the projects Degen has worked on over more than 30 years in pharma, he said one he is most proud of is bringing Concerta (methylphenidate) to Canada in 2005. He said that the product has particular significance to him as members of his own family use it and have had their lives improved.
“One of the projects associated with that product was doing a real-world study that showed what this treatment meant to people and how it impacted their lives,” Degen said. “That data was used to defend the pricing of the product and ended up creating a new PMPRB [Patented Medicine Prices Review Board] category and changed the industry.”
Looking to the future, Degen said that he has learned over the years that he enjoys building organizations, bringing teams together, and creating something out of nothing.
“I hope that I can continue to do that,” he said. “When it’s done well, it helps patients and companies.”
“I’m not a politics guy, you know, what you see is what you get. Whatever I’m doing, it’s more about the go and not the show. I’m going to keep doing this for as long as I can. As long as I’m enjoying it, and as long as I feel like I’m making a difference for patients, doctors and my team, I’m going to keep going.”
NEXT WEEK
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