OBJECTIVES: To assess patients' aspirations during their treatment journey in Asia, which will support the identification of value drivers that resonate with patients and drive their choice of treatment and willingness to pay

METHODS: A high level meta-analysis was conducted across relevant studies (n=6) undertaken by GfK since July 2016 involving the assessment of patient journeys of those affected by oncology, immunology and neuromuscular conditions in Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Japan. Primary focus was to assess drivers for treatment initiation and continuation. The studies involved secondary and primary research on patients’ aspirations from the perspective of patients, physicians, nurses and caregivers. MaxDiff analysis was employed to confirm the ranking of value drivers.

RESULTS: The analysis identified many commonalities in patient aspirations across the different therapeutic areas. Compared to patients that are taking reimbursed therapies, those who are paying out-of-pocket costs for medications are more involved in treatment decision making. For those who suffer from oncology and neuromuscular conditions, prolonging life is not as attractive if they cannot have good quality of life (QoL). Immunology patients see similar importance in QoL and consider being able to resume their daily routine the greatest driver for treatment choice. There are also subtle value driver differences between treatment initiation and continuation – cost can be a key barrier for initiation but it rarely causes discontinuation whereas safety/ tolerability issues are the opposite. Moreover, caregivers have better understanding of patient value drivers compared to physicians or nurses.

CONCLUSIONS: Shared decision making in medicine has become more common in Asia and clear communication on QoL benefits are important to drive patient-focused treatment decisions and willingness to pay for self-pay treatment. However, there is evidence of an understanding gap, and a consequent need to improve patient-physician communication.