If the pandemic proved anything, it’s that we need each other. Whether it’s in-person, telecommunicated, a group chat, a book club, a team sport—human beings rely on a network of support and interaction. Countless studies and academic articles, such as one published by South University, have shown that social foundations are not only fundamental to our health, but to our health processes. This truth is at the center of a relatively new initiative emerging in pharmaceuticals that has yet to garner enough attention: Patient Support Programs.
What is a PSP? PSP is an umbrella term for a multi-branch system of assistance created by a pharmaceutical company to aid and enhance the patient journey. Services are tailored to the individual, addressing a range of areas: education on a condition, liaising with a patient’s HCPs, helping with insurance coverage, ensuring proper usage of medication, and experts on call to answer questions about treatment, as well as how to incorporate it successfully into a person’s lifestyle. From the patients’ perspectives, these programs help to alleviate any uncertainty and fear they’re likely to have during their journeys. On the other hand, HCPs are also greatly helped by PSPs because they understand that these fears exist, they want to address them in their care, yet they’re limited in their capabilities to offer supplemental guidance. These services fulfill a want and need on both ends for a personal, human touch, rather than a chatbot.
While we’re all prone to mistakes, the growth of our society’s geriatric population has increased the likelihood of dangerous error in medication consumption. Of course, they are not the only demographic that is susceptible and vulnerable to these events. According to an article by the National Library of Medicine, the “improper use” of medications occurs “in chronic patients, particularly in those who are…polymedicated, or multipathological.”
The bottom line: PSPs are a huge benefit to patients, HCPs, and the pharmaceutical companies that institute them. Patients are given the extra support they need in an often hard-to-navigate situation, HCPs are assured their patients are given the best care possible, and the brands that provide these programs can improve the success of their treatments, as well as offer something competitive.
