Survey of Customers Requesting Medical Information: Preferences and Information Needs of Patients and Health Care Professionals to Support Treatment Decisions

Abstract

Pharmaceutical manufacturer medical information (MI) departments play an important role in providing medical information to health care professionals (HCPs) and patients. A survey was conducted to gather insights on the utility of MI services and to understand the information needs/preferences to support therapy decisions. Patients (n=40) and HCPs (n=192) who requested medical information in a 3-month time frame from 4 companies were surveyed (15 questions for patients; 28 questions for HCPs). Patients contacted MI departments for information on concerns about side effects, efficacy information, access/insurance coverage, how to take the medicine, switching medicine, how the medicine works, comparison to another medicine, medical condition information, and participating in trials. Patients reported that the medical information received changed the perception toward the treatment in the following ways: learned something new about the treatment, provided more confidence to talk to an HCP, and were potentially more likely to start treatment. Health care professionals requested medical information related to dosing, safety, patient selection, and differentiating between therapeutic options. The HCPs used the medical information to take an action (eg, managing treatment for patients or deciding to prescribe a medicine), to support informing-type of activities (eg, help guide discussions with patients, plan to use information for future treatment decisions/discussion, help with insurance coverage determination, or help to enroll patients into ongoing clinical trials), and to meet an education need (eg, self-education or sharing information with practice/colleagues). These results describe patients' and HCPs' information needs/preferences that provide MI departments potential areas for enhancing services.