How MS Patients Judge Their Treatments Differs from Doctors’ Views, Study Reports

Patricia Silva, PhD avatar

by Patricia Silva, PhD |

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MS survey

Considerable differences exist in how multiple sclerosis patients, healthcare providers and insurance companies assess the value of current MS treatments, according to a literature review study by the data analysis firmĀ Real Endpoints.

ForĀ the study, a team of clinicians and researchers looked at more thanĀ 300 research articles, covering topics like disease heterogeneity, patient preference, and disease economics, and surveyed 90 people knowledgeable about this area: 30 MS patients, 30 insurance “payers,” and 30 neurologists treating people with MS.

The survey was performedĀ using the RxScorecard drug-value assessment framework, an evidence-based tool that scores and compares drugs developed to treatĀ a particular disease.

Preliminary results suggest that the population at large do not grasp the full variability in preferences and treatment value that exists between patients, payers and physicians, and the study’s authors suggest thatĀ more research is necessary.

Key findings of the study include:

  • Payers and physicians Ā define value differently than patients, with patients placingĀ value a drugā€™s effect on symptoms and physicians and payers more focused on a treatment’s effect of disease progression, and relapses and theirĀ severity.
  • Safety issues, such as severity of a drug’s side effects and its interaction with other medications, was a bigger concernĀ for patients than for payers and physicians.
  • Patients were more concerned with out-of-pocket costs than payers, who were more concerned about the drugā€™s effect on other necessary healthcare services.
  • Patientsā€™ opinions on the value of MS therapies varied greatly, and more thanĀ those of payers orĀ physicians.
  • MS remains aĀ poorly understoodĀ disease because of its extremeĀ variability in disease course and treatment response among individual patients.

The team also reported thatĀ a potential disparity might existĀ between judgments of value at theĀ payer levelĀ (which can affectĀ coverage of MS treatments) and what patients might find most valuable in their own decision-making process regarding their treatment.

This variability should be considered in healthcare decision-making, the authors added.

According to aĀ press release, the study was funded by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and details documentation on its findings are expectedĀ to be releasedĀ shortly.