Patient Support programmes: Services

Click on the examples of different types of services to find out more:

  • Patient network website
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    This type of service typically comprises a website that facilitates direct interaction between patients. It is usually built around an online discussion forum or chat room. Patients may have the opportunity to upload information and to share information about themselves and how they are managing their illness. As a nominated signatory you need to consider data privacy arrangements and AstraZeneca’s responsibility regarding content e.g adverse event reporting.

  • Home care
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    With this type of service, AstraZeneca would fund qualified health professionals to visit patients in their home. This might be to give treatment or to teach the patient how to self-medicate. The health professional might be directly employed by AstraZeneca, a specialist third-party provider or a member of the treating physician’s own team.
    The considerations should be related to data privacy, information accuracy and protecting the relationship between the patient and their treating physician.

  • Home delivery service
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    With this type of service, AstraZeneca pays for the delivery of medicine directly to the patient’s home. The delivery service does not comprise HCPs and no treatment is given. The delivery service is typically a specialist third-party provider. The considerations should be related to data privacy.

  • Telephone helpline
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    With this type of service, patients are typically given a telephone number they can call with any questions about their illness or about the medicine. A similar method might be to provide on-line chat with an HCP. The considerations should be related to data privacy, information accuracy and protecting the relationship between the patient and their treating physician.

    Pharmaceutical companies (including Medical Information) should never provide healthcare advice to individual patients but could sponsor an advice service provided by qualified healthcare professionals. It is imperative that such a service is not linked to use of AstraZeneca medicines.

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Consider this example

In the UK an anonymous ‘concerned citizen’ alleged that it was unethical for Novo Nordisk to staff its diabetes helpline with nurses who worked in diabetes clinics during the week.

The out-of-hours helpline was only for those patients on a Novo Nordisk medicine. The complainant felt that Novo Nordisk was thus pressurizing nurses to prescribe its products by paying for a service that let nurses have an extra source of income.

 

Ruling:

On investigation The Panel did not consider it was necessarily unacceptable for Novo Nordisk to employ nurses who worked in diabetic clinics to answer emergency telephone calls to the Novo Nordisk helpline as alleged. Nurses were bound by the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Conduct and so they should not allow such employment to influence them when working in the cinic during the day. Nor was it necessarily unacceptable for the helpline to provide emergency support only to patients using Novo Nordisk’s products. The Panel ruled that there had been no breach of the Code.