Much ado about PCSK9 inhibitor patient assistance programs that requires users to share rights to their personal health information. Is this a legitimate quid pro quo? That’s a tough question – but not the most important one.
The foundational question is, why do companies want this information? Because it has valuable public health applications. Cumulative, de-identified real world data will provide the company with outcomes intelligence that can be shared with payers, physicians, and the scientific community. For payers and physicians, it will help better define what subset of patients with high cholesterol should receive Repatha as first line therapy, avoiding a costly (both in terms of dollars and cardiovascular health) “fail first” step-therapy scenario. And the information will allow researchers to better focus their efforts on expanding our understanding of the PCSK9 universe and the potential development of companion diagnostics.
All good reasons to have patients share their data. But should it be an “either/or” proposition? It needn’t be. Why not make such data sharing voluntary? Let patients know that by sharing their personal information they are helping “people like them” get diagnosed more directly and achieve better health results more rapidly. People want to do the right thing – but they have to understand why and how. Under this scenario the innovative biopharmaceutical industry can be the facilitators of better, more cost-efficient outcomes and be hailed as healthcare heroes.
Which is a lot better than what they’re currently being called.
