Vandenplas Yannick, Simoens Steven, Van Wilder Philippe, Vulto Arnold G, Huys Isabelle
Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Ecole de Santé Publique, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2021 Feb 4;14(2):117. doi: 10.3390/ph14020117.
Biosimilar medicines support the sustainability of national healthcare systems, by reducing costs of biological therapies through increased competition. However, their adoption into clinical practice largely depends on the acceptance of healthcare providers and patients. Patients are different from health care professionals (HCPs), who are informing themselves professionally. For patients, the biosimilar debate only becomes actual when they are confronted with disease and drug choices. This paper provides a literature review on how patients are and should be informed about biosimilars, searching in scientific databases (i.e., Medline, Embase). Several large surveys have shown a lack of knowledge and trust in biosimilars among European patients in recent years. This review identified five main strategies to inform patients about biosimilars: (1) provide understandable information, (2) in a positive and transparent way, (3) tailored to the individual's needs, (4) with one voice, and (5) supported by audiovisual material. Moreover, the importance of a multistakeholder approach was underlined by describing the role of each stakeholder. Patients are a large and diffuse target group to be reached by educational programs. Therefore, patient associations have become increasingly important in correctly informing patients about biosimilar medicines. This has led to widespread biosimilar information for patients among European patient associations. Therefore, a web-based screening of European Patients' Forum (EPF) and International Alliance of Patients' Organizations (IAPO) member organizations on publicly available information about biosimilars was performed. We found that the level of detail, correctness, and the tone of the provided information varied. In conclusion, it is paramount to set up a close collaboration between all stakeholders to communicate, develop, and disseminate factual information about biosimilars for patients.
生物类似药通过增加竞争来降低生物疗法的成本，从而支持国家医疗保健系统的可持续性。然而，它们在临床实践中的应用很大程度上取决于医疗服务提供者和患者的接受程度。患者与医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）不同，后者会通过专业途径了解信息。对于患者来说，只有当他们面临疾病和药物选择时，生物类似药的讨论才会变得切实相关。本文对如何向患者告知生物类似药以及应该如何告知进行了文献综述，检索了科学数据库（即Medline、Embase）。近年来，几项大型调查显示欧洲患者对生物类似药缺乏了解和信任。本综述确定了向患者告知生物类似药的五种主要策略：（1）提供易于理解的信息，（2）以积极和透明的方式，（3）根据个人需求量身定制，（4）用统一的声音，（5）辅以视听材料。此外，通过描述每个利益相关者的作用，强调了多利益相关者方法的重要性。患者是教育项目要覆盖的庞大且分散的目标群体。因此，患者协会在正确告知患者有关生物类似药方面变得越来越重要。这导致欧洲患者协会向患者广泛提供了生物类似药信息。因此，对欧洲患者论坛（EPF）和国际患者组织联盟（IAPO）成员组织在公开可得的生物类似药信息方面进行了基于网络的筛选。我们发现所提供信息的详细程度、正确性和语气各不相同。总之，所有利益相关者之间建立密切合作以交流、开发和传播关于生物类似药的真实信息给患者至关重要。
