Blog
Rethink patient support with in-home phlebotomy
Robyn Stoy, Director, Patient Engagement, Contract Sales and Medical Solutions, IQVIA
Nick Strickland, Laboratory Director, Patient Support at IQVIA
Jan 29, 2021

Non-adherence to prescribed therapy has long been a serious issue that may lead to detrimental consequences for patient outcomes. Indeed, an alarming number of patients with chronic conditions never even initiate their prescribed therapy. For instance, up to half of patients diagnosed with hyperlipidemia and nearly a third of those with HIV don’t fill their prescriptions,1 while those that do, too often discontinue use in the first year of treatment.

Phlebotomy schematics

The need to assess patients’ lab values prior to initiating therapy, or to monitor them over the course of therapy, is one more hurdle that exacerbates an already intractable problem. Traveling to a clinic to have blood drawn deters many patients from initiating and adhering to their therapy in the best of times, but now, this is especially onerous due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as individuals may be required to shelter in place.

Accessing in-home phlebotomy services, frequently used in decentralized clinical trials, is one solution to make it easier for patients during the pandemic and beyond.

IQVIA’s patient-centric approach

With IQVIA’s latest in-home phlebotomy services, nurses or phlebotomists can easily be deployed to support patients who are prescribed drugs for which blood draws or laboratory workups are requisite clinical standards. Our in-home phlebotomy services are structured to connect the multiple parties involved in the blood collection and analysis process.

  • First, the pharmaceutical company contracts with IQVIA, for either a standalone service, or as part of a more comprehensive Patient Support Program. Then, through marketing campaigns, the pharmaceutical company introduces the program to healthcare providers as an available service for patients going on therapy.
  • The prescribing physician makes a treatment decision and subsequently enrolls the patient in the program.
  • A nurse/phlebotomist is assigned to the patient based on geography and arranges a blood draw according to the patient’s availability. Then, the nurse or certified phlebotomist visits the patient’s home and conducts the prescribed blood draw.
  • The prescriber is notified when the blood draw is scheduled and completed.
  • The sample is sent either to the prescriber or directly to a lab for testing. In some cases, IQVIA can facilitate the lab analysis.
  • Lastly, the results are communicated to the HCP and the HCP discusses with the patient via the prescribing physician.

Ensuring a compliant process

The IQVIA program is designed to support specific prescriptions and is not a general phlebotomy service that physicians can request outside of the contract parameters; only the labs that are in the PI are to be ordered. To ensure that its service complies with all regulations and medical standards, it is structured so that

  • Patient enrollment in the program is driven by a prescription, which follows the treatment decision.
  • There is a firewall between the nurse/phlebotomist and sales roles.
  • The nurse/phlebotomist never discusses patient care or prescribing information with the patient.
  • Lab results are provided to the prescriber and via the prescriber, to the patient.

By utilizing IQVIA’s remote phlebotomy services, pharmaceutical companies can better support prescription adherence by ensuring patients receive and continue with their prescribed therapy by removing the laboratory access barrier. To learn more, contact us.

 

1 Final % claims not paid (1H20), IQVIA LAAD Claims Data.

female medical professionals reviewing information on laptop

Learn how you can overcome treatment barriers with a Clinical Network

Read the facts about deploying remote phlebotomy services to help patients start — and stay — on therapies.
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