Enbrel® (Etanercept) Survey
The license holder of Enbrel® approached Patients Direct with a number of questions relating to the use of their anti biologic agent. This product has a number of different indications (from Rheumatoid Arthritis to Psoriasis) and is given by injection, which if self administered requires training by a nurse.
The evaluation was set up to gather:
- description of patients started on Enbrel® by their specialist
- satisfaction with delivery and training of Enbrel®
- outcomes of patients – quality of life
- adherence of patients and reasons for stopping
This information could then be used for comparing real life use to existing clinical guidelines, evaluate the third party service arrangements, reinforce data used in health technology assessment submissions, understand why patients discontinue their medication including options for education and encouragement to increase adherence. The original project was to gather information at monthly intervals up to 6 months and has recently been extended to 24 months follow up with questionnaires every 3 months.
344 patients have been enrolled into the evaluation, the majority having Rheumatoid Arthritis. Other conditions include Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.
Baseline data on patient characteristics have been submitted for publication in a peer reviewed journal and 2 abstracts have been accepted by the EADV (European Association Dermatology and Venerology) in Lisbon October 2011.
