Friday 22 de May 2020
17.00 h.

The incorporation of the patient into post-COVID decision-making

During the first of our virtual meetings, we were able to see how eHealth, understood as the set of Information and Communication Technologies (I.C.T.s), used in the health environment in terms of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, as well as health management, is going to be implemented exponentially. And the experts referred to several initiatives that had already been launched quite successfully, such as telemedicine and home delivery of medicines.

From the point of view of health policy, various individuals have suggested that possibly the ‘voice of the patient’ during the crisis has been considered too passive, similar to that of the general population, whose fundamental objective has been to ‘flatten the curve.’ However, patient associations have also highlighted the apparent importance of connecting patients and health professionals during this pandemic. And on 18 April (European Patients’ Rights Day), they pointed out that this relationship should not be an exception or forgotten. They released a manifesto that looks into the eyes and listens, proposing a more humane medicine.

It seems clear that we are in a moment of change, although we do not know its magnitude and meaning. At the macro level, working groups related to the WHO and regulatory agencies are developing various practical initiatives to include patients as key subjects in the development, market access, and safe use of medicines. And they also propose the development of I.C.T.s to incorporate patients into effective communication with doctors and the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, with regulators, managers, and academia. At the macro level, models such as developed by the ‘Programa d’Harmonització Farmacoterapèutica de Catalunya’ in which patients are effectively incorporated into the evaluation and prioritization of medicines seem to be an example to follow.

Possibly, some of the aspects that are being worked on as of late and that can be accelerated by the current crisis situation are those related to an adequate assessment of health outcomes, trying to incorporate variables that matter to patients, and encouraging patients through the use of I.C.T.s to be the ones who quantify those variables. It is also interesting to recall the insufficient use of Real World Evidence today, except for some commendable proposals. There is an essential discussion on the value propositions of therapeutic Innovation, mainly in oncological therapies, with a clear focus on efficacy and safety and minimal on other variables of importance to patients. And this links directly to various proposals that suggest incorporating other criteria for assessing and incorporating drugs into health systems.

It is also necessary to think about the change of model in the doctor-patient relationship that we are experiencing. We are moving away from the paternalistic model of relationship and towards a shared decision-making model, where the professional will behave as an influential advisor to the patient in which they jointly value the different options and make consensual decisions, taking into account the patient’s values and preferences. This model requires the development of short, synthetic, and methodologically valid shared decision-making tools and a more rigorous assessment of priorities that can provide valuable information in the consultation and at the manager/regulator level (conjoint analysis).

To reflect on all these points, we have an excellent panel of opinion leaders, with diverse areas of expertise. Vicente Escudero, Pharmacist of the Hospital Gregorio Marañón; Caridad Pontes, Medical Manager of the Servei Catalá de Salut; Josep Piera, Head of the Medical Oncology Service of the UGC de Oncología de Gipuzkoa del HU Donostia-Onkologikoa; and Natacha Bolaños, Global Alliances Manager of the Lymphoma Coalition, who will be moderated by Luis Lizán, director of Outcomes’10.

Webinar speakers

CARIDAD-PONTES
Dra. Caridad Pontes
Drug Manager
Catalan Health Service

Doctor of Medicine and Specialist in Clinical Pharmacology.

Dr. Caridad Pontes is currently Medical Manager at Servei Catalá de la Salut.

She has experience in Clinical Pharmacology Services of the public health care network, the private pharmaceutical company, and the management responsibilities of the Catalan Ministry of Health.

She is also been an Associate Professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and a European Expert of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products since 2011. In addition, she collaborates as a scientific consultant for the European Medicines Agency.

NATACHA-BOLAÑOS-2
Sra. Natacha Bolaños
Global Alliances Manager
Lymphoma Coalition

Natacha has extensive experience in significant positions in patient associations in Oncology and Oncohaematology.

Before joining the Lymphoma Coalition Europe in October 2017, she worked with GEPAC (the leading Spanish cancer organization) in Madrid from 2011 and in AEAL (Spanish Association for Patients with Lymphoma, Leukaemia, and Myeloma) from 2013 as Head of Patients and Institutional Relations.

She has worked at the national and European levels, advocating for patient participation in higher quality health care decision-making. She is deeply committed to improving the quality of life of patients.

She has training in drug research and development (EUPATI, among others) and cancer rehabilitation through exercise.

JOSEP PIERA
Dr. Josep Piera
Head of the Medical Oncology Service
Oncology University of Gipuzkoa, HU Donostia-Onkologikoa

Doctor of Medicine from the U.A.B. Dr. Josep Piera is a specialist in Medical Oncology, having trained at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona.

Since 1987, he has worked in San Sebastian, where he is currently Head of the Medical Oncology Service at the Gipuzkoa Clinical Management Unit (Hospital Universitario Donostia – Onkologikoa).

Interested in applying new technologies to direct assistance and in the integrated approach to the patient's needs, he has experience in its application as support to the oncological patient during treatment.

vicente escudero
Dr. Vicente Escudero
Pharmacy Service
Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital

Doctor of Pharmacy and specialist in Hospital Pharmacy. Associate professor of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Dr. Vicente Escudero is Adjunct Pharmacist at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital since 2011, specializing in oncohaematology.

Author of numerous scientific publications and researcher of the Hospital Pharmacy and Pharmacogenomics Research Group of the Gregorio Marañón Health Research Institute, with lines of research focused on eHealth and patient-centered evaluation of health outcomes.

luis lizan
Luis Lizán
CEO
Outcomes´10

Outcomes'10 is a scientific and strategic consultancy specializing in Health Outcomes Research, Health Economics, and Market Access, collaborating with the Pharmaceutical Industry, Health Technology Industry, Health Professionals, Scientific Societies, Patient Associations, Business Schools, and Universities to develop innovative projects.

We are a multidisciplinary team of more than twenty professionals located in the excellent environment offered by the Science, Business, and Technology Park of Universidad Jaime I, which allows us to maintain a dynamic, agile and collaborative relationship with other working groups in the area of health and new technologies applied to management and research.

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