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A3024 - Inhaler Use Confidence and Treatment Adherence Among Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients Using Neohaler®: Analysis of Physician Perceptions from a US Survey
Author Block: V. Ganapathy1, C. Dembek1, M. Small2, K. Rajagopalan1; 1Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., Marlborough, MA, United States, 2Adelphi Real World, Bollington, United Kingdom.
Rationale: Patients’ confidence with correct use of handheld inhalers per instructions may have implications for treatment adherence in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Neohaler is a handheld inhaler that has specific instructions for use, and the flexibility to allow patients to visually check to determine whether all the dose was inhaled, and to inhale any remaining dose. Using data from a real-world survey of physicians who prescribed Neohaler for COPD patients, we describe the patient characteristics and physician perceptions regarding symptom severity, confidence in correct inhaler use, and treatment adherence. Methods: Data from the 2012 Adelphi US Respiratory Disease Specific Programme, a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of US physicians treating COPD were analyzed. Each participating physician (n=52) who also prescribed Arcapta® (indacaterol) Neohaler®, the only Neohaler medication available in 2012, completed six record forms on patients seen for usual care (five random COPD patients, one to two for those using Neohaler). Perceived confidence with correct use of inhaler and adherence was measured on a 5-point Likert scale (“no” to “completely”). Data were analyzed for all Neohaler patients (patients using Neohaler only and Neohaler + other inhalers). Means and proportions were reported for continuous and ordinal variables, respectively. Results: Of the 79 completed record forms on all patients using Neohaler, mean age and time since diagnosis was 63±9.4 and 4.5±5.0 years, respectively. Physicians reported that 84% of patients had moderate (54%) or severe (30%) COPD. Patients’ symptoms were perceived to be equally bothersome during the day and night (49%). Physicians reported that among all patients using Neohaler, 74% were “very confident” (43%) or “completely confident” (31%) with using their inhalers correctly, and 80% of patients were “very adherent“ (47%) or “completely adherent” (33%) with their treatment. Among a subgroup of patients using Neohaler only (n=31), physicians perceived that 77% were “very confident” (29%) or “completely confident” (48%) with using their inhaler correctly, and 81% of patients were “very adherent” (39%) or “completely adherent” (42%) with their treatment regimen. Conclusions: Based on a US survey, physicians treating patients with COPD perceived that nearly 8 in 10 patients using Neohaler were very confident or completely confident with using their inhaler correctly as instructed, and most patients were perceived to be adherent to treatment. New research is underway to better understand patient-reported confidence with inhaler use and its observed impact on treatment adherence.