Nurses and Physician Assistants Play a Key Role in Patient Support, Want More Patient Resources from Pharma

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources Group finds that, as pharmas increasingly seek to differentiate their products and promote adherence through patient education and support resources, they should not neglect nurses and physician assistants (PAs). The Taking the Pulse^® Nurses 2014 study has found that 79 percent of nurse practitioners (NPs) and 69 percent of PAs provide or recommend patient support resources to patients. NPs and PAs, in particular, are an important audience for pharmas, since they write prescriptions and enjoy broad autonomy in their practices. There is substantial demand for patient resources from pharma among these professionals – nearly two in five physician assistants agree that they would feel motivated to engage pharma digital assets more often if pharmas provided them more resources that they could share with their patients.

Other key findings from the Taking the Pulse^® Nurses 2014 study include:

• Increasing patient education: NPs and PAs are spending more time on patient education – 47 percent of PAs and 43 percent of NPs say the time they spend on patient education has increased over the past two years.
• Health professionals' use of EHRs: NPs and PAs spend much more time using electronic health records (EHRs) than physicians do – where physicians spend an average 2.8 hours per day using EHRs, PAs spend 4.4 hours in EHRs and NPs 4.7 hours. EHR use by these professionals increased significantly from 2013 to 2014, without a corresponding decrease in time spent on other digital resources.  
• Interest in pharma digital resources: There is strong interest among NPs and PAs in pharma digital resources tailored to their clinical and professional needs – for example, 42 percent of NPs indicated that they would be inclined to engage pharma digital resources more often if they were tailored to patient populations of interest.   

Comments from Principal Analyst Matthew Arnold:

• "Nurses and PAs are really healthcare reform's front line, and they play an important role in patient engagement. Those pharma companies that are making substantial investments in patient resources should factor the needs of these professionals into their outreach plans."
• "The top priorities communicated to nurses and PAs by hospitals and practices were patient satisfaction, quality of care and patient outcomes, so you can see the impact of healthcare reform-driven incentives on the provision of care, and those measures are fueling investment in patient-centric pill-plus add-ons by pharmas."

Additional Resources:

• Matthew Arnold, Principal Analyst, has written a blog on the subject, which can be found here.

About Taking the Pulse^® Nurses 2014

Taking the Pulse^® Nurses 2014 strategic advisory service and insights are based on in-depth, online study of 700 U.S. nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants conducted in Q2 2014. The study is focused on understanding how nurses and PAs use technology and information sources for professional purposes; their role in patient care and adherence; and how they want to engage with pharma digital content and services and reps.

For more information, please visit www.manhattanresearch.com/ttpnurses, email [email protected], or call 1.888.680.0800.

About Decision Resources Group

Decision Resources Group offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on critical issues within the healthcare industry. Manhattan Research, a Decision Resources Group company, is the industry's leading expert in digital marketing and innovation strategy for life sciences companies. Their studies of patients and healthcare professionals span 23 countries and over 70 therapeutic categories. Through their research and strategic advisory services, they help clients stay on top of fast-moving industry trends and develop digital marketing strategy that works. Find out more at www.manhattanresearch.com  and www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com.

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For more information, contact:

Decision Resources Group
Christopher Comfort
781-993-2597
[email protected]

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SOURCE Decision Resources Group