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Online decision tool helps IBD patients choose biologic therapy
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Researchers have developed a new online tool designed to help patients with inflammatory bowel disease navigate different options for biologic therapy and decide which one would work best for them, according to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology’s “Putting Patients First” special issue.
Christopher V. Almario, MD, MSHPM, of the division of health services research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and colleagues conducted a survey of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to determine exactly what they wanted from their treatment.
“There are many different options for patients with IBD, and it can be difficult for them to navigate the pros and cons of the different options,” Almario told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease.
Almario and colleagues surveyed 304 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 336 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and used conjoint analysis to determine how the patients made complex decisions regarding therapy options. The investigators asked questions to determine the importance of attributes associated with different biologic therapies, such as efficacy, side effect profile and mechanism of action.
The researchers found that they could not predict patient preference based on patient demographics or IBD characteristics.
However, they did find IBD type was an indicator of preference. Patients with CD were more likely to report side effect profile as the most important attribute in biologic therapy (OR = 1.63; 95%, 1.16–2.3), while patients with UC were more likely to choose therapeutic efficacy (OR = 1.41; 95% CI, 1.01–2).
Therefore, Almario and colleagues developed an online decision tool called IBD&me – sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceuticals – that uses the data provided in the survey to help patients with IBD choose the biologic therapy that works best for them.
“Because of the highly personalized nature of biologic decision-making, we created an online decision tool called IBD&me that supports patients in shared decision-making and optimizes personalized biologic selection with their provider,” Almario said. “Use of IBD&me may also improve patient satisfaction, adherence to the chosen medicine, and ultimately IBD outcomes.”– by Alex Young
Disclosures: The study was funded by Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Please see the full study for the authors’ relevant disclosures.
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