Supply chain disruptions forced 60% of rheumatologists to substitute medications
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Supply chain disruptions have forced nearly two-thirds of rheumatologists to substitute medications for their patients, according to survey results published by Cardinal Health.
In its new report, Cardinal Health stated that factors including supply chain disruptions and FDA warning labels have played a role in the changing patterns of how rheumatologists approach treatment decisions. In one of its findings, the report states that 60% of the rheumatologists surveyed reported needing to make a substitution of medications for patients due to supply chain disruptions.
“Rheumatologists navigate many complex issues out of their control,” Peter Siavelis, the senior vice president and general manager of health system and provider distribution at Cardinal Health, said in the report. “Supply chain disruptions and shortages on critical therapies have affected almost every area of health care, causing physicians to switch patients to different medications or delay therapy altogether.”
In addition to supply chain changes and disruptions, the FDA black box warning on Janus kinase inhibitors has reduced the percentage of rheumatologists who report they are willing to prescribe that medication class to patients.
Following the addition of a black box warning to JAK inhibitors, 72% of rheumatologists reported being “very likely” or “likely” to prescribe these medications to their patients, compared with 78% of rheumatologists who reported prescribing Janus kinase inhibitors “very often” or “often” before the warning was added.
“Overall, our survey shows that rheumatologists have swiftly adapted to changes outside of their control,” Gordon K. Lam, MD, FACR, the medical director of clinical research at Arthritis and Osteoporosis Consultants of the Carolinas, wrote in the report. “As dynamics continue to shift, it will be interesting to see how they respond to other challenges.”
According to Cardinal Health, the web-based surveys were conducted among more than 100 rheumatologists at community- and hospital-based practices, from July through September.
The report additionally acknowledges increasing comfortability with biosimilars. According to the survey, 76% of rheumatologists are “very familiar” with biosimilars, up from 53% during the 2020 survey. Additionally, 94% of rheumatologists are “very” or “somewhat” comfortable prescribing biosimilars, up from 90% in 2020.
“Our 2022 survey shows a remarkable increase in both the familiarity and comfort in prescribing biosimilars compared to 2020,” Sonia Oskouei, PharmD, BCMAS, DPLA, the vice president of biosimilars at Cardinal Health, said in the report. “This growth in both familiarity and comfort in prescribing follows trends seen in other therapeutic areas as biosimilar adoption increases over time.”
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts