Mahoney_edit.qxp 5/10/07 09:59 Page 24
Pen Pal Program
Figure 1: Patients’ Concerns about Preparing Fertility Medications Table 1: Patient Responses
Administered with a Conventional Syringe/Needle and Relief of
Those Concerns Using the Follistim Pen to Self-administer Follistim
Most Frequent Response
AQ Cartridge (follitropin beta)
Attribute Survey I—Syringe Method Users Survey II—Pen Users
number (%) number (%)
250 Number of daily injections Once per day: 188 (70) Once per day: 322 (70)
206
189 Follistim Pen
200
Medication preparation Presence of bubbles in the N/A
169
Syringe
concerns using the medication after mixing:
c
ern 151 152
138
c
on 150
syringe method 129 (48)
100 Medication preparation; N/A Mixing and reconstituting
Relief of
51
relief of concerns using the your medication: 325 (70)
50
Pen method
0
Confidence in the accuracy Somewhat agree: 121 (45) Strongly agree: 310 (67)
Number of respondents
50
of the dose
32
Comfort with performing Strongly disagree: 85 (32) Strongly agree: 242 (53)
c
ern
100
96 95
injections away from home
Con 112
150
139 134 130
Convenient to use Somewhat disagree: 103 (38) Strongly agree: 397 (86)
200
Simple and easy to use Somewhat disagree: 114 (42) Strongly agree: 392 (85)
Reconstitution Bubbles Mixing Spillage Filling Breakage Storage
Able to perform Good: 80 (30) Excellent: 311 (67)
Attributes
daily activities
Overall satisfaction Somewhat satisfied: 97 (36) Extremely satisfied:
Figure 2: Patients’ Overall Satisfaction with the Follistim
with method 371 (80)
Pen to Self-administer Follistim AQ Cartridge (follitropin beta)
Compared with the Conventional Syringe/Needle Method
Adequate education Strongly agree: 178 (66) Strongly agree: 423 (92)
Same 3%
Somewhat worse 1%
conventional syringe method. The HCPs were also asked to rate those
Somewhat better 13%
attributes that would lead them to recommend the Pen over the syringe
method. The attributes were rated using an eight-point scale in which
one was the most important and eight the least important. Once
completed, both the patient and HCP surveys were collected through
a co-ordinating center via pre-addressed, postage-paid envelopes.
Results
Patient Surveys
Much better 82%
A total of 611 patients were enrolled to participate in the survey. Of these,
466 patients (76%) returned both surveys. Two hundred and seventy
n=267
respondents (58%) had previously self-administered fertility medication
Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding
injections with a conventional syringe, and 196 (42%) had not previously
self-administered fertility medications. The most frequent responses of
used standard training materials provided by the sponsor. These materials patients to matched pairs of questions in both surveys are summarized in
included written instructions and a video presentation showing a woman Table 1. Overall, 80% of patients were “extremely satisfied” with the Pen,
giving herself an injection. while 36% of syringe users were “somewhat satisfied” (most frequent
response for each).
Prior to the training patients completed Survey I, which included
questions regarding previous self-administration of fertility medications, Patients who had previously self-administered fertility medications
if applicable. In Survey II, patients were asked to respond to questions reported concerns about the attributes of preparing their medication and
relating to their confidence in comprehending how to self-administer relief of those medication preparation concerns when using the Pen (see
their fertility medication and their satisfaction with the Pen. Questions Figure 1).
relating to preferences were structured using a five-point Likert scale.
The majority of patients who had previous experience of self-administering
Healthcare Provider (HCP) Surveys fertility medications preferred the Pen over the syringe method, with 82%
After patient enrollment and training at each clinic, a designated HCP at responding that the Pen was “much better” and 13% responding that the
the clinic was to complete the HCP survey. This 11-question survey was Pen was “somewhat better” than a syringe (see Figure 2).
designed to assess the ease/difficulty of educating patients on self-
administration with the Pen, including responding to patient calls to the Healthcare Provider (HCP) Surveys
clinic for additional assistance. The HCPs were asked to compare the A total of 45 HCPs (61%) from the 74 clinics responded to the HCP
effectiveness of current training materials for the Pen with those for the survey. Ninety-eight percent rated the Pen as “much better” or
24 FERTILITY TREATMENT REVIEW
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