Expert panel: Findings from everyday care should be given greater consideration when it comes to drug information

18.10.2016 10:41

Despite considerable progress, patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) still do not receive optimal care in Germany. This became clear at a round table exchange of experiences to which Takeda invited medical experts, health scientists and representatives of health insurance companies in Berlin. As a starting point for improvements, strengthening health care research was discussed, the findings of which provide important practical information, especially for new medications, and thus represent an important addition to the approval studies carried out under standardized conditions.

Prof. Dr. med. Axel Dignaß, IBD expert and chief physician at the Agaplesion Markus Hospital in Frankfurt am Main, informed about new findings in the indications of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. It became clear that the data situation regarding new therapy options has developed significantly within two years compared to the data from clinical studies that are available at the time of approval and early benefit assessment.

Professor Dr. Gerd Glaeske, Professor of Drug Application Research at the University of Bremen, reference. He advocated regularly updating the information in this system with new findings: “A doctor's information system should serve to support doctors in their treatment decisions. In addition to the results of the early benefit assessment, ongoing findings from everyday care should be incorporated into this information system in order to reflect the current reality of care and also achieve broad acceptance.

In order for patients to benefit more quickly from new research results and receive the best possible treatment, even better networking and communication between general practitioners, specialists and specialized treatment centers appears necessary. This demand found support from Dr. med. Jan Helfrich, head of the outpatient services/contract management department at DAK Gesundheit, who in his remarks cited, among other things, an often delayed diagnosis as an obstacle to optimal care.