Direct-Ship-to-Patient Drug Sampling and Telemedicine

Our thought leadership piece from Pharmaceutical Executive magazine.

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting and fast-tracking advancements in our healthcare system. One notable area of interest is the rise of telemedicine, which has dramatically shifted the perception of care delivery. This increasingly useful way to manage patient encounters also brings to light the possibility of direct-ship-to-patient (DSTP) drug sampling.

If physicians can now prescribe medication via a telemedicine visit, it also makes sense to streamline the care process even further by allowing patients to receive drug samples directly to their door. The FDA is allowing this level of service to patients for a limited time as we continue to face the pandemic. DSTP drug sampling opens the door for streamlining the drug sample supply chain and automating regulatory compliance while supporting higher levels of patient medication adherence.

Once the benefit of DSTP drug sampling is seen during this initial phase, the demand and need for it will continue to grow, creating the real possibility for it to become a permanent offering for patients. Our research shows that before COVID-19, 27% of healthcare providers (HCPs) had some level of daily telemedicine patient encounters. During the pandemic, that number has grown to 85% of HCPs and is expected to be 74% post-COVID-19.

The importance of drug sampling has not changed. Drug samples are widely understood to:

• Provide valuable information about patient response to a new therapy.

• Increase patient compliance; 30% of patients only fill a new Rx (NRx) when provided a sample, regardless of their age, income, or gender.

• Enable patients to initiate treatment sooner.

• Increase patient satisfaction with the “care” experience.

Starting treatment sooner and saving patients money were the top benefits of drug sampling reported by 197 prescribers in a recent survey of SymmetryRx’s SampleCenterTM users. That is easy to understand with 40% of Americans reporting prescription cost issues and the understandable patient anxiety that can come with addressing a previously undiagnosed or untreated condition. Learn more.