Use of an educational support program to assist patients receiving injectable osteoporosis treatment: experience with teriparatide.

OBJECTIVE: Low treatment adherence and persistence are important considerations in the management of chronic disorders such as osteoporosis, as they are linked to the reduced effectiveness of drug therapy. As teriparatide (Forsteo, Eli Lilly and Company, Alcobendas, Spain) is administered by subcutaneous injection using a customized delivery device for 24 months to reduce fracture risk in patients with osteoporosis, an educational support program was developed to assist patients with correctly administering the treatment.
METHODS: All patients in Spain can voluntarily participate in this ongoing program, which consists of up to 22 phone calls, by a qualified and licensed nurse trained in use of the delivery device, that are designed to improve patients' knowledge of, and to provide a reminder as to how to use, the device. Patients are also sent educational material regarding the delivery device and osteoporosis, and regularly receive needles suitable for the device. This study presents persistence data for all 23,069 patients registered in the program and prescribed teriparatide between September 2007 and June 2010.
RESULTS: Persistence in the program was 90.8% at 3 months, 83.5% at 6 months, 74.8% at 12 months, 68.5% at 18 months, and 64.1% at 24 months. Patient satisfaction with the educational support program was high at all assessment times, and patients generally found the delivery device easy to use.
CONCLUSIONS: These results show that patients from all provinces in Spain with severe osteoporosis receiving teriparatide and enrolled in an educational support program had high persistence and satisfaction with the program. However, no control group was included in these analyses and it is possible that selection bias occurred. It is suggested that patient-based strategies similar to this could be beneficial for all long-term treatments.