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As more biosimilars become available, it remains important to educate patients and healthcare providers that these products are as safe and effective as the originator. This education is one way to improve uptake of biosimilars and prevent delays in treatment when payers prefer biosimilars and patients need to switch products, said Dr. explained Vincey Abraham, MD, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Fondren Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program. Weill Cornell, director of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship at Houston Methodist University;
Because payers control which products appear on prescriptions, healthcare providers can educate other healthcare providers about the safety and effectiveness of biosimilars and help healthcare providers feel more confident about biosimilars. He said healthcare providers have a primary role in increasing uptake, allowing them to prescribe similars and discuss switching to biosimilars with patients.
Sometimes patients are adamant about continuing to use the reference product. In that case, the provider’s role is to understand what is driving that preference and address the patient’s concerns. For example, if a patient is concerned that the disease will return when switching, a healthcare provider can explain the results of a switch study of similar patients who were taking the reference product and switched to the biosimilar.
Additionally, he noted that disease flare-ups may actually occur if patients request that their health care provider negotiate with their insurance company to continue using the reference product. This delay in treatment can increase the risk that the disease will worsen. Finally, patients may not realize that switching to a biosimilar will cost the same or be less than continuing to use the reference product.
Finally, when faced with a payer’s preference for a particular biosimilar, Abraham and her team choose the biosimilar that is most likely to gain approval quickly for patients. This is likely because the office staff is familiar with the approval process and the person on the other side. This makes the process of getting approval faster.