Medlior were pleased to present their research project MS patient characteristics and healthcare resource utilization from administrative databases: real-world evidence from Alberta, Canada sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., at the 32nd Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in London, UK on September 16th, 2016.
The study utilized administrative patient data requested from Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services in order to assess the impact of medication adherence to disease-modifying therapy on healthcare resource utilization among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in Alberta, Canada. Initial study highlights include:

• 2864 MS patients with a claim for a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) during the study period were identified.
• The majority of patients were 35 – 55 years old and female. The most common comorbidities included depression, anxiety, and hypertension.
• We found that66% of MS patients were adherent (defined as a medication possession ratio (MPR) ≥ 0.80) to their medication in the one-year follow up period.
• The rate of treatment discontinuation, measured as a >60 and > 90-day gap in treatment, was significantly lower among adherent patients than non-adherent patients.
• Among patients who switched DMTs during the follow-up period, 27% of patients on an injectable DMT and 47% of patients on an infusion DMT, switched onto an oral DMT. All patients identified as taking an oral DMT remained on an oral DMT.
• The proportion of patients taking oral medications increased across the study period, from 0.6% in 2011 to 22.9% in 2014.

The conference abstract and poster can be found on the ECTRIMS website For more information or for a copy of the poster, please contact the corresponding author Brittany Gerber <Brittany.gerber@nullmedlior.com>

A second set of findings on The Impact Of Treatment Adherence On Clinical And Economic Outcomes In Multiple Sclerosis: Real-World Evidence From Alberta, Canada will be presented at the 19th Annual European Congress of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR http://www.ispor.org/event/index/2016Vienna) in Vienna, Austria on October 31st, 2016. These results will highlight the impact of adherence on health system utilization and costs.

Written by: Brittany Gerber