Oriola and Pfizer studied the adherence to neuropathic pain medication in Finland

A study on the treatment and patient counselling for the management of neuropathic pain with Lyrica was executed by Oriola´s Farenta expert services in collaboration with Pfizer. The recently published results describe for the first time adherence to neuropathic pain medication in Finland.

The results were published in an online article on www.bestpract.fi and in a printed article in the journal BestPractice Diabetes and Heart Diseases. The results show that patient guidance is limited, resulting in the improper use of medication. Patients most commonly stay on a low initial dose and do not escalate it. The results suggest that the use of Lyrica is not implemented optimally in the neuropathic pain treatment regimen, the dosages often remain low, treatment is interrupted because of various reasons before the therapeutic dose has been reached and patients are frequently not monitored for treatment outcome.

Authors of the article, Maija Haanpää, Consultant Neurologist and Adjunct Professor in Neurology at Helsinki University Hospital and Nora Hagelberg, Docent and Director of Paimio-Sauvo health center, list the best practices and fundamental principles of the treatment of neuropathic pain with Lyrica. According to their article, both physicians and pharmacists play an essential role in supporting the success of treatment. In the article it is recommended that the pharmacist discusses with the patient regarding their expectations on treatment and the details of starting treatment. Pharmacies can also guide patients using Lyrica to Finnish patient treatment support site  www.hermokipu.fi where patients can find comprehensively reliable information about neuropathic pain and Lyrica.

The real world data for the study was collected directly from patients through Oriola´s network of research pharmacies in Finland. Read the article presenting study results (in Finnish) here.

Learn more about Oriola´s real world data services here.