Posted by Michael Wonder on 17 Jul 2019
Majority of patients not asked for consent before being switched to a biosimilar, survey finds
17 July 2019 - The preliminary survey results showed that 52% of patients received a letter from hospital about switching to an adalimumab biosimilar, while just 23% said they had a face-to-face consultation with their consultant.
Less than half of patients (47%) were asked for their consent before being switched to an adalimumab biosimilar, according to the preliminary results of a patient survey carried out by the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS).
At a Westminster Health Forum policy conference on 16 July 2019, Sally Dickinson, head of information and support services at NASS — the only Ankylosing Spondylitis charity in the UK — presented the results, saying the aim of the survey was to look at patients’ experiences using the information provided by their hospital and their experience of the biosimilar product itself. It asked that patients were on the biosimilar for at least 12 weeks, or six injections, before answering the survey.
