ASBM Physician Survey Featured in Oncology Journal – Safe Biologics

ASBM’s recent survey of 401 U.S. physicians was featured in the October issue of the journal Oncology Practice Management. The article discussed a poster presentation given by ASBM Chairman Ralph McKibbin, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF at the Drug Information Association Global Annual Meeting (DIA 2022) on June 20th, in Chicago, IL. View the poster here. The survey findings consistently reflected the high importance to respondents of preserving patient and physician choice regarding treatment decisions. From the article:

Despite expressing a high level of confidence when it comes to switching to or prescribing a biosimilar, 58% of survey respondents said they were uncomfortable with third-party substitution for nonmedical reasons related to cost or coverage. In addition, 69% of respondents said it was “very important or critical” that patients and physicians collaborate on the decision to choose the most suitable biosimilar and 67% said that it was “very important or critical” that they were able to prevent a substitution they considered inappropriate.

Results of the survey also showed that the majority (71%) of physicians felt that payers should reimburse several biologics in a specific class, including the reference drug with its biosimilars, and 74% felt that private and public payers should base their decisions regarding biosimilars coverage on factors other than cost.

When asked about preferred biosimilar access, 81% said that their patients could be best served under the type of scenario used throughout most of Western Europe, in which biosimilars and reference products are both reimbursed and biosimilars may be encouraged for new patients, but automatic or pharmacy-level substitution is not allowed. Only 8% supported an access scenario used in several Canadian provinces, in which only a preferred, government-selected product is reimbursed and to which both new and stable patients must be switched. Eleven percent said that they are unsure.

Read the Oncology Practice Management article here.

View Dr. McKibbin’s poster presentation here.

View or download the poster here.

ASBM’s recent survey of 401 U.S. physicians was featured in the October issue of the journal Oncology Practice Management. The article discussed a poster presentation given by ASBM Chairman Ralph McKibbin, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF at the Drug Information Association Global Annual Meeting (DIA 2022) on June 20th, in Chicago, IL. View the poster here. The survey findings consistently reflected the high importance to respondents of preserving patient and physician choice regarding treatment decisions. From the article:

Despite expressing a high level of confidence when it comes to switching to or prescribing a biosimilar, 58% of survey respondents said they were uncomfortable with third-party substitution for nonmedical reasons related to cost or coverage. In addition, 69% of respondents said it was “very important or critical” that patients and physicians collaborate on the decision to choose the most suitable biosimilar and 67% said that it was “very important or critical” that they were able to prevent a substitution they considered inappropriate.

Results of the survey also showed that the majority (71%) of physicians felt that payers should reimburse several biologics in a specific class, including the reference drug with its biosimilars, and 74% felt that private and public payers should base their decisions regarding biosimilars coverage on factors other than cost.

When asked about preferred biosimilar access, 81% said that their patients could be best served under the type of scenario used throughout most of Western Europe, in which biosimilars and reference products are both reimbursed and biosimilars may be encouraged for new patients, but automatic or pharmacy-level substitution is not allowed. Only 8% supported an access scenario used in several Canadian provinces, in which only a preferred, government-selected product is reimbursed and to which both new and stable patients must be switched. Eleven percent said that they are unsure.

Read the Oncology Practice Management article here.

View Dr. McKibbin’s poster presentation here.

View or download the poster here.

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