JointHealth™ express February 28, 2014
Call for patient input on treatment for psoriatic arthritis
Do you have psoriatic arthritis or care for someone who does? We want your valuable input.
On January 21 of this year, Health Canada approved ustekinumab for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis. Now, the Common Drug Review (CDR) is welcoming input on the manufacturer’s submission of ustekinumab (Stelara®) for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) from patients and their caregivers.
The CDR is part of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). The CDR conducts objective, rigorous reviews of the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs, and provides formulary listing recommendations to the publicly funded drug plans in Canada (except Quebec).
To help them make their recommendations, the CDR accepts input from patient groups, like Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE). We would like to gather your views and share them with the CDR.
These are the questions they are asking:
Please contact us at info@jointhealth.org to provide your input or arrange for a phone interview.
Call for patient input on treatment for psoriatic arthritis
Do you have psoriatic arthritis or care for someone who does? We want your valuable input.
On January 21 of this year, Health Canada approved ustekinumab for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis. Now, the Common Drug Review (CDR) is welcoming input on the manufacturer’s submission of ustekinumab (Stelara®) for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) from patients and their caregivers.
The CDR is part of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). The CDR conducts objective, rigorous reviews of the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs, and provides formulary listing recommendations to the publicly funded drug plans in Canada (except Quebec).
To help them make their recommendations, the CDR accepts input from patient groups, like Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE). We would like to gather your views and share them with the CDR.
These are the questions they are asking:
- What are the psoriatic arthritis (PsA) related symptoms and problems that impact the patient's day-to-day life and quality of life? For example: what aspects of PsA are more important to control, how does PsA affect day-to-day life, and are there any activities that the patient is not able to do as a result of psoriatic arthritis?
- How well are patients managing their psoriatic arthritis with currently available treatments? Examples of the types of information to be included in the answer are:
- What therapy are patients using for PsA?
- How effective is current therapy in controlling the common aspects of PsA?
- Are there adverse effects that are more difficult to tolerate than others?
- Are there hardships in accessing current therapy?
- Are there needs, experienced by some or many patients, which are not being met by current therapy?
- What are these needs?
- What challenges do caregivers face in caring for patients with psoriatic arthritis?
- How do treatments impact on the caregivers' daily routine or lifestyle?
- Are there challenges in dealing with adverse effects related to current therapy?
- Based on no experience with ustekinumab, what are the expectations for the medication?
- Is it expected that the lives of patients will be improved by ustekinumab, and how?
- Is there a particular gap or unmet patient need in current therapy that ustekinumab will help alleviate?
- Would patients be willing to experience serious adverse effects with ustekinumab if they experienced other benefits from the medication?
- How much improvement in the condition would be considered adequate? What other benefits might ustekinumab have, for example, fewer hospital visits or less time off work?
- What experiences have patients had to date with ustekinumab as part of a clinical trial or through a manufacturer's compassionate supply?
- What positive and negative effects does ustekinumab have on the condition?
- Which symptoms does ustekinumab manage better than the existing therapy and which ones does it manage less effectively?
- Does ustekinumab cause adverse effects?
- Which adverse effects are acceptable and which ones are not?
- Is ustekinumab easier to use?
- How is ustekinumab expected to change a patient's long-term health and well-being?
Please contact us at info@jointhealth.org to provide your input or arrange for a phone interview.
Arthritis Consumer Experts
ACE thanks Arthritis Research Canada (ARC) for its scientific review of ACE and JointHealth™ information and education programs.