Accessibility of Prophylaxis and On-demand Treatment for Persons With Haemophilia and Other Coagulation Deficiencies

Overview

The current treatment of people with haemophilia and other bleeding deficiencies is largely based on clotting factor replacement therapy. The injections can be repeated several times a week according to a personalized schedule. To date, medications are exclusively dispensed in hospital pharmacies to ensure traceability and safety. This retrocession imposes accessibility constraints on patients and on their caregivers, increasing the burden of the disease, particularly in the organization of personal and professional daily life. The PHAREO study aims to investigate patients' perception of accessibility to anti-haemophilia drugs in relation to an evaluation of spatial accessibility in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (France) in order to consider, if necessary, ways of improving the pathway for patients and their caregivers.

Haemophilia is a rare constitutional hemorrhagic disease whose drug management is based on the use of chronic lifelong replacement therapy. For many years, the reference treatment, particularly in children, has been based on the use of anti-haemophilic drugs for prophylaxis requiring repeated injections several times a week according to a personalized schedule. In contrast, on-demand treatment is less and less used, particularly in patients with severe forms of haemophilia. Clinical and biological diagnosis, as well as the implementation and monitoring of treatments, are carried out within specialized hospital care structures affiliated with the French national reference center. Medications are dispensed as part of hospital retrocessions. This organization imposes constraints on patients and their caregivers due to their limited accessibility. The burden related to this disease is probably due to the systematic use of specialized hospital teams such as doctors, nurses for self-injection training for example, and pharmacists. It now seems important to reflect on the evolution of patient pathways that were previously exclusively hospital-centred towards ambulatory care. To do this, various reflections need to be undertaken, including that relating to the accessibility of medication. Indeed, the monthly renewals of these chronic treatments force patients and their caregivers, as well as the parents of children, to go to the hospital, which frequently makes the organization of daily and professional life more cumbersome. The PHAREO study aims to investigate patients' perception of accessibility to anti-haemophilia drugs in relation to an evaluation of spatial accessibility in order to consider, if necessary, ways of improving the pathway for patients and their caregivers. The expected benefits of the study are to have: 1) an exhaustive description of the spatial accessibility of the cohort of people living with haemophilia to anti-haemophilia medication within the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region (France) and 2) a better understanding of their needs and their perceptions regarding access to on-demand and prophylactic treatments.