Among maculopathies, age-related macular degeneration (DMLE) is the leading cause of vision loss in industrialized countries. In Italy it is estimated that about one million people are affected (between diagnosed and not) and about 50 thousand new cases are recorded every year. The treatment of maculopathies has significantly improved in recent years, with the introduction of anti-Vegf drugs (administered via intravitreal injections), which have proven effective in stabilizing or even improving visual acuity, as well as the quality of life of patients. . It is therefore evident that a fundamental element for the success of the therapy is the patient’s involvement in his own treatment path and in the knowledge of the tools necessary to deal with it. The virtual initiative ‘Ask the expert’, aimed at the public, and organized on the Facebook page of the Bayer campaign # salvarelavistasipuò was dedicated to information on maculopathies.
“We are increasingly realizing that the communication relationship between doctor and patient must be improved – said Massimo Nicolò, head of the Retina Medical Center and Maculopathies, Eye Clinic, San Martino Polyclinic in Genoa – for this reason I believe that initiatives like this are very useful, because in a simple and immediate way you can get in touch with a significant number of people, to whom you can clearly explain all the aspects of the world of maculopathies, including the therapeutic path. It is important that the patient knows-continues-that, if he is affected by a form of exudative maculopathy, he will have to be treated with intravitreal injections to be practiced at regular intervals and that, on average, in a year he will have to receive about 7-8 injections “.
“Fortunately, today, we know that drugs are available which, thanks to ad hoc therapeutic protocols, with the same efficacy, allow to significantly reduce the number of injections necessary to maintain the stability of the disease”, adds Nicolò. “It is however understandable. that a patient, during an eye examination, does not feel perfectly at ease and ‘forgets’ to ask a question to the specialist. With this initiative, it has been possible for those who have not had the opportunity to have a more in-depth comparison with your doctor to have the expected clarifications “.
“Today citizens consult the web about their health, because they have many questions to ask and need as much information. The problem is that on the web and especially on social media there are more fake news than rigorously validated news. For this reason patients must not be left alone. It is therefore important to be able to combine the style of social media, which now involves all of us and which is undoubtedly immediate, engaging and consistent with patients’ expectations, with the explanation of scientific information “, declares Guendalina Graffigna, full professor of Consumer and Health Psychology at the Catholic University of Cremona and director of the EngageMinds Hub research center, specialized in the promotion of patient engagement, who acted as a moderator on live Facebook, collecting questions from the public and referring them to the expert.
Launched in March 2020 – recalls bayer in a note – the campaign # salvarelavistasipuò has proven to be an important point of reference for those suffering from this disease, reaching about two million users, 28,000 of whom have become active followers on Facebook, where about 500 interact with the page daily. Over 3,500 patients and caregivers then, thanks to personalized content and services, embarked on a path of awareness of maculopathy. The page https://salvarelavistasipuo.paginemediche.it was created through the paginamediche.it platform, created to facilitate the doctor-patient relationship, which offers multimedia content and interactive tools useful in the pathology of understanding the pathology and in the management of therapeutic plan. On the occasion of the live # SalvareLavistaSiPuò ‘Ask the expert’, Pagine Mediche has amplified the contents of the initiative with the publication of new news, as well as the publication of an organic post simultaneously on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
“The web solutions applied to communication in the healthcare sector have considerably favored the dissemination of information and knowledge, improving patient awareness and facilitating the doctor-patient relationship – said Simona Gatti, Bayer’s Head of Medical Affairs Specialty – Intravitreal therapies have changed the course of macular degeneration, reducing the low vision caused by the disease. To ensure that improvements are maintained, however, it is essential that the therapy is tailor-made for each patient, who must be followed and encouraged, leading him to understand the importance of therapeutic appropriateness. Every treatment, even the most innovative, loses its effectiveness if it is not followed scrupulously. For this – he concludes – Bayer has always shown particular attention and sensitivity in favoring adherence to therapies, addressing patients in a simple and appropriate way, through methods and tools nti that technological evolution gradually makes available “.