Fewer hospital visits, fewer logistical problems for patients, family members and simplified management of disease monitoring.
The pandemic required new solutions, different organizational methods for the benefit of patients and healthcare facilities.
This is the origin of the “Caring My Life” and “Patients Matter” home blood collection projects promoted by Novartis and aimed, respectively, at patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) and Polycythemia Vera (PV).
CML and PV are two haematological neoplasms that require frequent monitoring, with blood sampling, to verify the progress of the disease and the effectiveness of the therapies.
Patients will be able to monitor them from home, with the possibility of modulating the periodicity of the checks if necessary.
The “Caring My Life” project, for patients with CML, is active at the S. Eugenio Hospital in Rome, the University Hospital Consortium Policlinico di Bari and the Federico II Polyclinic in Naples, while for patients with PV, the “Patients Matter” project is operational at the Vito Fazi Hospital in Lecce, the A. Gemelli IRCCS University Polyclinic in Rome and the Careggi Hospital in Florence.
“The treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia has been revolutionized by the arrival of TKI therapies, which have made it possible to achieve important results in terms of disease control, making it possible in many cases to remission free from treatment, with a significant impact on quality of life of patients, who can also live long-term without having to undergo any therapy – comments Fabrizio Pane, Full Professor of Hematology at the Federico II University of Naples and Director of Hematology AF of the same University Hospital – After the suspension of treatment i patients have to undergo frequent checks, with the need for numerous blood samples, which during the health emergency led to difficulties in management. The introduction of a home collection service therefore goes in the direction of simplifying the monitoring of the disease, which, starting from the pandemic emergency, will be able to guide the reorganization of services and management and organizational models in the coming months “.
A theme, that of monitoring the disease, which also unites patients with Polycythemia Vera, a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by an excessive production of red blood cells, which involves an increase in blood viscosity and, consequently, in the hematocrit, a value that requires constant monitoring and attention, through frequent blood tests.
The “Patients Matter” project is dedicated to patients with Polycythemia Vera, as explained by Valerio De Stefano, Full Professor of Hematology and Director of the Operating Unit Complex Service and Day Hospital of Hematology of the Agostino Gemelli IRCCS University Polyclinic Foundation: “In recent years the objectives of the treatment of polycythemia vera have focused on reducing the risk and mortality from cardiovascular causes. This was possible thanks to the implementation of studies that generated guidelines aimed at an appropriate and stringent use of antiplatelet and cytoreductive drugs, in addition to the practice of bloodletting. It is now established that a hematocrit value equal to or less than 0.45 is associated with a significant reduction in vascular events. Frequent blood samples are therefore necessary to verify the effectiveness of the treatment and check the hematocrit values, with the need for patients to often go to the hospital, despite the risks and difficulties associated with the pandemic and a considerable logistical burden. . The home blood count program to which we have joined responds precisely to the need to lighten this burden for patients, favoring home monitoring of the hematocrit, in constant connection with the reference hematologist “.
Both projects envisage that, on the basis of the indications provided by the reference hematologist, the blood sampling is carried out at home by a nurse who then delivers the sample to the reference laboratory. Thanks to these programs, the patients involved will be able to free up resources and time previously dedicated to the management of the disease, to dedicate them to their personal life while continuing to be followed by their haematologist.
“We are happy to be able to give life to these projects to support patients in the area, thanks to the collaboration with numerous hospitals throughout Italy – comments Luigi Boano, General Manager of Novartis Oncology Italy – Our historical commitment in hematology has its roots in research and in the development of innovative therapeutic solutions, but it goes beyond therapies, to focus on the needs of patients in the multiple aspects of the daily management of the disease “.