Best Use of Thought Leadership
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects around 15% of children/young adults and 5% of adults worldwide. Through burdening patients and their families with health, financial and social pressures, as well as strains on mental wellbeing, treating and managing the effects of AD has become a priority for healthcare systems.
The far-reaching negative effects of AD are clear, as one sufferer’s words powerfully demonstrate: “Living with a more severe form of AD is a challenge at every age. For children it can have serious impacts on their development. Like not being able to concentrate at school, or being bullied. Adolescents face new challenges on top of all that. Sadly, under-treatment is still all too common.”
As part of their Quality of Care in Atopic Dermatitis initiative, Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron commissioned and funded a report and website from KPMG’s Healthcare and Life Sciences Strategy team which documents the challenges faced in the provision of AD care and how these are being addressed globally, with a view to sharing the learnings with the wider AD community, improve patient care and help alleviate the burden faced by people living with AD and their families.
To do so, KPMG carried out a thorough review of the scientific and medical literature and visited 32 AD centres around the world, where they interviewed team members involved in AD care. Wanting to keep a clear focus on practical findings that could benefit patients, KPMG identified 10 good practice interventions which were tested, validated and prioritised with a group of internationally recognised experts. The findings were documented into a report accessible to all which included over 150 case studies demonstrating how centres have implemented interventions, such as the use of technology and patient education initiatives. The findings were also presented on a purpose-built website for optimum user experience and engagement.
The research has achieved high impact to date, including being presented in a symposium at one of the world’s highest profile dermatology-related conferences – the annual European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) congress, which had nearly 11,000 attendees and over 100 registered journalists. The presentation at the symposium generated significant interest, discussion and questions from medical experts and practitioners. The symposium was rated the most interactive at the congress, recording the most questions and comments from the audience.
The results have also been covered in a number of leading healthcare and dermatology publications, while the website has received many thousands of visits since launch.
One dermatology expert commented: “To my knowledge, nothing quite like this has ever been done in AD before, and it stands as a compelling model for other diseases and treatment centres.”
By providing evidence-based and practical insights, KPMG as well as Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron hope to facilitate tangible improvements to the lives of people living with AD and their families.
View the KPMG profile in the MCA Members Directory.