Physicians’ perspectives on the treatment of osteoporosis patients with bisphosphonates

Abstract

Background

Noncompliance with bisphosphonate therapy among osteoporosis patients attenuates the reduction of fracture risk. The objective of this study was to assess physicians’ prescribing considerations, preferences for osteoporosis treatments, and perceptions of patients’ compliance with oral bisphosphonates.

Methods

This was an online survey of US physicians identified in the HealthCore Integrated Research Database (HIRD^SM) as prescribing oral bisphosphonates to women aged ≥55 years. The survey gauged physicians’ prescribing considerations and preferences for various types of osteoporosis medications. The physicians were asked to predict patient persistence and compliance, and rate various reasons for noncompliance.

Results

Bone mineral density, long-term medication use (eg, corticosteroids), and a history of fracture were ranked as major considerations by 94.9%, 88.6%, and 86.7% of participating physicians (N=158), respectively, when deciding whether to treat an osteoporosis patient. Most physicians expressed a preference for prescribing weekly or monthly oral bisphosphonates, for both newly diagnosed patients (54.4% and 34.2%, respectively) and long-term users of oral bisphosphonates (40.5% and 36.1%, respectively). Most physicians (23.4% always, 58.9% sometimes) incorporated a drug holiday into their prescribing patterns. Although most physicians predicted that more than half of the patients would comply with the prescribed medication for at least a year, 17.7% predicted that less than half of the patients would be compliant in the 1st year, and 29.7% predicted the same result for compliance beyond 1 year. In the opinion of the majority of physicians, the major reasons for noncompliance with oral bisphosphonates were intolerance of a medication due to a gastrointestinal condition (71.5%) and medication side effects (69.6%).

Conclusion

US physicians consider several relevant risk factors when deciding whether to prescribe pharmacotherapy and exhibit a preference for weekly or monthly regimens. The physicians estimated a substantial minority of the patients to be noncompliant with oral bisphosphonates, for reasons including primarily gastrointestinal intolerance and medication-related side effects.

Keywords:

• osteoporosis
• bisphosphonates
• physician’s practice patterns
• cross-sectional studies
• patient compliance

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Anna Kaufman, MPH, and Melissa Stauffer, PhD, in collaboration with SCRIBCO, for medical writing assistance. The study was funded by Merck & Co., Inc.

Disclosure

At the time of the study JY was an employee of Merck & Co., Inc. JJS and TG are employees of HealthCore, which received funding from Merck & Co., Inc. to perform the analyses. At the time of the study DFEL was an employee of HealthCore.

Author contributions

JJS contributed to the design of the study and the development of the survey instrument. JY contributed to the design of the study. TG, DFEL, and JJS managed, analyzed, and interpreted the data. All authors contributed toward data analysis, drafting and revising the paper and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.