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Diffusion of innovations: treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Germany

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Jörg Ruof
  • Thomas Mittendorf
  • Olaf Pirk
  • J. Matthias Graf Von Der Schulenburg

External Research Organisations

  • Hannover Medical School (MHH)
  • Fricke and Pirk GmbH

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)59-66
Number of pages8
JournalHEALTH POLICY
Volume60
Issue number1
Early online date28 Feb 2002
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2002

Abstract

Systematic barriers seem to slow down the market penetration of innovative acethylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors in Alzheimer's disease. The goal of our study was to examine the diffusion of AChE inhibitors into the German market in more detail. On the basis of using the ongoing surveillance panel of the Institute of Medical Statistic (IMS) Health, the prescription patterns of 100 physicians (72 general practitioners, 28 neurologists) were examined. In addition, structured telephone interviews with the same 100 physicians were conducted. The interview included the assessment of a hypothetical treatment situation (i.e. physicians were asked what they would prescribe if a close relative of theirs had Alzheimer's disease) as well as qualitative items examining the physicians' attitudes towards AChE inhibitors and the perceived impact on drug budgets. As a major result, the analysis revealed that neurologists prescribed AChE inhibitors to 44.6% of their patients, while general practitioners only treated 9.0% of their patients with AChE inhibitors. The analysis of the qualitative items revealed positive attitudes regarding the safety and efficacy of AChE inhibitors, but negative attitudes regarding the budgetary limitations to prescribing these drugs. A correlation of r=0.21 (P<0.05) was found between the perceived impact on drug budgets and the adoption of AChE inhibitors and a correlation of r=0.32 (P<0.002) was seen between the physician's specialty and the adoption of AChE inhibitors. These data show that, while the AChE inhibitor adoption process has passed the early stages, various barriers slow down the final stages of AChE inhibitor adoption. The drug budget in particular seems to inhibit the adoption of the innovation by the majority of general practitioners. This leads to a more short-term cost control strategy instead of long-term disease management and cost saving approaches.

Keywords

    Alzheimer's disease, Drug budget, Innovation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

Cite this

Diffusion of innovations: treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Germany. / Ruof, Jörg; Mittendorf, Thomas; Pirk, Olaf et al.
In: HEALTH POLICY, Vol. 60, No. 1, 04.2002, p. 59-66.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Ruof, J, Mittendorf, T, Pirk, O & Graf Von Der Schulenburg, JM 2002, 'Diffusion of innovations: treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Germany', HEALTH POLICY, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 59-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8510(01)00191-9
Ruof, J., Mittendorf, T., Pirk, O., & Graf Von Der Schulenburg, J. M. (2002). Diffusion of innovations: treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Germany. HEALTH POLICY, 60(1), 59-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8510(01)00191-9
Ruof J, Mittendorf T, Pirk O, Graf Von Der Schulenburg JM. Diffusion of innovations: treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Germany. HEALTH POLICY. 2002 Apr;60(1):59-66. Epub 2002 Feb 28. doi: 10.1016/S0168-8510(01)00191-9
Ruof, Jörg ; Mittendorf, Thomas ; Pirk, Olaf et al. / Diffusion of innovations : treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Germany. In: HEALTH POLICY. 2002 ; Vol. 60, No. 1. pp. 59-66.
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