Abstract:

Innovation in diagnosis, better understanding of disease prevention and continuous improved medications, in addition to an ageing population, are the cause of an ever-increasing market segment, namely the segment of the chronically ill or chronically treated patient.The implications of this ever growing segment are enormous and affect the pharmaceutical industry, health professionals (physicians and nurses), patients and their relatives/caregivers as well as governments and other payers. Until date, relatively (compared to the physician) little market research is conducted with patients, but this will likely change in the future, particularly if the role of the chronically ill patient is evolving more into a co-decision maker with regards to making the choice of treatment. This paper identifies a number of issues that need to be taken into account when conducting patient research.