A digital solution helping advanced stage renal
cancer patients manage their treatment has already been adopted by New
Zealand patients and is catching on quickly across the Tasman.
Advanced
stage renal cancer is a type of kidney cancer that can be an aggressive
and debilitating disease. Patients are often burdened with the added
stress of complex treatment schedules that are difficult to follow.
While the advantage of oral treatment is that it is less invasive on
patient's lives, the flip side of this can be less contact with
healthcare professionals, and fewer opportunities to discuss symptoms.
These symptoms can be too difficult for patients to manage alone,
leading to them stopping treatment.
To address this, Pfizer NZ worked with DDB New Zealand to create Caremate.
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Caremate is a digital platform designed to help those with advanced
renal cancer take control of their treatment. The digital format makes
adhering to their programme and monitoring their condition easy and
convenient regardless of where they are, ultimately helping them achieve
better treatment outcomes.
Pfizer manufactures a leading
medication for renal cancer patients. The Caremate programme was
prompted by research gathered by Pfizer NZ in an effort to understand
how to improve the lives of renal cancer patients and go beyond
medication with comprehensive care.
DDB Digital NZ creative director, Haydn Kerr, says that while a creative agency developing a
digital app to support patients taking a medicine may sound unusual,
using creativity and empathy to solve a medical problem makes a world of
sense.
Says Kerr: "At DDB we believe our role is to create real-world
solutions for the businesses we serve. Caremate is an
innovative new programme that does just that, and we're proud to work
with Pfizer NZ to bring it to life for those in need."
The
Caremate app and its support pack work together to remind patients to
take their medication, record their blood pressure, mood and symptoms on
a daily basis while tracking their treatment. It also provides guidance
on how to deal with symptoms they may be experiencing.
Healthcare
professionals can access the data from the app during patient visits to
obtain a more accurate overview of how the treatment has been working
and a better understanding of how to optimise it.
With a host of
success stories in both New Zealand and Australia, Pfizer is now
assessing how Caremate could be employed globally for other diseases
where patients face similar challenges.
For Kerr, the fact that Caremate is already being used daily by patients to manage their treatment is immensely rewarding.
Says Kerr: "We
produce work all the time to help businesses achieve their goals,
whatever they may be, but to see something like this out there helping
people and know that, with the weight of Pfizer behind it, it might go
on to help many, many more people -- it's a very cool thing to see and an
amazing thing to be a part of."
Caremate has recently been
recognised by the Australian medical industry, winning the Prime Award
for excellence in Patient Support.