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When Switching Patients to Biosimilars, Communication & Expert Nurses Reduce the Nocebo Effect

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In interviews, patients indicated the nurses’ experiences with switching medications were valuable, a finding that has not previously been published in the literature. Based on these interviews, the authors concluded the nurses played an important role in the intervention, particularly as the first point of contact for announcing the medication switch to patients. The authors suggest that, although intervention content may differ by countries and biosimilar treatments, the methodology they used to construct the intervention may be generally useful to improve the outcomes of medication changes.

Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer based in the Chicago area.

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Reference

  1. Petit J, Antignac M, Poilverd RM, et al. Multidisciplinary team intervention to reduce the nocebo effect when switching from the originator infliximab to a biosimilar. RMD Open. 2021 Jan;7(1):e001396.

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