[Cross-sectional descriptive analysis of the structure and content of specialty medication access forms used in patient support programs].

BACKGROUND

Patient support programs (PSP) aim to facilitate access to specialty medications but rely heavily on often complex forms that create a significant administrative burden and reduce available clinical time. Few data describe their structure and content.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the structure and content of specialty medication access forms (SMAFs) available in Québec.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study including all forms available on the platform of the Association québécoise des coordonnateurs d'accès aux médicaments en oncologie (AQCAMO, n=211) and locally available forms (n=21). After deduplication, 143 unique forms were analyzed based on their formal characteristics (format, word count, number of pages) and content (patient information, prescriber information, consent, confidentiality, services).

RESULTS

Forms contained an average of 1,992±1,009 words and 4.6±1.8 pages. All required identifying information; 34.3% requested the health insurance number, 38.5% prior treatments, and 37.8% information on disease progression. Confidentiality details were limited: only 1.4% mentioned data retention duration and 17.5% described data protection measures. Although 96.5% required a signature, only 25.9% indicated whether treatment access was possible without using the PSP.

CONCLUSION

Medication access forms show substantial heterogeneity, significant administrative burden, and gaps in transparency and data protection, underscoring the need for harmonization and ethical review.