Patient Appropriateness in Product Design: Systematic Review of Clinical Evidence

The constant progress in medical and pharmaceutical sciences contributing to longevity comes along with an increasing use of medicinal products. Patients play an important role in achieving the desired therapeutic outcome, as they are frequently responsible for their own medication management. It is well documented that a major contributor for limited therapy efficacy in real world settings is related with poor adherence to prescribed medicines. In order to enhance drug administration, the drug product design should consider the targeted patient characteristics and needs. A literature review was performed to identify clinical evidence for appropriateness, acceptability, or preference of pharmaceutical preparations, dosage forms and product designs in all age population groups. The quality of the methodology used in performing such research was also assessed.