Finalist
PIONEERS: Educating to Activate and Champion Excellence in GPP Care
Summary of work
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) created the PIONEERS: Partnering for InnOvatioN and ExcEllence in Rare Skin diseases initiative to connect disparate, concentrated expertise from leading global centres to deliver high-impact, evidence-based education in generalised pustular psoriasis (GPP).
GPP affects around one in a million people worldwide and if left untreated, can be fatal. GPP has the classic hallmarks of a rare disease:
- A diagnostic odyssey means that on average, it takes ~60 days for a patient to see a treating physician after first experiencing symptoms
- Non-specialists struggle to recognise GPP, with two-thirds of patients initially misdiagnosed, leading to delays and inappropriate treatment
- There is low awareness of GPP and limited medical education available – with recognised centres of clinical expertise few and far between.
To overcome these unmet educational needs, the power of networks between centres with the expertise, experience and systems to deliver holistic care is profound. With the durability of medical knowledge rapidly diminishing, knowledge translation relies on the capacity of individuals to cascade their perspective and insights to their peers regionally and beyond.
Through PIONEERS, we have facilitated and accelerated the exchange of knowledge and expertise between HCPs and centres in managing and improving outcomes for patients with GPP.
Judges’ comments
PIONEERS impressed by the judges with the benchmarking and clarity of explanation and objectives. It was delivered well and had exceptionally strong feedback from the participants. The rationale was clear and drove the work. It was ambitious in terms of global and local reach.
