The Effect of Wearable Activity Monitor Presence on Step Counts.

Objective: In this study, we tested the effect of wearable activity monitors and tracking on physical activity over 2 weeks. Methods: Ninety young adults participated. Prior to initiation of the study, each participant was asked to download an iPhone app that tracked physical activity level (step counts) but were not told the app's purpose. Each participant was then randomly assigned to one of 3 groups (N=30/group): (1) measurement awareness, (2) measurement awareness+track/record, or (3) control. Participants in the measurement awareness and the measurement awareness+track/record groups were given a pedometer to wear for 2 weeks. Additionally, participants in the measurement awareness+track/ record group were instructed to record daily steps and submit their record after 2 weeks. Participants in the control group were not given a pedometer band nor asked track steps. Results: Neither the measurement awareness group nor the measurement awareness+track/record group were statistically different than controls during the intervention (p>.05). However, collapsing the intervention groups and comparing to the control group resulted in a 388.3 (SE=-186.9) higher daily step count during the intervention (p<.05). Conclusion: Wearable monitors modestly increases daily step count. However, the addition of recording daily step counts does not appear to provide an additional benefit in our study.

Naming Convention, Interchangeability, and Patient Interest in Biosimilars.

Although biosimilars may offer cost savings over their comparable biologics, use of biosimilars in the United States remains relatively low. This study investigates two barriers to uptake of biosimilars in the United States. First, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that four-letter suffixes be added to the nonproprietary names of all biosimilars, as well as to the nonproprietary names of all biologics approved after March 2020. Second, biosimilars are not interchangeable with their reference biologic product at the pharmacy counter; a new prescription is needed for the biosimilar to be dispensed in place of the biologic. We conducted two behavioral experiments to examine the effects of the naming convention and interchangeability designation on patients' interest in biosimilars. We found that, absent the mention of needing a new prescription, adding four-letter suffixes to biosimilars' nonproprietary names decreased participants' likelihood of using the biosimilars. When participants were told whether a biosimilar required a new prescription, they were more interested in the biosimilar when it did not require a new prescription, and this effect was driven by participants' perceived similarity of the biosimilar to the biologic. The effect of interchangeability dominated the suffix effect. Our results suggest that both biosimilar suffixes and interchangeability issues provide signals to patients regarding the perceived similarity of biosimilars to their reference biologics and influence patient usage of biosimilars.