Preparing for the Future: Trends that are Re-Shaping the Industry

The Future of Pharma

PwC report: From Vision to Decision: Pharma 2020

PwC recently published its latest report on the future of the pharmaceutical industry, titled “From Vision to Decision: Pharma 2020”. Since 2007 PwC has been studying the challenges and major trends the pharmaceutical industry faces. The report provides an in-depth look at the future for the industry, and below I’ve highlighted five major trends from the PwC report that are reshaping the marketplace.

1. Instances of chronic disease are increasing, placing even greater pressure on already stretched healthcare budgets.

75% of healthcare expenditures are related to chronic disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2010, healthcare expenditures in the US neared $2.6 trillion, and accounted for 17.9% of the US gross domestic product (according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). New ideas and tools are needed to help us decrease healthcare costs, while increasing the effectiveness of our healthcare system.

Life sciences companies can contribute solutions in the form of disease management and patient adherence programs. Industry experts agree that one way to decrease future healthcare costs is to boost patient engagement in managing their conditions and increase patient adherence rates.

2. Healthcare policy-makers and payers are increasingly mandating what doctors can prescribe.

One part of the puzzle for decreasing our healthcare costs is to standardize treatment approaches. There are many ways that treatment approaches can be standardized, and they most likely will include following recommended treatment guidelines, product-specific outcomes data, and pricing negotiations with manufacturers.

Life science companies need to be prepared for this shift. Know how your product compares to its competitors. Offer programs that enhance patient outcomes. This demonstrates partnership and that the company stands behind the products they offer.

3. A growing number of healthcare payers are measuring the pharmacoeconomic performance of different medicines.

Widespread use of electronic medical records will give them the data they need to insist on outcomes-based pricing. This is a game-changer for manufacturers, as they will have less power to set prices for their products. New digital tools will provide new options for managing disease and wellness; as well as provide the ability to capture outcomes data at the practice, institution, and health system level.

4. Boundaries between different forms of healthcare are blurring as clinical advances render previously fatal diseases chronic and the self-medication sector expands.

The entire healthcare industry is being transformed. Various factors are converging to change how healthcare is delivered. The center of this transformation is the patient, which when engaged and empowered to manage their health is a critical success factor. Digital health tools and new scientific understanding, which translates into novel and innovative treatments, enable these transformations.

Think about patients at the heart of your program. Understand patient challenges in managing their health and condition. Additionally, expand your view to encompass the entire healthcare system. Understanding shifts in healthcare delivery models, new digital tools and applications, and how patients are using these to manage their condition will help you to develop programs that provide value.

5. Governments are beginning to focus on prevention rather than treatment.

No longer is the focus on treating a condition. Significant advances have been made in screening and diagnostic testing for various cancers. Additionally, there is evidence to support that many chronic conditions are exacerbated, and in some cases caused by, poor lifestyle choices and decisions. Payers are looking to prevention and wellness initiatives as mechanisms for decreasing future healthcare costs.

Life sciences companies can contribute solutions in the form of disease management and wellness programs. These programs boost patient engagement in managing their conditions, and ultimately lead to decreased healthcare spending in the future.

These trends compound the challenges the industry already faces. There are many opportunities if the industry can look beyond their traditional role of providing new medicines. Life science companies that shift their focus to patients and providing innovative healthcare solutions will be successful in the year 2020.

I want to hear your thoughts. Do you agree that the trends highlighted are re-shaping the healthcare industry? What are you and your company doing to prepare for these shifts? Are there trends that you’d include on this list? This is an important discussion, so please share your thoughts.

Evolving Pharma Sales Models: The Customer is King

How pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device products are sold is changing and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. There are many factors driving this change, and two of the most significant are healthcare reform changes and that healthcare providers are demanding meaningful interactions with company representatives. Life science companies are developing new sales models that aren’t solely a “sales pitch”. Rather, the interaction is “customer-centric” and based on meeting the customer’s needs and providing value.

Evolving your sales model to be focused on meeting customer needs is much more than just adapting your sales messages to address the latest concerns heard in the field. This is a fundamental mindset change, and life sciences companies have think about what it is they are offering and delivering. In the future our healthcare system will be focused on patient outcomes and cost. This environment requires the life science industry to provide programs that support treatments to improve patient outcomes, provide value, and decrease costs.

Patient adherence is an important driver in improving patient outcomes and decreasing future healthcare costs, but it is not the only one. In many disease-states and conditions there are health, wellness, and lifestyle factors that contribute to long-term improvement in outcomes and decreases in healthcare expenditures. There is an opportunity, and need, for life sciences companies to partner with patients, providers, and payers to address health, wellness, and lifestyle factors.

There are many programs that can be developed and implemented that will improve patient outcomes. To create meaningful programs patients can “stick to”, think about these areas…

* Understand the barriers patients face in remaining adherent and compliant with therapy.

* Plan programs that support patients on their treatment journey, and help them adhere to treatment.

* Develop patient support programs that are a resource and guide for patients during their treatment journey.

I encourage you to think holistically about the challenges of patients, providers, and payers and design programs to meet these broad needs. As life science companies look to evolve their sales models to meet customers’ needs and provide meaningful interactions, the need for programs that support patients, providers, and payers will increase. Provide solutions, through your product and its related services, to manage or overcome the broad healthcare challenges your customers face.

There are many options for providing programs that enhance patient outcomes. As a pharmaceutical call center, we provide as needed call-in support for patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to answer questions about a product and its side effects, enroll patients in a support program, connect patients with healthcare providers in their local area, and connect patients with co-pay assistance resources. Our experiences show that within 6 months of implementing a patient support program patient adherence increases 10% to 15%. Patient adherence to treatment decreases future healthcare costs related to treating complications from earlier non-adherence.

There was an interesting article recently published on Pharmaceutical Executive on-line that looks at the evolving nature of pharmaceutical sales forces as they evolve to a more “customer-centric” approach. If you are interested in learning more about one model for moving in this direction you can access the article here.

I’d like to hear from you. Are you adding programs to support patients as a part of your marketing and sales efforts? If you are, what kinds of initiatives and programs are you planning? Please join the conversation and share your thoughts and challenges. We can all learn from each other. Alternatively, if you have specific needs you’d like to discuss with me you can reach me directly at louis.shapiro@tunstallamac.com.

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Hit the Target to Drive Action and Engagement

Lately, I've been thinking about how to drive customer action and engagement. Given recent advances in technology there are many tools available to connect the life sciences industry with their customers on an individual level. For me, the challenge is in how to maximize the impact of these tools to meet the needs of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers.

I have seen more about behavioral marketing lately, which at its core is focused on figuring out what customers want and providing customers with that in the manner that they want it. Behavioral marketing is beautifully simple and effective, if done correctly. However, the challenging part of behavioral marketing is in answering the questions of what it is that customers want and how to deliver that.

We use behavioral marketing concepts to design programs that meet our clients’ needs and goals. These concepts can easily be implemented to design impactful programs, and below I offer a few specific and practical suggestions on how to do this.

1. Clearly articulate the program’s goals—Clear program goals empower program design and ensure that the program’s results can be measured. If the primary goals of your program are to drive customer engagement and action then behavioral marketing will help you achieve those goals.  

2. Understand the patient journey—Seek to understand how the daily lives of patients are impacted by the disease or condition, identify activities they perform each day, and understand the interactions between patients, healthcare providers, and caregivers. These insights provide valuable glimpses into challenges and unmet needs for patients, healthcare providers, and caregivers.  

3. Offer solutions to overcome patient challenges—Programs designed to help patients overcome challenges are meaningful and valuable. As you design programs think about how the program will be valuable over time. Consider and plan to evolve the program over time to remain relevant and engaging for patients.  

4. Understand how patients like to receive information and support—Seek information on how patients prefer to research information. Do they prefer to do this themselves on-line or through social media channels? Alternatively, do patients prefer to talk with someone about their educational or support needs? Knowing patients’ preferences empowers you to develop appropriate tools and resources that patients utilize, engage, and come to trust. I encourage you to think about integrating options such as robust amounts of information on-line and offering click-to-chat or toll-free telephone access to live representatives. With health and wellness concerns, it’s important not to overlook the power of personal interactions.  

5. Leverage data for insights and decisions—Do not stop gathering and analyzing data. Carefully review data for insights into the needs and preferences of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Rely on data for key insights in designing your program. Once the program is designed and operating continue to seek data for insights into how the program is performing and if updates are needed.

There is an interesting article in the September 2012 issue of PharmaVOICE magazine on behavioral marketing. The article provides insights into developing successful behavioral marketing campaigns, and you can access it here.

Do you have a challenge that might benefit from a program designed with behavioral marketing concepts? If so, please post a comment and share your challenge. Alternatively, please reach out to me to discuss your situation. You can reach me directly at louis.shapiro@tunstallamac.com.

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Budget Planning: Creating Impact with Less Investment

Declining Patient Adherence is a Key Concern

It’s August and many of us are in the midst of budget planning season. We are all aware of the reality facing the life sciences industry—more drugs coming off patent leading to less revenue and increasing costs to develop new treatments. Now more than ever, life science companies are faced with the need to do more with less. For marketers this means maximizing the impact of each program.

My advice to clients is to initially focus on programs that are quick to impact such as patient retention, attracting appropriate patients to consider your product, and maximizing the efficiency of your sales force. Below are a few specific programs you should consider.

Begin with patient compliance and adherence to therapy. It has been reported that compliance to therapy averages between 50% and 65%. There is a tremendous opportunity to increase the number of patients that adhere to treatment. The added benefit is it is much less expensive to keep patients on treatment than it is to attract new patients. To increase patient compliance and adherence consider…

* Patient support programs—these programs focus on patients and help them meet their needs and overcome their challenges. As a pharmaceutical call center we have healthcare-trained representatives available 24/7 and 365 days/year to answer patient questions and provide materials about their condition, treatment, side effects, and even can direct them to reimbursement assistance programs if they need it.

Support DTC marketing efforts and make it easy for patients to act on the awareness built by the advertising campaigns. To increase the effectiveness of your DTC marketing programs consider…

* Adding pharmaceutical call center support to handle inquiries from your advertising campaigns. A pharmaceutical call center we can answer patient questions, and can also provide referrals to physicians and specialists located near the patient’s home or work.

* Including click-to-chat support through websites. Make it easy for patients to ask questions and receive quick replies when they are interacting with one of your websites. Click-to-chat functionality provides real-time interactions, which is a tremendous advantage. As a pharmaceutical call center we can provide healthcare-trained representatives to answer patient questions submitted through websites and can provide links to materials and referrals to physicians and specialists too.

Maximize your field-based sales force so they focus on providing value to healthcare providers. To increase the effectiveness of your field-force consider…

* Partnering with a pharmaceutical call center to drive action with healthcare providers such as booking appointments for sales representatives and enrolling sites in a study or patient support program.

* Shifting administrative tasks such as replenishing samples and overseeing distribution and fulfillment. Our call center representatives reach out to healthcare providers on a regular basis to ensure they have adequate supplies of samples and materials. Additionally, we can oversee database updates and targeting and cleansing activities too.

The challenge to do more with less will continue for the foreseeable future. The formula for success is to create the most value from our investments. There are many opportunities to create value, and I have shared a few of my thoughts on how a pharmaceutical call center partner can help. I’d like to hear from you. What are your challenges? How are you creating more value for your investment?

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Fact: Healthcare Is Changing

Efforts to reform healthcare are moving forward as it is clear that as a nation we must decrease healthcare costs. Right now there are more questions than answers about the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that the US Supreme Court recently upheld. One thing is clear—the US healthcare system is changing. Below are my thoughts on three key areas the life science industry must prepare for.

Articulate the value of your product.

Conventional end points of safety, efficacy, and quality of life are no longer sufficient. Be prepared to demonstrate cost-effectiveness or cost-avoidance.

Implementation tips...

1) Work collaboratively with your colleagues in marketing, managed care marketing, pharmacoeconomics, clinical affairs, medical affairs, and regulatory to understand the data that is desired by various stakeholders when they are determining if a product is valuable or not. Develop plans to obtain the needed data.

2) Determine which patients are most likely to benefit from your product. Communicate to healthcare providers the patients that are most likely to benefit from treatment. Additionally, assist with screening and referring appropriate patients to local physicians or study sites.

Plan for government rebate plans and pricing controls.

If your treatment is expensive, be prepared for limitations on its use compared to less expensive alternatives.

Implementation tips...

1) Adjust your forecasts

2) Begin working on how to articulate the value of your product (see above for insights)

Provide programs that enhance outcomes for individual patients.

Shift your focus to taking care of patients and improving their outcomes. Patients will stay on treatment and future healthcare expenses resulting from patient non-adherence will decrease.

Implementation tips...

1) Plan and implement programs that support patients on their treatment journey.

2) Understand the barriers patients face in remaining adherent and compliant with therapy.

3) Develop and implement patient support programs that are a resource and guide for patients during their treatment journey. This can include offering access to healthcare-trained representatives for questions or providing educational materials to help patients continue with treatment.

There are many ways you can articulate the value of your product. Additionally there are many options for providing programs that enhance patient outcomes. As a pharmaceutical call center, we provide as needed call-in support for patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to answer questions about a product and its side effects, enroll patients in a support program, connect patients with healthcare providers in their local area, and connect patients with co-pay assistance resources. Our experiences show that within 6 months of implementing a patient support program patient adherence increases 10% to 15%. Patient adherence to treatment decreases future healthcare costs related to treating complications from earlier non-adherence.

The June 2012 issue of PharmaVOICE magazine has an article on healthcare reform and the potential impacts of it on the life science industry. If you are interested in additional perspectives on the impact of healthcare reform you can access the article here.

I’d like to hear from you. How are you preparing for the impact of the ACA? What areas have you identified as opportunities? What kinds of initiatives and programs are you planning? Please join the conversation and share your thoughts, challenges, and questions on the ACA implementation. We can all learn from each other.

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