News
PatientsLikeMe invites medical researchers to participate as pilot users!
PatientsLikeMe announced today an open call for medical researchers to be among the first pilot users of its Open Research Exchange™ (ORE) platform. They say "Welcome to the world’s first open-participation research platform for creating health outcome measurements." To participate, click here. (Source: open research exchange)
HealthEconomics.Com was Top Influencer at ISPOR’s 18th Annual Meeting
HealthEconomics.Com was the #1 Top Influencer based on number of tweets, and #6 based on mentions at ISPOR’s 18th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, held May 18-23. Top Influencers of #ISPORNewOrleans: @www_healthecon @PECjournal @DoubleHelixMA @ISPORorg @OptumNews. See other analytics and statistics here. (Source: @symplur)
Drug Development Needs "Clean-Slate Think" To Involve Patients All Along The Way
“...Pfizer executive Freda Lewis-Hall is calling on the drug industry to develop a framework to ensure patient participation throughout the drug development process...Lewis-Hall’s comments align with the philosophy underlying FDA’s patient-focused drug development initiative, mandated under PDUFA V, although there the emphasis is specifically on diseases with few or no current treatments and for which aspects of the disease are not formally captured in clinical trials.” Paid Subscription Required. (Source: The Pink Sheet, 5/21/2013)
NASP Announces Strategic Business Exchange Event
NASP has announced it will host its 2013 Fall Strategic Business Exchange (SBE) meeting on October 14-16, 2013 in San Antonio. The SBE meeting will address the needs of NASP members and partners by offering valuable, one-on-one time with attendees representing different channels, including: specialty pharmacies, payers, manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers, group purchasing organizations, technology providers, patient advocacy groups, and other industry stakeholders. More here. (Source: Specialty Pharmacy Times, 5/21/2013)
Video: OHE's Towse on Challenges in Valuing Genomic Medicines
In this video, Adrian Towse discusses the challenges and importance of appropriately valuing genomic medicine. He addresses both gene therapies and “pharmacogenomics” — those medicines that will allow targeted, precision treatment. He points out the importance, with respect to the latter, of the importance of appropriately valuing the diagnostics that are essential to realising the full value of treatment. Video here. (Source: OHE, 5/23/2013)
HealthEconomics.Com Launches HE-Xpo, an Online Virtual Trade Show & More at ISPOR
HealthEconomics.Com, the global leader on healthcare value and market access has unveiled a new and exciting service: HE-Xpo: a media-rich, interactive, online trade show environment that provides a powerful array of real-time communication tools to expand their digital communication solutions to partners in the US and abroad. Read more here. (Source: PRWeb.com, 5/19/2013)
Video: How are global austerity measures impacting pharma?
Sophie Murdoch of Allied Life Sciences, Brian Lovatt with Vision Healthcare Consultancy, Ltd and Dr. Gordon Crawford of Patients Direct discuss their opinions on how global austerity issues affect the pharma industry in this video from Evidence 2013. To view this YouTube video, click here. (Source: biopharmachannel, May 16, 2013)
Patient reported outcomes and the challenges still facing us
Despite the increasing use of PROMs across a range of clinical settings and research, there are a number of important issues that remain to be addressed before we can maximise the benefits from their use such as in routine care including, for example, the need to ensure instruments, data collection and analysis is highly credible. Read more here. (Source: DHP Research thepatientoutcomesblog, May, 22, 2013)
Which HE-Artist designed baby doll clothes as a child and loves the sound of twittering birds?
Meet Luminita Vopsaroiu, professional clothing designer and medical staitstician. Learn more about Luminita and her passion for making beautiful clothing here.
Patients provide real world perspective to FDA
The FDA has launched its new Patient Network website and is inviting patients to learn about the approval process, ask questions of senior administrators, and provide feedback on research and regulation processes. The agency is looking for the patients to provide a real-world perspective during the review process of pharmaceutical products and medical monitoring devices. More here. (Source: EHR Intelligence, 5/20/2013)
Need a Simple Guide to Selecting PRO Measures?
DHP Research’s eBook “5 Things you need to know about patient reported outcome (PRO) measures” provides a simple guide to some of the key issues which need to be considered in selecting the appropriate PRO for your study which include an overview of: what PROs measure; the differences between generic and disease-specific PROs; what to look out for with reliability and validity; why you need a measurement strategy; how you can use a PRO and ; how to interpret PRO data. More here. (Source: Thepatientoutcomesblog, 5/21/2013)
Overview of the Cancer Pain Market
This article notes the incidence, current treatment practices and forecast in the cancer pain markets for the US, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK. Findings indicate that 4.5 million patients were diagnosed with cancer in the G7, 40% of which reside in the US. More here. (Source: Hoffmann & Krueger Oncology Excellence)
Global biosimilar market will grow to $2.44bn this year!
A new report by visiongain predicts the world market for biosimilar drugs will be worth $2,445m in 2013, growing by more than 20% from 2012. In 2013 it will account for around 2% of the overall biologics (biological drugs) market. That study forecasts rapid growth to 2023 for the global biosimilars market. The launch of more biosimilars worldwide, but particularly in the US and EU, will drive that sales growth. Read more here. (Source: totalbiopharma, May 14, 2013)
15 Game-Changing Case Studies of Where EBM has benefitted Patients
This booklet, by Sense About Science and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges contains case studies of 15 of the game changers in evidence based medicine. Also shows unanimity across the health professions about the benefits of integrating evidence from systematic research into practice. Download here. (Source: testingtreatments.org)
The Bioinformatics Market is Poised for Growth - What do we do with it?
Contributor Gerald Clark believes that the answers range from database services to hardware and all of these answers are good for the booming global bioinformatics industry. These cumulative growth trends in all areas of bioinformatics hold the exciting promise of a smarter, better informed, more knowledgeable pharma industry, better equipped to navigate oceans of data. The companies ready to provide solutions to these needs are sure to find themselves at the centre of a very promising growth market. Read more here. (Source: Pharma iQ, May 7, 2013)
Do payers share enough data with ACO partners?
Author Dina Overland cites a recent article by AIS Health in her discussion on how some payers aren't providing adequate or high-quality claims data, making that information unusable. Without adequate data, providers lack a complete understanding of each patient's healthcare, thereby hindering their ability to coordinate care. Overland says "Data sharing is the foundation upon which accountable care organizations can meet their goals of reducing costs and increasing payer-provider collaboration". Read more here. (Source: FierceHealthPayer, May 10, 2013)
Health Care Costs from Birth to Death
This report, prepared by Dale Yamamoto, an independent actuarial consultant, examines health care spending from birth to age 90 for people covered by commercial health insurance and for those covered by Medicare fee-for-service. The research sponsored by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) using data from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) estimates that the average 55-year-old retiree will spend about $226,000 more out of pocket on health care after retirement than a person retiring at age 65 if they both live to age 85. More of the study's findings can be read here. (Source: Health Care Cost Institute)
Do pharma companies need a dedicated platform for key account management?
Market access and health economics departments that support field-based representatives such as key account managers (KAMs) and medical science liaisons (MSLs) have a very particular business need that is not addressed by prescriber-oriented e-detailing platforms. BaseCase offers a platform that is geared towards pharmaceutical key account management, and their interactions with payers and healthcare providers. More here. (Source: BaseCase)
Overview of the Cancer Pain Market, Incidence, Treatment and Forecast
Global cancer incidence is increasing with around 13 million cases diagnosed in 2012. In the next 30 years, the cancer patient population is expecting to increase, basically driven by population aging and explosion of environmental risk factors. Following this increasing, this article from Hoffmann & Krueger focuses on cancer pain, its prevelance, and current treatment practices in different countries. Read more here. (Source: Hoffamann & Krueger, May 9, 2013)
Medicare Provider Charge Data
As part of the Obama administration’s work to make our health care system more affordable and accountable, data has been released that show significant variation across the country and within communities in what hospitals charge for common inpatient services. Data is available in spreadsheet format and can be downloaded from this article. Read more here. (Source: cms.gov)
Let Us Fear the Price of "Cutting-Edge" Drugs!
Pharmaguy John Mack responds in his blog to an opinion piece written by Peter Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, regarding the high cost of new drugs. The piece titled "Another Voice: Cutting-edge drugs are worth the cost in the long run," was originally published in The Buffalo News. "We shouldn’t fear the price tag of these new medicines," says Pitts. Mack feels just the opposite! Read more here. (Source: Pharma Marketing Blog, May 7, 2013)
Market Access, where do you see the industry in 12 months time?
totalbiopharma asked industry experts at their Pharma Pricing and Market Access Outlook UK three questions:
•What are the key market access challenges that you are facing in your role?
•How can pharma improve payer engagement
•Where do you see the industry in twelve months time?
You can read their answers by downloading this ebook. Source (Terrapinn.com April 5, 2013)
Specialty Medications will make up 40 percent of all pharmacy benefit costs by 2020!
In an effort to manage the ever-burgeoning cost of specialty pharmacy — what some experts call hyperinflation — employers and heath plans have settled on a three-prong approach: shifting costs to consumers through coinsurance, focusing on case management, and broadening formularies so that they apply to specialty pharmacy. Read more here fron Thomas Reinke on how Specialty Pharmacy Management is adjusting to these new financial realities. Source: (MANAGED CARE April 2013)
Will GSK share late-phase research data on outcomes and costs too?
GSK has said it plans to set up a new online system that will allow researchers to request anonymous patient-level data from its clinical trials. The move comes in response to calls for greater transparency in the pharmaceutical industry, long been criticised for selectively reporting clinical trial data in the name of protecting commercial interests. GSK says the data would be made available after a drug is approved or withdrawn from development and the database will eventually date back to 2007. More here. (Source: PMLiVE, 5/8/2013)
Top 5 Most Popular Pharma Informatics Stories of 2012
Pharma IQ looks back on some of the most read informatics pieces on their site in 2012. Here is a quick title run down: Breakthroughs in CRO Customer Service; Laboratory Informatics: Current Trends & Predictions for 2015; Three Major IT Trends will Shape Life Sciences in 2012, Informatics Engine Drives Pharma Development toward Quality by Design; and Top Trends in Laboratory Informatics. More here. (Source: Pharma IQ)
Is This What Your Team Needs? The World's Shortest Marketing Plan
The marketing plan is a communication tool used to give direction to the company. Does your marketing team use a marketing plan template? Some templates are up to 30-pages in length, which when filled out can end up being several hundred pages.Check out this 1-page marketing plan developed by Kelly Odell. Kelly notes that "This will result in a marketing plan of no more than 24 pages!" More here. (Source: Think Tank)
Conflict of Interest? Former NICE chair joins board of biotech
Sir Michael Rawlins was chair of NICE from its foundation in 1999 up to April 2013. His move from a public body to recommend medicines for use on the NHS to a private US drug developer, Intra-Cellular Therapies, is raising some eyebrows. More here. (Source: PMLiVE, 5/17/2013)
Interview with CEO, Yin Ho, of Context Matters
Yin Ho is the Founder and CEO of Context Matters Inc., a start-up healthcare information and data analytics platform company based in NYC. “Context Matters was founded on the belief that a data-driven approach is key to reshaping the way decisions are made in the industry." Find out more about Dr. Ho and her company here. (Source: CEOCFO, 5/13/2013)
Does Cancer Increase Bankruptcy Risk?
Yes, even for those insured, according to a new study from the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research in Seattle and published in the journal Health Affairs. Cancer patients are at much greater risk of bankruptcy than people without cancer, and while the new health care law promises insurance coverage to more than 30 million Americans who lack it now, the high cost of cancer care can push many patients,into financial trouble. More here. (Source: NBCNews, 5/15/2013)
Contracting for Quality in the NHS is Topic of OHE's 20th Annual Lecture
On the evening of 16 July 2013, OHE will welcome Professor Alan Maynard of the University of York, who will speak on Contracting for Quality in the NHS: Putting the Francis Report in Perspective. Find his summary of the focus of the lecture here. (Source: OHE, 5/20/2013)
ISPOR's second NEW book!
ISPOR is proud to announce the publication of a second NEW book: the ISPOR Taxonomy of Patient Registries: Classification, Characteristics and Terms. This book goes beyond simply defining terms used in the design, development, and implementation of registries and those used in the analysis, reporting, and publishing of registry data. It provides an overview of patient registries from start to finish. More here. (Source: ISPOR Press Release, 5/16/2013)
HealthEconomics.Com Announces HE-Xpo-a New Virtual Trade Show Devoted to Healthcare Value and Market
HealthEconomics.Com, the global leader on healthcare value and market access, is pleased to unveil a new and exciting service: HE-Xpo: a media-rich, interactive, online trade show environment that provides a powerful array of real-time communication tools to expand their digital communication solutions to partners in the US and abroad.
Read more here. (Source: PRWeb.com, 5/19/2013)
Read more here. (Source: PRWeb.com, 5/19/2013)
SPAARx Launch a Big Success at Armada Summit
The Specialty Pharmacy Association of America (SPAARx) officially marked its launch in Las Vegas, NV in conjunction with the Armada Health Care Specialty Pharmacy Summit. During the Summit's General Session, Lawrence Irene, RPh, CEO of Armada Health Care, a Founder Sponsor of SPAARx, announced that membership is now at 3,250 members and climbing. The Board of Directors for SPAARx also met twice during the summit in order to tackle a number of remaining organizational efforts. Key efforts include the finalization of Association By-laws, definition of membership, and process for election of board members by the membership. More here. (Source: SPAARx Specialty Pharmacy Review, Vol. 2.0)
Sanofi partners with PatientsLikeMe to promote clinical trials
Sanofi has signed up to use PatientsLikeMe's new clinical trials search tool in a deal that it hopes will boost trial recruitment rates by matching patients to the studies its runs. The partnership will use PatientsLikeMe's recently launched clinical trials awareness tool to match patients with relevant Sanofi trials and CISCRP's educational materials to inform patients and their support network about the clinical research process. PatientsLikeMe has around 200,000 users who have collectively reported real-world experiences of more than 1,500 diseases since the company launched its first disease community in 2006. More here. (Source: PMLiVE, 5/16/2013)
The Rise of Health Outcome Liaison Teams
This is a new guide to building a Health Outcome Liaison team and developing an effective HOL strategy, from First Word Reports. This report explains what is driving the rise of HOLs globally, and provides detailed accounts of how major pharma companies are interpreting the evolving HOL role. More here. (Source: FirstWord)
White Paper: How do users of CERs want to view new information?
The aim of this study conducted by the Rand Corp. and funded by AHRQ was to gather the input of various users of CERs regarding the usability of a range of formatting methods for showing the changes from the original to the update report. Findings show that different users of CERs have different information needs. Whereas policymakers need access to the entire data set and analyses that comprise a systematic review (the original and the update), all users benefit from summaries that clearly show what changed in as succinct a format as possible, preferably in graphic form. More here.(Source: AHRQ, 5/16/2013)
New ISPOR Book Released
ISPOR has released a new handbook, Reliability and Validity of Data Sources for Outcomes Research & Disease and Health Management Programs. Deleloped for practioners, payers, decision makers, and students, it provides an overview of the sources of data for conducting ‘real-world’ outcomes research. It is a primer written by leading experts in the field who have worked firsthand with these types of data. More here. (Source: ISPOR Press Release, 5/16/2013)
The future of medicaid drug reimbursement
This presentation was delivered by Jerry Brehany, PharmD, PA-C, JD, Associate Vice President, Pharmacy Services, AmeriHealth Mercy. It covers: Basis for Reimbursement; Estimated Acquisition Cost (EAC); Actual Acquisition Cost (AAC). Download here. (Source: Terrapin)
Archived Webcast from Pharmaceutical Executive Now Available
A new archived Webcast, Retrospective Chart Review Studies: Application of Methodology to Evaluate Burden of Illness, Drug Utilization and Safety, presented by Pharmaceutical Executive and sponsored by UBC Express Scripts on May 14, 2013, is now available for viewing here. (Source: Pharmaceutical Executive, 5/14/2013)
Pharma must provide convincing evidence of drug value
New research from Camelot Management Consultants finds that "the pharmaceutical industry has now entered the Outcomes Era where compounds must supply convincing evidence of a new drug’s value, with proof of the best possible health outcomes and additional benefits if it is to achieve attractive price and reimbursement levels". More here. (Source: Pharma Times, 5/15/2013)
NASP Launches the Specialty Pharmacy Education Center
NASP has just launched the Specialty Pharmacy Education Center (SPEC), a new online educational school focused on both clinical and business-related content in more than 20 therapeutic categories. Members of the group have complimentary access to SPEC courses. The goal of the content is to create an awareness of the quality of life issues for the specialty patient and the care management programs to address them. More here. (Source: SpecialtyPharmaJournal.com, 5/15/2013)
IMS Expanding Capabilities with Recent Acquisitions
IMS recently acquired two new cloud-based companies: Semantelli and Appature. Semantelli is a social media analytics company, which IMS hopes will extend its marketing and consumer engagement capabilties. Semantelli offers cloud-based tools that automate the collection of healthcare-specific social media content, providing real-time monitoring for reputation and opportunity management and delivering extensive insights into consumer and physician behavior and sentiments. Appature is a leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company based in Seattle, which IMS hopes will further expand its commercial services capabilities for life sciences and healthcare organizations. Appature offers an innovative and patented cloud-based relationship marketing platform to address the complexities of today’s multi-stakeholder healthcare environment, and to enable the measurement and optimization of relationship marketing programs across channels. (Source: IMS, March & April 2013)
Drug Development Communications: Does the right hand know what the left is doing?
"Although marketing and market access functions may not support a developing drug until Phase 2 or even later, companies need to coordinate between several different teams as products move through different development stages beginning in the pre-clinical stage. Understanding the science behind the product is increasingly important for market access functions as payers increasingly require comparative effectiveness research and health outcomes data." More here. (Cutting Edge Info Blog, 4/8/2013)
Value in Health Regional Issues: Burden of Disease Studies in the Asia-Pacific Region
This study used an overlapping strategy of searching four electronic databases to identify studies of BOD published during 1993-2009. Among 524 articles identified for review, 27.7% were classified as complete summary measures as being most informative BOD studies from health policy maker’s perspective and 72.3% as using only partial measures. The authors conclude that the lack of studies needs to be addressed in this region. As well, a clear definition of BOD study and a uniform template for the research method from health policy-makers’ perspective would improve the quality of research. More here. (Source: Value in Health Regional Issues 2, (2013), 152-159)
PRMA President Responds With Letter to the Editor of NYT
John Castellani, President and Chief Executive of PRMA, shares his thoughts regarding the recent NYT editorial piece "“Exorbitant Prices for Leukemia Drugs”. He notes that the aritcle "minimizes the value of cancer medicines to patients and doesn’t mention the realities of the reimbursement system and drug discovery process." More here. (Source: NYT Opinion Pages, 5/3/2013)
Misunderstanding the Oregon Medicaid Study
Blogger Ashish Jha, MD, provides a "brief, and inadequate, summary (you should really read the study)" of the study findings of the recently released Oregon Medicaid study published in NEJM. His conclusion is that health is not just about access to healthcare. "It’s about access to high quality healthcare. Quality is the link between healthcare services and better health outcomes." More here. (Source: The Health Care Blog, 5/2/2013)
Economist Finds US Health Care as Source of Humor
Princeton Economist Uwe Reinhardt injects a good dose of humor in his analysis of the recent release of a giant spreadsheet (163,072 rows x 12 columns) by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services. The spreadsheet provides data on hospital charges and payments for more that 3,000 hospitals for the 100 most frequently billed inpatient cases. More here. (Source: NYT, 5/10/2013)
NASP Bringing Positive Changes to Specialty Rx Market
The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) appears to be affecting some positive changes to the specialty pharma market. The SPCB will begin certifying specialty pharmacists who pass a comprehensive exam in October. The exam is designed to cover the entire specialty pharmacy process, including intake, clinical management, fulfillment and outcomes. Specialty Phamacy is expected to be a big driver of pharmacy business in the coming years. More here. (Source: Drug Store News, 5/10/2013)
OHE’s Adrian Towse is ISPOR President-Elect for 2013-14
OHE’s Director, Professor Adrian Towse, has been elected President of ISPOR for the 2014–15 term and will serve on the ISPOR Board of Directors as President-elect during 2013-14. Adrian earlier has served on the Board and on the Management Advisory Board of ISPOR’s journal, Value in Health. He has been active in the scientific life of ISPOR as well, presenting at plenary sessions in the US and Europe and participating in many issue panels and workshops. More here. (Source: OHE, 5/03/2013)
American Health Care as a Source of Humor?
Uwe E. Reinhardt, a self-described "dour German-born economist" and one of our favorites, offers a witty perspective on why the American health care system is so risible. He decribes a recent meeting where The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services recently delivered a giant spreadsheet on hospital charges and payments. Evidently, this made huge headlines in major daily publications. Read more here on why Reinhardt says "Really? That charges vary enormously among hospitals surely must have been known for many years." (Source New York Times, May 11, 2013)
NICE Presentation: Effectively including patients and the public in HTA decision making
This presentation aims to develop fair, transparent, accountable and effective procedures for patient/public involvement and to ensure that patient/public perspectives are represented in NICE processes and products. Download here. (Source: Terrapin.com)
AMNOG Goes Retro?
In Germany, the G-BA has recently published the schedule for the first six drug groups to retroactively undergo a benefit assessment under AMNOG. While the regulations of AMNOG foresee the application of benefit assessments to drugs marketed before its coming into force, the announcement of this schedule as well as the criteria used to decide which drugs need to be assessed (and in which order), has added fuel to the existing flames of the pharmaceutical industry’s discontent. More here. (Source: IHS Healthcare and Pharma Blog, 5/8/2013)
Would Drug Makers Rather Implement Subsidies or Incur Weakened Patent Protection in Chinese Market?
Former Health Minister, Chen Zhu, says that Western drugmakers may have to give hefty subsidies and forgo some profit on expensive cancer drugs if they want access to China’s “huge market”. Increasinly Chinese officials may push for deals like the one reached with Novartis last year, inwhich the company agreed to donate three doses of its leukemia drug Gleevec for every one sold to the government. This may be the better altnernative for the drugmakers than the situation in neighboring India, where the government has weakened patent protection in the name of providing affordable care. More here. (Source: Bloomberg News, 4/8/2013)
Prescription Costs Driven Up by Specialty Drugs
According to the pharmacy benefit manager’s annual Drug Trend Insights, prescription drug costs increased 2.1 percent in 2012 among Prime Therapeutics’ members, which was driven by a 19.1 percent increase in specialty drug costs and an offset of 0.9 percent drop in traditional drug costs. The three leading factors that drove changes in spending over the past year include a greater use of prescriptions, higher prices, and an increased use of generics. More here. (Source: SpecialtyPharmaJournal.com, 5/2/2013)
What do Mandela, The Eagles, & Lincoln have in common? Ask Marcus Wilson, President of HealthCore
As this week’s featured HE-Artist, Marcus Wilson, President of HealthCore and amateur guitarist, lets us into his musical world. As a great example of realizing a long-held dream, Marcus learned how to play the guitar 8 years ago and now, it’s not only a part of his life, but a part of his employee’s life too! Read more here.
When was the last time you let your creativity run wild?
If it has been awhile since you have let those creative juices flow, you are missing out on some great benefits. Creative activities make you feel better. Remember, it's all about being creative, not perfect. Just enjoy the process! Check out some of the creative pursuits of your fellow health economists and others at here at the HE-Artists webpage. (Source: UnitedHealthcare, May 2013)
Read more.
Read more.
Specialty Pharmacy Certification Board Establishes Code of Conduct, Eligibility Requirements, & Fees
The Specialty Pharmacy Certification Board™ (SPCB™) reviewed a variety of sources, including position statements published by a variety of pharmacy associations, to develop the Certified Specialty Pharmacist™ (CSP™) Code of Conduct. All applicants agree to the Code of Conduct as a condition of certification and recertification. Violation of any portion of the Code may result in disciplinary action. Additionally, candidates must also meet the recently approved eligibility requirements to ensure they have the necessary knowledge, education, and skill to provide specialty pharmacy services. More here. (Source: SPCB Board, 5/8/2013)
Does Enrolling in Medicaid Improve Health?
Just-published findings from a recent study in Oregon suggest that, in gereral, Medicaid coverage makes no difference in the health status of those who received it, as measured by cholesterol, control of diabetes, or use of medications for hypertension or dyslipidemia. What does this mean? Well your interpretation may depend on your perspective. How are the true effects differentiated from the random effects? More here. (Source: Healthy Criticism, 5/2/2013)
Amgen Reaches $11 Million Medicaid Settlement
Amgen Inc. has reached an $11 million settlement with 36 states over charges it inflated pricing data and caused Medicaid to overpay for six of its drugs. The charges allege Amgen inflated cost benchmarks for drugs used to treat kidney disease and cancer patients. The drugs involved were Aranesp, Enbrel, Epogen, Neulasta, Neupogen and Sensipar. Those benchmarks. Amgen did not accept fault as part of the settlement. More here. (SFVBJ.com, 4/29/2013)
Would price discounting be smart business for pharma?
Blogger Rafi Mohammed argues that the key to solving pharmas high-cost cancer drug problem is to "focus on how to help drug companies make even more money". He believes pharma could do this by understanding the dynamics of a high fixed cost/low variable cost industry; understanding that there's profit in serving discount-oriented customers; and understanding micro-differential pricing. More here. (Source: Harvard Business Review, 5/2/2013)
Could PCORI Research Network 'Normalize' Clinical Trial Data?
“...Jennifer Graff, director of comparative effectiveness research at the National Pharmaceutical Council, also called PCORI's proposal to merge clinical research data with patient-reported outcomes a ‘positive’ development that could help FDA as well as the broader research community. ‘The benefits could include more rapid identification and recruitment of patients for clinical studies and increased efficiency for conducting the studies,’ she said. ‘The incentives and funding for patient-powered networks enable a much richer set of patient-reported outcomes and endpoints that are meaningful to patients is exciting as few large scale efforts are able to capture this information routinely.’” Paid Subscription Required. (Source: FDA Week, 5/3/2013)
Download Shire’s Rare Disease Impact Report: Insights from patients and the medical community
In January 2013, Shire put together a Rare Disease Import Report, after a four-week period of online surveys conducted among US/ UK rare disease patients and their caregivers, physicians who treat patients with rare diseases, payors handling reimbursements for healthcare plans and governments/institutions, and thought leaders in the rare disease space. More here. (TotalBiopharma, 5/6/2013)
New OHE Research: Valuing Orphan Medicines Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
OHE has just released a research paper that describes an experimental study intended to test whether and how a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach can be applied to orphan medicinal products (OMPs). The purpose of this research was to identify which attributes to include in an OMP value framework, determine their relative importance using an MCDA process, and test whether an MCDA approach can provide a practical aid to decision making. More here. (Source: OHE, 5/7/2013)
What's the One word that you most associate with HealthEconomics.Com?
This Word Cloud is based on reader responses to the one word or phrase that they most associate with HealthEconomics.Com. (Source: Reader Satisfaction Survey, May 2013, and Wordle.Com)
Effective Email Strategies for the HEOR Audience. Lessons from HealthEconomics.Com.
At HealthEconomics.Com, we’ve sent >4 million emails since fall
2007 containing HEOR news, policy updates, jobs, and resource announcements . We’ve learned a few tricks, read a lot of reports, conducted our own research, and talked to a series of “experts”. If you are crafting a digital marketing strategy focused on the HEOR Community that includes email communication, this blog is intended to give you some tips. More here.
2007 containing HEOR news, policy updates, jobs, and resource announcements . We’ve learned a few tricks, read a lot of reports, conducted our own research, and talked to a series of “experts”. If you are crafting a digital marketing strategy focused on the HEOR Community that includes email communication, this blog is intended to give you some tips. More here.
What happens when you pay two monkeys unequally?
Watch what happens- Excerpt from Frans de Waal's TED Talk.
European Medicines Agency told not to disclose data
The European Medicines Agency has released over 1.9 million pages of data in response to access-to-documents requests since November 2010. Following recent cases brought by AbbVie and InterMune, the agency has been told not to publish what the companies say is commercially sensitive data until a final ruling is made. EMA had been making drives towards transparency of data submitted to it by pharmaceutical companies. More here. (Source: pharmaphorum, 5/1/2013)
Video: PCORI Roundtable - Building a National Data Infrastructure to Advance CER
Joe Selby's Presentation and Panel Discussion from April 23, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Source: YouTube, 5/1/2013)
Watch here.
Watch here.
What Do Scientific Studies Show?
The popular media reports on "scientific results" almost every day, but how seriously should they be taken? One day, readers hear that Vitamin D may prevent arthritis, yet years later a more rigorous study calls the previous findings into question. What is the best way to establish cause rather than a correlation? A randomized controlled experiment. These studies can take years to carry out and as a result most research we read about is correlational. Should a reporting labeling system be put into place? More here. (NY Times, 4/25/2013)
Is the ACA responsible for bending the health care cost curve?
Health care spending is down and according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study attributes 77% of the cost slowdown to the recession with the remaining quarter being due to “continuing changes in the way health care is delivered, but also to rising levels of patient cost-sharing in private insurance plans that discourage use of services.” More here. (Source: NY Times, 4/24/2013)
Models Do Drive Decision Making, But Do They Take You Where You Want to Go?
UBC's latest issue of Evidence Matters gives readers an informative article on the principles of successful model-based economic evaluations and implementation. "While guaranteeing a positive reimbursement decision via modeling is a false promise, there are elements that go a long way to improving chances of success." More here. (Source: Evidence Matters, May 2013)
What methods can specialty drug manufacturers employ to optimize consolidation?
The new report from Fitch Ratings assessed the ability of 3 specialty drug makers—Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Endo Health Solutions, and Warner Chilcott, PLC— to grow based on each company’s area of expertise, past acquisition strategies, future patent expiries, major competitors by therapeutic class, and debt capacities. Based on this information, the report authors identified the acquisition targets that would be of greatest value to each manufacturer. More here. (Source: Specialty Pharmacy Times, 4/24/2013)
IMS Health Advances Cloud-Based Social Media Analytics
IMS Health has announced the acquisition of Semantelli Corporation, a Bridgewater, N.J.-based social media analytics company, to extend its marketing and consumer engagement capabilities for healthcare organizations around the world. Semantelli offers clients a robust set of cloud-based tools that automate the collection of healthcare-specific social media content, providing real-time monitoring for reputation and opportunity management and delivering extensive insights into consumer and physician behavior and sentiments. More here. (Source: IMSHealth.com, 4/30/2013)
PCORI to Invest $68 Million to Develop a National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network
PCORI issued two funding announcements for up to $68 million to support development of a National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network.
The two linked cooperative agreement funding announcements will support Clinical Data Research Networks (CDRNs) and Patient-Powered Research Networks (PPRNs). More here.(Source: PCORI, 4/23/2013)
The two linked cooperative agreement funding announcements will support Clinical Data Research Networks (CDRNs) and Patient-Powered Research Networks (PPRNs). More here.(Source: PCORI, 4/23/2013)
Thomas Blissenbach, RPh, MS Appointed to NASP Board of Directors
NASP has annouced that Thomas Blissenbach, RPh, MS has joined the NASP Board of Directors. Blissenbach has more than 40 years of experience in both hospital and alternate site pharmacy and is currently the Director of Business Development for Fairview Pharmacy Services, LLC. He has developed and led numerous ambulatory pharmacy business units at Fairview since joining the organization in 2000. More here. (Source: NASP, 4/25/2013)
Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) - Explanation and Elaboration
This ISPOR Task Force Report consists of recommendations and a checklist to facilitate better reporting of published economic evaluations. More here. (Source: ISPOR)
New tHEORetically Speaking Blog: Hospital Profits Higher When Surgical Patients Develop Complications
Blogger Debra Gordon considers the results from a recently published JAMA study in which researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of data for all inpatient surgical discharges during 2010 from a 12-hospital system to compare costs, revenues, and contribution margins (revenue minus variable costs, representing financial resources available to pay fixed costs) between patients who developed surgical complications and those who didn’t. The bottom line: hospitals earned a lot more on patients with surgical complications. What, then, is to incentivize hospitals to improve the quality of their care and reduce costs? More here.
PCORI Unveils New Clinical Research Network
The new National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network funded by PCORI aims to provide patients and clinicians with useful information on treatment options and outcomes. By encouraging more comparative CER, the program also has potential to support development of new drugs and devices, according to PCORI exec Joe Selby. A main benefit of the envisioned research network is to help researchers and clinical trial sponsors identify patients to participate in studies. More here. (Source: PharmExecBlog, 4/30/2013)
Is Real World Evidence Gaining Traction Among Physicians?
Recent studies reveal that the use of real-world evidence is gaining traction among physicians worldwide as a primary consideration when recommending appropriate drugs and treatment. According to a new survey, conducted by Ipsos HealthCare, 87% of Oncologists are considering ‘real world’ evidence on product effectiveness and safety, most or all of the time when prescribing treatments. More here. (Source: eyeforpharma, 4/30/2013)
Snapshot of cancer research reveals lack of rigor & robustness
A systemic analysis of clinical oncology trials shows discrepancies in the structure of cancer trials as well as differences among oncology studies, according to a study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine . The findings suggest room for improvement to help stakeholders and policy makers understand how research affects practice and determine optimal use of healthcare resources. Researches have some suggestions to help guide future trials. More here. (Source: HealthImaging, 4/29/2013)
Is mHealth a 'perfect fit' for PCORI's patient-powered research networks?
Blogger Thomas Martin, MBA, mHIMSS, shares why a mHealth-based CER proposal would be attractive as an optimal PPRN. "First, mobile platforms are great access points for many diverse populations. Pew Research and Pew Internet have been following these trends for some time. Second, mobile devices reach a large network of individuals. Third, data will be captured in a timely structured fashion.” What are the challenges? More here. (Source: mHIMSS, 4/29/2013)
Is PCORI in the Hot Seat?
“...PCORI already begins its work with one arm tied behind its back. The law creating the agency stipulated that none of its findings could be used to determine Medicare payment policy. They can be considered only along with other evidence...The more immediate concern is that the newborn agency will get bogged down in methodology questions such as whether it is valid to use observational studies (code for using the promising technique of outcomes data mining to determine best practices) instead of conducting randomized clinical trials, which will take years to complete.” Paid Subscription Required. (Source: Modern Healthcare, 4/27/2013)
Video: The Future of Publications From a Patient-Centered Outcomes Perspective
William Silberg the Director of Communications for PCORI discusses what the mission of PCORI is and how it will influence both journals and pharma industry. View Video. (Source: International Society for Medical Publication Professionals, 4/30/2013)
Meet HE-Artist John Mackowiak - Old House 'Sculptor' & Journal Editor
John began his 'tinkering' career as a child when he would he would retool his friends’ crashed and useless bikes. He moved to old cars and now it’s houses. According to John he "pretends to sculpt with 2x4s, tile, pex, and romex." He is also the current Editor-in-Chief of JMCP. Find out more about John here.
OHE's Towse on Quality Standards in the 'New' English NHS
The 2013 conference of the ABPI addressed the challenges and opportunities presented by the recent changes in the NHS. Understanding quality, and setting and meeting standards for quality, are essential going forwards. At the conference, OHE’s Adrian Towse reviewed the experiences and concerns that have shaped the approach to quality and identified critical components. More here. (Source: OHE, 4/29/2013)
Pharma Whinges About Government Drug Sales Force
The Daily Caller, has found a new complaint among big pharma executives. "The Obama administration’s “academic detailing” program — through which representatives from the federal government help doctors select prescription drugs for their patients — is coming under harsh behind-the-scenes criticism from corporate executives including the CEO of Pfizer, who is trying to have the project disbanded." What are these government representatives pushing? Evidence-based medicine! More here. (Source: Forbes, 4/29/2013 and The Daily Caller, 4/27/2013)
How does cost-effectiveness influence NICE decisions?
This OHE presentation considers the influence of cost-effectiveness and other factors on NICE decisions.The research has three objectives: estimating the cost-effectiveness threshold apparent from NICE’s observed decisions, identifying which factors other than cost effectiveness affect or explain NICE’s decisions, and evaluating whether either of these has changed over time. What factor was the strongest predictor of NICE's decisions? Find out here. (Source: OHE, 4/30/2013)
PCORI Names Bryan Luce Chief Science Officer
PCORI has appointed Bryan R. Luce, PhD, MBA, as PCORI's first Chief Science Officer. In this position, Luce will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of PCORI's patient-centered comparative CER agenda. Luce joins PCORI from UBC, where he served as Senior VP for Science and Policy and focused on CER and the development of novel research methods to support a more patient-centered approach. More here. (Source: Sacbee.com, 4/26/2013)
Pharmaceutical Pricing and Health Outcomes Top Trending News This Week from HealthEconomics.Com
This week’s top news story on HealthEconomics.Com related to yet another rejection by NICE for Roche’s Avastin (bevacizumab) for advanced ovarian cancer. The second most read story, derived from the HealthEconomics.Com blog: tHEORetically Speaking, features guest blogger Nick Emptage. Read more here. (PRWeb.com, 4/25/2013)
Doctors Banding Together to Bring Down Cancer Rx Prices
More than 100 influential cancer specialists from around the world are banding together in order to persuade some leading pharmaceutical companies to bring down prices, some of which exceed $100,000/year. Are the prices of drugs used to treat some cancers "astronomical, unsustainable and immoral"? More here. (Source: NY Times, 4/25/2013)
CVS employees face $600 fine unless they disclose their weight
A new policy at CVS requires employees to get a screening which reports body fat, weight, and glucose levels to the company's insurer. If employees don't get screened, they have to pay an extra $50 per month, or $600 annually, in penalties. Privacy advocates are upset, but CVS claims the program is designed to help employees manage their health costs. What do you think? More here. (Source: Ragan's Healthcare Communication News, 3/25/2013)
Download the Specialty Pharmacy Selection Guide
This whitepaper is a guide to selecting the appropriate specialty pharmacy. what 10 elements should a payor consider in the decision process? What accreditations are important? More here. (Source: Avella)
Patient-Centered Outcomes the Focus of ISPOR New Orleans
ISPOR New Orleans, May 18-22, is bringing in speakers and perspectives from all over the world to discuss effectiveness research and drug development. Among the speakers, Laurie Burke, MPH, RPh, Program Committee Co-Chair and Director, Study Endpoints and Labeling Development, FDA will moderate a session on the importance of patient-centered outcomes. More here. (Source: Sacbee, 4/23/2013)
What is technology's role in enhancing & expanding the medical information teams' capabilities?
Medical information databases can increase the efficiency of short-staffed or over-burdened medical information teams. Within the medical information subfunction, companies can use databases to segment the types of medical questions they receive. Using centralized databases means companies can produce and store responses to commonly asked medical questions. Consequently, companies’ medical information teams spend less time developing responses to repeated inquiry types. More here. (Source: Cutting Edge Information, 4/4/2013)
What's the most effective way to use real world data?
eyeforpharma shares an article which explains the story behind patient use of tools like ZocDoc to compare cost and quality of care, and the use of social media to share experiences. Also, the partnership between Oracle and Aurora Healthcare and how they use joint expertise to conduct research including CER, safety monitoring and long-term studies is explored. Finally, payers’ use of health information companies to analyze data of their own is presented. More here. (Source: eyeforpharma)
Prices won't come down without transparency
Journalist Steven Brill's recent piece in TIME magazine tried to uncover the reasoning behind the fees billed to underinsured patients. Brill was also a recent panelist at a webinar presented by the Center for American Progress in which he referred to the pricing structure for health services as an "alternate universe". His recommendation for reigning in the insanity is pricing transparency, meaning that pharma would reveal gross profits and hopitals would opening list what they charge. Would the sheer embarrassment change this behavior? More here. (Source: Managed Healthcare Executive, April 2013)
Cost vs Benefits of Controlling Messaging in Pharma
Maintaining control over messages that are sent to payers and providers is important. Besides staying away from liability, controlling the message helps that competitive advantage. With such a large investment at stake it is essential that pharma avoid wasting resources and duplicating efforts. More here. (Source: BaseCase)
Will increasing prices of some drugs in Spain put citizens purchasing power & health at risk?
A study of 50 of the 417 drugs that were withdrawn from Spain's basic list of fully reimbursed treatments has found that the products registered an average price increase of 45% as a result of being subject to free pricing by the government, according to El Economista. Since the withdrawal of drugs from the basic list, the government managed to succeed in an overall reduction in public healthcare expenditure. Subsequently, brand names are facing a decrease in consumption and are expected to soon lower prices in order to remain competitve. More here. (Source: IHS, 4/10/2013)
CROs Not Feeling Impact of Clinical Trial Downturn, Analyst Says
Despite a downturn in the number of clinical trials across all phases, CROs may still see a substantial increase in bookings as large pharma and biotech companies look to keep costs down, according to an analyst. More here. (Source: Outsourcing-Pharma.com, 4/22/2013)
Has Excel Contributed to the Proliferation of Bad Math?
Close to 90% of spreadsheet documents contain errors, a 2008 analysis of multiple studies suggests. Given that there are close to 1 Billion Office users around the world, the errors are "pandemic". These mistakes are leading to distortions for the budgets of small businesses and familes, but also result in questionable rationales for global fiscal policy. As awareness of the problem has grown there are now certification programs designed to ensure best practices are followed by spreadsheet creators. Do you know how to minimize your mistakes? More here. (Source: MarketWatch, 4/20/2013)
Results from Latest Express Scripts Research on Worker's Comp Rx Spend
According to research released in the Express Scripts 2012 Workers' Compensation Drug Trend Report, their prescription management programs drove down utilization of prescription drugs for workers' compensation payers last year even though overall drug trend rose. Overall, spending and utilzation of drugs increased 2.9 percent in 2012, reversing two years of declines, driven primarily by a 10 percent increase in cost per user for antidepressants and dermatologicals. More here. (Source: Wall Street Journal, 4/22/2013)
Valuing Co-Dependent Medical Technologies: Improving Methods and Processes
This presentation by OHE's Martina Garau reviews the current situation of co-dependent technologies (using using diagnostic and therapeutic tests in tandem with treatment) and offers suggestions for improving methods and processes for assessing their value. Presentation here. (Source: OHE, 4/23/2013)
What Should You Expect When VBP Launches in UK?
Xcenda's latest issue of the HTA Quarterly provides all the information you need on VBP in the UK answering the questions, "How Is UK Pricing Changing, and What Is VBP?", "Why the Focus on VBP in the UK? ", "How Will VBP be Implemented in the UK?", and finally "What to Expect Between Now and Implementation Time". Find all the answers here. (Source: Xcenda, 7/24/2013)
Launching NOW: HealthEconomics.Com Business Directory for HEOR and Market Access Community
HealthEconomics.Com is launching the HealthEconomics.Com Business Directory, a fully responsive, robust, easy to use online business directory, searchable by key words, company names, services offered, areas of focus, researcher name, and more. List your company and showcase your full capabilities, with videos, slideshare, multimedia offerings, direct contact capabilities, and more. Contact Sales@healtheconomics.com now to find out how to be listed in this incredible new online directory.
Meet Our Latest HE-Artist: Ken O'Day - Triathete/Duathlete & Director HEOR
Ken O'Day has been competing in triathlons for three years and is recognized as a USA Triathlon All-American. In 2012 he was the Florida regional duathlon champion! Read all about Ken here.
Roche faces double rejection for Avastin
Avastin, when when used in combination with gemcitabine and carboplatin to treat patients whose cancer had spread outside the ovaries and had returned following initial treatment, has been rejected by NICE. Avastin was rejected several weeks prior for use in combination with the chemotherapy treatments paclitaxel and carboplatin to treat metastatic ovarian cancer. Overall, NICE couldn't be certain Avastin justified the estimated cost of £25,000 for one course of treatment. More here. (Source: PMLiVE, 4/22/2013)
Why hasn't adaptive trial design taken off?
Could regulatory hurdles be the largest barrier to adaptive trial adoption by pharma? According to the latest ISR research survey, 58 percent say "Yes". Other barriers include statistical design and changes to clinical execution standard operating procedures. A new scheme, Adaptive Designs Accelerating Promising Trials into Treatments (ADAPT-IT), backed by FDA and NIH, could help alleviate some of industry's concerns. Find out more here. (Source: PMLiVE, 4/22/2013)
NEW tHEORetically Speaking Blog: The Problem with Preventive Medicine
Blogger Nick Emptage, addresses the problems with the concept that preventive medicine will solve health care's cost crisis. Is there evidence to support the idea that screening interventions have patient benefits? What is the cost rationale for prevention? Find the answer to these questions and more, here.
New Open-access Patient Registry
PatientCrossroads is a for profit organization that helps disease organizations to become Registry Partners in a new shared, open-access patient registry able to collect data on any disease, from the most rare to more common diseases. View an interview with CEO Kyle Brown as he talks about the company. (Source: Rare Disease Report)
Video here.
Video here.
Say GRACE! Principles for Observational Studies
In an effort to reduce bias in observational studies, a number of researchers have joined together to develop rigorous, generally agreed upon methods and standards known as the GRACE Principles (Good ReseArch for Comparative Effectiveness). GRACE collaborators recognized that a well-defined and consensus-driven set of principles could serve to guide good practice for observational studies of comparative effectiveness, both for those who conduct these studies and for those who need to understand how such studies can be used appropriately to support decision-making regarding therapeutic alternatives. These principles address the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of observational studies of CER. More here. (Source: NPC, 4/19/2013)
Free HIPAA Compliant Text Messaging for Healthcare
The Cortext app was designed with physicians and nurses and protects PHI and streamlines care provider communications securely. More here. (Source: Imprivata)
Can government austerity affect health outcomes?
Yes! The economic recession and subsequent austerity measures in Greece were associated with a significant deterioration in public health services and mental and physical health outcomes, according to a new report by Greek and US researchers. Between 2009 and 2011, there was a 23.7% reduction in the Ministry of Health’s expenditures, and the overall expenses of public hospitals fell by 12.5% during the same period. Want to know What adverse health outcomes coincide with the austerity measures? Find out here. (Source: Healio, 4/19/2013)
What are the challenges of performance-based risk sharing in health care?
OHE's Adrian Towse reviewed the challenges to date of performance-based risk sharing arrangements for prescription medicines and other treatments at the mid-year ISPE Symposium. These arrangements are attractive to payers because they promise to base what is paid for a treatment on whether/how well if actually works. More here. (Source: OHE: 4/17/2013)
YouTube: Introducing the HealthEconomics.Com Showcase
Take a short walk through the HealthEconomics.Com Showcase which highlights a few of the features available in this exciting new service, coming soon from HealthEconomics.Com.
Video here.
Video here.
What are the benefits and limitations of the many sources of data now available?
Eyeforpharma provides a FREE whitepaper in which senior leaders from Janssen, Amgen, UBC, the CPRD and others offer an understanding of the different kinds of evidence generated for late-phase trials, product strategy and meeting conditional reimbursement requirements. The paper also provides vital information on payer & health authorities attitudes to all datasets from ePROs to EHRs and new opportunities that data can open up for your business. (Source: eyeforpharma)
Download paper here.
Download paper here.
Lilly says Social Media Allows “Big Companies to Act Small Again”
Don’t you wish your company could “act small” but “play big”? See what Lilly has done to accomplish this, and contact HealthEconomics.Com to help you with your Social Media project. More here. (Source: Pharmaphorum)
Switzerland and pharma forge pricing and access deal
The Swiss government has cut a deal with the pharmaceutical industry aimed at reducing litigation on drug pricing in return for speedier access to market. Savings for Swiss patients could amount to $773m over the next three years. Under this agreement,which will come into effect June 1, the prices of approximately 2,500 medicines in Switzerland will fall as a result of being referenced for the first time against their cost overseas. More here. (PMLiVE, 4/15/2013)
UnitedHealth teams with providers to evaluate medical devices
UnitedHealth, along with Baylor Health Care system, Dignity Health and Advocate Health Care, have launched an initiative to independently measure the effectiveness of medical devices. Together they have formed a new group called SharedClarity that will combine UnitedHealth's claims data with the providers' clinical data to test the devices for performance, replacement needs and hospital readmissions to create a scorecard. SharedClarity will then use the rating results to pool their purchasing power to negotiate "affordable purchasing agreements" with the manufacturers of the best devices. More here. (Source: FierceHealthPayer, 4/12/2013)
NEW tHEORetically Speaking Blog: The Affordable Care Act: Perfect? Hardly.
Rather than laugh hysterically when asked if the ACA was going to solve the many problems of the US healthcare sysem, Debra Gordon "politely" says "no". Two of the reasons? Hospital readmissions and the individual "mandate". Read more here. (Source: tHEORetically Speaking, 4/15/2013)
How is Pharma Addressing Global Pricing Pressures & Challenges?
Do the global political, social and economic changes have your pricing team working overtime? Are the ever changing trends keeping your group on its' toes? A shift is taking place in the industry which is taking companies from a blockbuster vs. niche model to an innovative vs. follow-on model. Like blockbuster drugs, innovative drugs have the potential to make a substantial profit, just through a more specific market. More here. (Source: Cutting Edge, 3/4/2013)
Slideshare Presentation: Evidence Based Medicine Applications
View this slideshare presentation & transcript about EBM applications from the Society for Undergraduate Research, Department of Medical Education, Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad.
What will drugmakers need to do to gain market access for cancer drugs in China?
According to China's former health minister, Chen Zhu, western drugmakers may have to give hefty subsidies and forgo some profit on expensive cancer drugs if they want access to China’s “huge market”. While government insurance programs have increased coverage of cancer treatments, there’s still a gap which means drugmakers may have to give up some profit margin on their drugs. Last year, officials reached a deal with Novartis in which they agreed to donate three doses of its leukemia drug Gleevec for every one sold to the government. More here. (Source: Bloomberg, 4/8/2013)
What 10 products are expected to be industry’s largest growth drivers through to 2017?
Tecfidera, Biogen Idecs's MS therary, was just given FDA approval and is expected to be a leading industry growth driver over the next few years. The biggest growth driver – Gilead’s sofosbuvir – is yet to launch (initial roll-out is expected in 2014), while the top 10 list is also populated by a number of older products expected to demonstrate enviable commercial longevity. See the entire Top 10 list here. (Source: FirstWord Pharma, 4/9/2013)
What's happening in the unfolding biosimilar landscape in Latin America?
Latin America is experiencing an unprecedented period of economic growth and development which is having a direct impact on healthcare. In an attempt to expedite biosimilar market entry, payers are putting pressure on regulators to accelerate the registration process, but only a handful of the latter have clear pathways in place, and most are being very cautious due to safety and efficacy concerns. Is the momentum moving more towards savings or safety? Read more here. (Source: PMLiVE, 4/10/2013)
New tHEORetically Speaking Blog: Three Things You Need To Know About Personalized Medicine
Read the latest post to the HealthEconomics.Com blog, tHEORetically Speaking, by Caitlin Rothermel, MA, MPH.
NASP Nomination & Paper Submissions
The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) is recruiting nominations for board members as well as authors. If you know someone in the specialty pharmacy industry that you believe would be a good candidate to serve on NASP's Board of Directors, NASP is currently taking nominations. Additionally, if you or someone you know would be interested in authoring original articles related to specialty pharmacy please send submissions or submission ideas to nwatkins@specialtypharmajournal.com
What are the Top 4 strategies used by adults to reduce prescription drug costs?
A study by the CDC has shown that adults under the age of 65 are twice more likely than those over the age of 65 to not take their prescribed medications as prescribed to save money. The important fact in this story is that once an adult in the US turns 65, most are eligible for Medicare. The cost-cutting methods included skipping doses, consuming less than prescribed, and even delaying filling in the prescription altogether. Find out more about strategies used here. (Source: Totalbiopharma, 4/11/2013)
PatientsLikeMe Developing Platform To Validate PROs
While the primary objective will be to help members of the online patient community better manage their health, the new platform will offer an opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to validate patient-reported outcomes that they develop, something that could be useful as PROs gain more traction in the FDA review process. This article is available for purchase here. (Source: The Pink Sheet, 4/8/2013)
A Mobile App for Crowdsourcing Vaccine Refusal Data: A Model for Improving Drug Adherence
Pharmaguy John Mack recently tested out the new app, "vaccine refused", developed by the University of Iowa Computational Epidemiology Group. Read more about his experience using the app and how he thinks it can be improved by providing evidence feedback to the patient user. (Source: Pharma Marketing Blog, 4/10/2013)
How is Aetna using patient data to prevent diabetes & heart attacks?
Speaking at GigaOM’s Structure:Data conference, Aetna’s head of innovation, Michael Palmer, talked about the company’s efforts to use patient data to provide better care. Under a new initiative, Aetna Innovation Labs, the insurer is trying out several approaches to use all that data to keep patients healthy, lower customer costs and decrease the company’s own spending on health care. The Innovation Labs has focused on a few conditions since starting last year, including cancer, heart disease and metabolic syndrome. More here. (Source: Gigaom, 3/20/2013)
NASP Announces First Executive Director
NASP™ announced the appointment of James E. Smeeding, RPh, MBA, as the association's first Executive Director. Smeeding, who holds a pharmacy degree from the University of Buffalo and a MBA from the University of Texas, is a well-recognized and widely published leader in the pharmacy industry. He has experience in a variety of areas including hospital pharmacy, clinical services design, home infusion therapy, managed care services and disease management. Smeeding is the founder of the Center for Pharmacoeconomic Studies at the University of Texas, College of Pharmacy, where he has focused his research on pharmacoeconomics, systems integration and managed care. More here. (Source: PR Newswire, 4/10/2013)
Who was top influencer at NASP Conference?
HealthEconomics.Com was voted the Top Influencer by Symplur.Com during the inaugural National Association of Specialty Pharmacy conference, April 2nd – 3rd at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California. The Top Influencer is determined based on an analysis of the volume of Tweets containing the hashtag for the NASP Meeting (#NASP). HealthEconomics.Com also earned the highest number of mentions during the NASP conference, indicating the strong following HealthEconomics.Com commands in the industry. More here. (Source: PRWeb, 4/10/2013)
New Challenges/Functions ahead for NICE
NICE has now become the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and has begun its major new programme of work to bring high-quality guidance and standards to the social care sector. Read more about the changes here. (Source: NICE, 3/28/2013)
Meet Amanda Justice, the latest HE-Artist from HealthEconomics.Com
Did you know Pharma Health Economists are Authors, Painters, Jewelry Designers, Outdoor Survivalists, and More? We did! Meet our newest HE-Artists here, Amanda Justice, a fantasy fiction published author!
AMNOG Interviews in Phama Times
Pharma Times has interviewed AMNOG experts including: John Lechleiter, CEO Eli Lilly, Dr. Markus Frick, Director Market Access, German Association of Research Based Pharmaceutical Companies, Angreas Guhl, Founder ValueMAxcess Ltd and more. What are the concerns on AMNOG's effect of VBP in the UK? For full article contact andreas.guhl@valuemaxess.com (Source: LinkedIn)
New, Bottom-Up Model for Forecasting UK Medicines Expenditure
OHE has just completed a new study that projects medicines expenditure in the UK to 2015 using a product-level, or “bottom-up”, approach. This makes it possible to base forecasts on what is most likely to change in the medicines market, e.g. the appearance of new products and the debut of new generics and biosimilars. The study compares the results for forecasting medicine expenditures using a top-down analysis and OHE’s bottom-up approach. This shows that the bottom-up approach provides richer detail about causes and distribution of costs, i.e. which therapeutic areas may consume the greater resources. More here. (Source: OHE, 4/3/2013)
Who are these guys? Why the PCORI Picks Matter.
PCORI has just appointed four new advisory panels that will help guide hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants. Unfortunately, while PCORI released the new advisers’ names, it neglected to tell the public who the advisory panel members really are. Panel members represent specific stakeholder groups mandated by Congress and are appointed for one year, but they can re-up for another term. But why did PCORI provide the public with random names as opposed to providing all the relevant information? More here. (Source: The Health Care Blog, 4/5/2013)
What will be the impact of Walgreens/Alliance Boots/AmerisourceBergen Deal?
Walgreens, the largest drug store chain in United States, AmerisourceBergen, the country’s second largest drug wholesaler, and Alliance Boots, one of the largest pharmacy chains and drug wholesalers in Europe, announced a 10-year distribution deal that creates a global, vertically-integrated partnership with total revenue of approximately $180 billion. If Walgreens successfully lowers its acquisition cost for generics it might further expand its flat-fee generics. Currently, some generics are available from Walgreens for $4.00. Will this create a problem for clinical programs? More here. (Source: ktp advisors, 4/2/2013)
NPC's Dr. Dubois Talks ACO Expectations at AMCP Meeting
NPC's Chief Science Officer Dr. Robert Dubois chats with AJMC about expectations for implementing ACOs. The video was taped during AMCP's 25th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego, CA. (Source: NPC, 4/4/2013)
Video here.
Video here.
What is the value of big data in health care?
$450 billion, according to McKinsey & Company. They have identified five areas where harnessing big data generated by the health system could create greater efficiencies and scale economies. Find out more here. (Source: HealthPopuli, 4/8/2013)
HealthEconomics.Com Rated Top Influencer at AMCP 25th Annual Meeting
HealthEconomics.Com was recognized by Symplur.Com as a Top Influencer at the recent AMCP 25th Annual Meeting and Expo, held April 3rd – 5th in San Diego. The title is awarded based on analyzing the volume of tweets containing the hashtag for the Annual AMCP Meeting (#AMCP) . HealthEconomics.Com also had a top number of mentions during the AMCP meeting, which is evidence of the high number of interactions with the company and its tweets. More here. (Source: PRWeb, 4/8/2013)
This is what it REALLY means to "focus on the patient"
Anna Cortez, Chief Nursing Officer at Otto Kaiser Memorial Hosipital, shares a personal experience which reminds those in health care that "it’s not enough to strive for clinical excellence; I must also connect with the humanity of each person I encounter." More here. (Source: KevinMD, 4/4/2013)
Orphan Drug Prices Under Siege in Austerity-Minded Europe
Bloomberg reports that as more orphan drugs gain approval, austerity-conscious governments in Europe are demanding price cuts to orphan drugs. Yet David Meeker,Sanofi CEO, says that in increased attention to prices in Europe isn’t diminishing the attractiveness of orphan drugs. NICE has declined to commment on what criteria will be considered when assessing these types of pharmaceuticals. More here. (Source: First Word Pharma via Bloomberg, 4/7/2013)
Call for Abstracts for Special Supplement to the Journal of General Internal Medicine
Topic: Research Methods for Evaluating Patient Health Outcomes in Rare Diseases. April 5 - May 31, 2013. More here. (Source: AHRQ)
Asia and the Medical Affairs Function
Research from Cutting Edge Information confirms that the medical affairs function is not yet fully functional in every Asian country. However, their recent discussions with medical affairs executives in Asia revealed that organizations are gradually implementing, shaping and adapting teams to meet local regulations and each country’s needs. Data reveal the current status of medical affairs operations in this region. As Figure A shows, 84% of survey respondents indicated that their companies have some form of medical affairs operations in one or more Asian country. More here. (Source: Cutting Edge Information, 4/1/2013)
What is the difference between compounding and specialty pharmacy?
SPAARx, an association representing the broad interests of the specialty pharmacy industry, has announced that it is launching a national advocacy initiative focused on pending federal and state legislation and regulation through agencies including FDA related to Compounding. The Association believes that a clear understanding of the differentiation between specialty pharmacy and compounding is critical to avoid unintended consequences. More here. (Source: MarketWire, 4/2/2013)
New Specialty Pharmacy Issue: Dispensing Excellence
You can read and download Dispensing Excellence, a publication devoted to specialty pharmacy and related topics for healthcare providers and patients. In this issue: Pharmacy Quality Assurance Checklist; What is Specialty PHarmacy?; Pharmacists: Patient-Centric Team Memebers and Community Resources. Download here. (Source: Avella,Spring 2013)
AMCP Revises Formulary Document to Reflect New Recommendations for Specialty Pharmaceuticals
Updates to the AMCP Formulary include new portions pertaining to specialty pharmaceuticals, comparative effectiveness research, and companion diagnostics tests, as well as a new definition for the term “specialty pharmacy.” More here. (Source: AMCP, 1/29/2013)
AMCP Welcomes New Members to Board of Trustees
In conjunction with the re-naming of its foundation, AMCP also announced recently elected new members to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. New members to the AMCP Foundation’s Board of Trustees include: Annette D. Boyer, President, CECity, Inc.; Richard A. Zabinski, Vice President, Prime Therapeutics, LLC; Edwin C. Hedblom, Treasurer, 3M Medical &; Robert DeLuca, Secretary, Archimedes Pharma US, Inc. Additionally, two trustees were re-elected to one-year terms: Perry Cohen, The Pharmacy Group, LLC, and Kathleen Kaa, Genentech USA. Both developments were released at AMCP’s 25th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego. More here. (Source: AMCP)
AMCP Unveils New Name for Foundation
AMCP has announced that the Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy, the philanthropic arm of AMCP, has been re-named the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Foundation. This information was released at AMCP’s 25th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego. More here. (Source: AMCP)
So What Are Payers Doing About ICD-10?
It is critical for providers to understand what the payer side is doing to implement ICD-10 in their organizations. Communications are critical at this point. Payers are making changes to most of their business processes and systems. There will be changes to benefit packages, medical review policies, claims edits, payment calculations, quality measures, additional documentation requirements, reporting, etc. as they must be ready to process ICD-10 codes for all services delivered on and after October 1, 2014. More here. (Source: HIMSS, 3/19/2013)
Who are the Top 10 Pharma Companies in 2017?
FirstWord has combined and distilled analysis from experts in many fields to predict the top 10 Pharma companies in 2017. Here they are in alphabetical order: AbbVie, AZ, Bayer, GSK, J&J, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche & Sanofi. What is driving their success? More here. (Source: FirstWord, March 2013)
What do physicians think about health reform and the future of medicine?
According the latest Deloitte 2013 Survey of US Physician perspectives, unhealthy lifestyles are a major influence on overall health care system costs. What incentives would work to engage consumers in a more healthy lifestyle and do the physicians agree? More here. (Source: World of DTC Marketing.com, 3/25/2013)
Really? Man Jumps From Building To Escape A Clinical Trial
Let's file this under 'News of the Weird'. Back on March 4, a 32-year-old man claimed that representatives of an unnamed drugmaker based in Miyapur, India, tried to force him to participate in a clinical trial in which he had enrolled. He changed his mind due to fears about his health, but the trial administrators would not let him leave. His novel escape involved jumping from the 2nd floor of the company's building. Really! More here. (Source: Pharmalot 3/26/2013)
Who will win the 'Battle of the Biosimilars'?
There is gathering momentum in the battle over biosimilars in the US. Florida and Colorado are moving on bilsimilar bills, with biosimilar legislation pending in a further eight states. Can brand-name biologics be substituted for cheaper generic biosimilars, and what restrictions and conditions should govern such a substitution? More here. (Source: Total Biopharma, 3/20/2013)
Download the Specialty Pharmacy Selection Guide
Avella shares 10 elements a payor should consider in the decision process of selecting the appropriate specialty pharmacy. What accreditations are important? What value can specialty pharmacies offer your organization? Find out here. (Source: Avella)
Specialty Drug Use and Costs on the Rise
According to two new studies, specialty drugs are expected to account for 50% of all drug costs by 2018. Pharmacy benefit manager Prime Therapeutics and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota conducted the studies, and Prime is presenting them at AMCP's 25th annual meeting and expo in San Diego. More here. (Source: Drug Store News, 4/2/2013)
Device Trends to Watch in 2013
MedTech Insight provides this annual article that analyzes the highs, lows and trends of the previous year in order to provide a scientific discussion on what to expect in the current year. Get your copy here. (Source: Elsevier Business Intelligence)
Is that what you think evidence-based medicine is?
How is evidence based medicine understood? Can EBM be defined as doctors providing therapies based on tests? This is how Russ Roberts of EconTalk recently defined it during his interview with Eric Topl. Does this surprise you? It suprised the Incidental Economist who has reported on this in recent blog about the topic here. (Source: The Incidental Economist, 4/1/2013)
Why are wealthy nations not doing more to drive down medicine costs?
Michelle Childs, of Medecins Sans Frontieres, explores why drugs are so expensive and wonders if the public is asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, "Why are we refusing to pay for these high drug prices?", people in the UK today should be asking, "Why are these drug prices so high?" Countries like India did by allowing production of cheaper generic copies on patented drugs. Should the UK, the US and the EU start siding with developing countries on affordable access? More here. (Source: BBC News, 3/28/2013)
CHEERS to better reporting and health decisions!
The Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement is an attempt to consolidate and update previous health economic evaluation guidelines efforts into one current, useful reporting guidance. The primary audiences for the CHEERS statement are researchers reporting economic evaluations and the editors and peer reviewers assessing them for publication. Read more here on how the need for this new reporting guidance was identified and developed. (Source: Springer Link, March 2013)
2013 Review - Economics of the UK Market for Medicines
OHE’s Dr Jorge Mestre-Ferrandiz is a visiting lecturer in the Department of Economics at City University London. As part of his 2013 activities, he recently gave a comprehensive lecture on the economics of the market for medicines in the UK. His presentation covers the key issues, from drug development through health technology assessment and market access. Presentation here. (Source: OHE, 3/26/2013)
Breast Cancer Reimbursement Across the G7
Hoffmann Krueger reports on the G7 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, USA and the Japan) oncology reimbursement particularities. More here. (Source: Hoffman & Krueger Oncology Excellence, 4/1/2013)
HealthEconomics.Com’s Pharma Pricing and Reimbursement Stories in This Week’s Newsletter
The top read story this week on HealthEconomics.Com was from a Healthy Criticism Blog posting by Nick Emptage, exploring why price transparency in pharmaceuticals and healthcare won’t reduce healthcare spending. Another story of interest relates to comments by Jon Sussex, of OHE, regarding the revised draft of regulations to govern competition among providers of health care funded by the NHS in England. More here. (Source: PRWeb.com, 4/2/2013)
HHS will fund 100% of Medicaid expansion for 3 years
In an effort to pursuade states to adopt the reform law's Medicaid expansion, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services will pay 100 percent of the costs for states to cover newly eligible Medicaid patients for the next three years. After the first three years, the agency's contribution toward states' Medicaid costs will gradually decrease to 90 percent in 2020. More here. (Source: Fierce Healthpayer, 3/29/2013)
Confounding and Missing Data in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Comparing different methods
This looks useful! CER Collaborative to Highlight Online Decision Making Tool at AMCP Annual Meeting
A new online assessment tool aimed at helping payers evaluate comparative effectiveness research (CER) studies will be unveiled during the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Annual Meeting in San Diego on April 4. Developed by the CER Collaborative, a group composed of AMCP, ISPOR, and NPC, the tool assists payers in assessing the credibility and relevance of individual research studies as part of making a formulary decision. More here. (Source: E.V.I.dently March 2013)
PatientsLikeMe Launches New Clinical Trial Search Tool for Patients-Will Help Recruitment
The free tool draws on open data to match patients from around the globe with clinical trials based on their condition and location, accelerating recruitment. It's already been used by Merck, BI, Novartis, and UCB in rare diseases. Is there a use for you? More here. (Source:PMLive March 2013)
Archimedes, Inc. Expands Use of Big Data in Healthcare Modeling and Analytics
Archimedesis substantially expanding its modeling and analytics solutions to more quickly and easily access and analyze information related to complex questions by integrating electronic health records (EHR), claims, clinical trial, and pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) simulation outcomes data with data from Archimedes simulations and proprietary algorithms. This integrated data will offer near-instant results (Source: Archimedes PR 3/27/13)
New Way to Present Comparative Effectiveness Data Using Forest Plots. Does This Communicate?
Forest plots were developed in the 1970s specifically for use in the representation of medical meta-analyses. The BaseCase forest plot is used to visually compare the efficacy of different treatments, or the results of different studies. Some of the new features include a dynamic effect line and labels, an enhanced range of coloring and formatting choices, and more labeling options. The new BaseCase forest plot is more stable. More here. (Source BaseCase 3/28/2013)
Call for Papers! Journal of HEOR
Dr. Onur Baser, Editor-in-Chief JHEOR, invites you to submit your manuscript for consideration. JHEOR seeks articles related to outcomes research and the economics of health. Theoretical models as well as empirical studies from any therapeutic areas are accepted. In particular, articles related to comparative effectiveness research, health technology assessments, economic evaluations, meta-analysis, literature research, patient-reported outcomes, preference-based assessments and health policy analyses are welcome. Submit your manuscript here.
Biosimilar developers turning to emerging markets
Biosimilar developers are turning to emerging markets as a preferred market entry point bypassing the US and European markets. What is driving this trend? Biosimilars in Emerging Markets is a 2-volume report which provides both a comprehensive overview of the biosimilars sector and highly-detailed expert analysis of the issues that are affecting developments on the ground in a range of emerging markets including Korea, India, China, Brazil, Russia and Turkey. (Source: FirstWord, March 2013)
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UK's NICE Central to New Drug Pricing System
NICE will be responsible for assessing the full value of medicines under a VBP system for new drugs due to take effect January 1, 2014. This builds on the groups current drug evaluation processes by giving it broader scope to assess a medicine's benefits and costs. (Source: Reuters, 3/21/2013)
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Want to improve Payer/Pharma partnerships?
Listen to audio from a recent eyeforpharma panel discussion which presents positive and negative case studies of payer/HTA partnerships with pharma companies. Stakeholders from the UK, Germany, France and Spain openly discuss whether risk-sharing actually works, how real world data can help and what is actually valuable to them. (Source: eyeforpharma)
Audio here.
Audio here.
NICE to have primary role in UK's VBP
NICE will have primary responsibility for assessing medicines for VBP when the new system is introduced in 2014, broadening their responsibility "beyond its current drug evaluation processes". NICE will now "plan how it will undertake its role in assessing the value of new medicines", said the UK Department of Health . (Source: PMLiVE, 3/22/2013)
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The Usual Suspects Still Lead Specialty Pharma Trend
Express Scripts reports that the 'ususal suspects'- inflammatory conditions, multiple sclerosis and cancer — remain the specialty drug classes with the highest per-member per-year (PMPY) spend, reporting 2012 spend being $50.62 PMPY. Overall specialty spend among their memebers increased 18.4%. This is in contrast to the total annual trend for nonspecialty drugs among their members which decreased 1.5%. PMPY. (Source: AISHealth, March 2013)
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Read more.
Why Won't Price Transparency Bring Down Health Care Spending?
Economist Nick Emptage reflects on the business model of San Francisco-based Castlight Health, a company which contracts with employers to make the costs of health services transparent to employees. The idea is that employees will then lean toward lower-cost providers. Nick's blog points out the flaws of this idea as it relates to the health care market. Read his post here. (Source: Healthy Criticism, 3/20/2013)
tHEORetically Speaking Blog: Effective Email Strategies for the HEOR Audience – Part 2 of 3
This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on Effective Email Strategies for the HEOR Audience: Lessons from HealthEconomics.Com. This 2nd part focuses on Graphics and Email Design.
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OHE comments on revised draft of NHS competition regulations
OHE's Jon Sussex, who has studied and written extensively on competition in the NHS, comments on the latest NHS competition regulations. Read his thoughts on the latest revised draft here. (Source: OHE, 3/19/2013)
Should taxpayers enjoy lower drug prices if federal money backed development?
Senator Ron Wyden (Oregon-D) wants "to gain an undertanding of what the public can expect as a return on its research investment." Apparently, some of that return would come in the form of lower prices on drugs developed with federal support. Wyden argues that NIH scientist & Pfizer collaborated under a cooporative agreement set up in the 90's. NIH policies in the early part of that decade required drug prices to reflect the government's investment in a collaborative product. But that policy changed in 1995, and Pfizer's collaboration was set up in 1996 under the new rules. (Source: FiercePharma, 3/19/2013)
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HealthEconomics.Com Presents at Center for Entrepreneurial Development, Presbyterian College
Patti Peeples, RPh, PhD, President and Founder of HealthEconomics.Com, was an invited speaker and mentor for the Center for Entrepreneurial Development at the Presbyterian College of Pharmacy, located in Clinton, South Carolina, on March 18th and 19th, 2013. Dr. Peeples spoke on “Creating a Successful Financial Plan”, and presented to an audience of pharmacy professors and students who aspire to be successful entrepreneurs in a variety of pharmacy-related career paths. (Source: PRWeb, 3/19/2013)
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GSK boss says the high cost of research R&D a myth
According to GSK boss Sir Andrew Witty the high cost of R&D research is a myth because it was an “average figure” that includes money spent on treatments that fail in later stages. He also says that drug prices should be lower. GSK has a history of speaking out on contentious issues; just last month the UK firm signed the AllTrials register, which aims to increase public scrutiny of clinical trials. (Source: PharmaTimes, 3/18/2013)
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Read more.
What is the value of medical research?
OHE's John Sussex made a presentation at the 2013 BioWales conference and made a presentation which examined the value of medical research, which involves all three sectors in the UK: public, private and charity. He points out that despite concerns to the contrary, the three do not compete but act synergistically, with combined spending totalling some £8 billion per year. View his presenation and read more here. (Source: OHE, 3/20/2013)
Archived webinar: Healthcare Administrative Databases Analysis
Could using real-life administrative databases help close the treatment and safety gaps created by the intrinsic differences between clinical trials and real-life utilization of drugs? This webinar looks at these administrative databases, their objective, observational study design, challeges and more. (Source: xTalks, 1/29/2013)
Archived webinar available here.
Archived webinar available here.
What does the 2011 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report Show?
After a two-year slowdown, health care spending grew 4.6 percent per capita in 2011, according to the latest HCCI Report. The Health Care Cost and Utilization Report: 2011 provides a broad look at 2011 health care spending among those with employer-sponsored insurance. (Source: HCCI)
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Read more.
Which forward looking companies are improving health outcomes and reducing costs in the US?
The rising cost of healthcare in the U.S. is swallowing the people. Some forward-looking health plans and providers, like Premera Blue Cross and CareMore, are already implementing a fee-for-value reimbursement model. The companies have already seen cost savings, but there is much more to do. What additional steps can smart health plans take which will result in even greater improvements in health outcomes while reducing costs? Find out here. (Source: Forbes, 3/17/2013)
tHEORetically Speaking Blog: Effective Email Strategies for the HEOR Audience – Part 1 of 3
At HealthEconomics.Com, we’ve sent >4 million emails since Fall 2007 containing HEOR news, policy updates, jobs, and resource announcements. We’ve learned a few tricks, read a lot of reports, conducted our own research, and talked to a series of “experts”. If you are crafting a digital marketing strategy focused on the HEOR Community that includes email communication, this blog is intended to give you some tips.
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Read more.
Are European high-tech companies successfully utilizing data?
Results from a recent survey from Model N and European Pricing Platform reveal that 30% of high-tech companies are still using spreadsheets. Only 50% of European high tech companies are successfully integrating and using data in managing pricing and profitability. A recent forum sponsored by these same groups has identified four key themes in managing better financial outcomes. Find them here. (Source: The European Pricing Blog, 3/15/2013)
Interview with China’s Ministry of Health on Chinese orphan drug market access
In the lead up to the World Orphan Drug Congress USA, Terrapin has shared an interview with Ping Guo, Vice President of Beijing YuanTang Institute of Gene Science, part of China’s Ministry of Health. You can download the interview transcript here for insights on market access in China for orphan drugs. (Source: totalbiopharma, 3/14/2013)
You’re Invited: April 25th Art Reception for one of our own Health Economists, Agora Gallery, NYC
Through our HE-Artist program, we have met Salomé de Cambra (a featured HE-Artist in late March 2013, watch for it). Dr. de Cambra, a Barcelona-based artist and physician, will show her collective exhibition Interpretive Realms in New York City, at Agora Gallery, on 25 April 2013 (invitation here). Please attend and support this wonderful HE-Artist. Salome’s art work can be viewed here.
Keep up with OHE this week
OHE staff will be present and presenting this week around the UK and Asia. Keep up with their activities here. (Source: OHE, 3/18/2013)
What Health Economist wishes they were stranded on a desert island w/just a Swiss Army Knife?
It's our own Dr. Patti Peeples! Meet Patti, health economist, pharmacist and mother of 13-year old twin boys. She is a woman who loves adventure and nurturing a love of the great outdoors in young people. HealthEconomics.Com has launched a new series to share the hidden talents among our peers, called HE: Artists, featuring talents, skills, and creative ventures. We’d love to share your story.
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Archimedes Inc. Renews Annual Marketing Agreement with HealthEconomics.Com
Archimedes Inc., a healthcare modeling and analytics company, will continue their digital marketing partnership for 2013 with HealthEconomics.Com. Archimedes is the creator of the Archimedes Model, a carefully validated, clinically-realistic simulation model of health and healthcare. Archimedes provides researchers, medical professionals, policy makers and executives a valuable alternative to real world clinical research that cannot be studied empirically due to cost, duration, ethics, complexity, number of variables, or urgency. (Source: PRWeb, 3/18/2013)
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Why Has Health Information Technology Been Ineffective?
The Conversable Economist, Timothy Taylor, wonders why HIT hasn't done much to reduce costs given that the underlying story is that "greater efficiency in dealing with the provision of care and the paperwork burden of medicine, and greater safety for patients as providers can be aware of past medical histories and ongoing treatments". Can a flexible framework be hammered out that health care providers will embrace? Read his thoughts here. (Source: Conversable Economist, 2/13/2013)
NICE's Social Value Judgements
This article, co-authored by OHE’s Koonal Shah with Richard Cookson and Tony Culyer of CHE, and Peter Littlejohns of King’s College provides provides a brief overview of why NICE has implemented a policy of transparency for social value judgments, and why its social value judgments about cost-effectiveness are more specific than those about equity. Want to know their central finding? Read more here. (Source: OHE, 5/30/2013)
Socially-responsible health economics: What Bill Gates has to say about this:
Capitalism means that there is much more research into male baldness than there is into diseases such as malaria, which mostly affect poor people, said Bill Gates. He notes that as a result, governments and philanthropic organisations have to step in to offset this "flaw in the pure capitalistic approach". (Source: Wired, 3/14/2013)
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How long does it take before results from the average clinical trial are published?
The answer to this question is roughly two years, even though there are US government initiatives calling for publication to occur no more than 12 months after studies have been completed. The findings revisit a similar effort that was undertaken a year ago and indicate there was, essentially, no improvement in publication time. (Source: Pharmalot, 3/14/2013)
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Pharmas Famous (Infamous) Movie Moments
Pharma is not always depicted in the best light in cinema. A new film from Steven Soderbergh, Side Effects, features a fictional anxiety pill called Ablixa. They have even created a 'drugname.com' style website to promote their fictional drug. What other movies feature pharma prominently in the story? Find out here. (Source: PMLiVe, 3/15/2013)
Is Utopia on the Horizon with HIT Version 2.0?
Read this blog from Health Care Renewal about the new JAMA piece "Improving the Electronic Health Record—Are Clinicians Getting What They Wished For?" by NIH medical informaticist James J. Cimino, MD. In the bloggers view the Utopian rhetoric about version 2.0 spoils an otherwise constructive piece. Has the utopian P.R. become embarrassing for the medical informatics community? (Source: Health Care Renewal, 3/14/2013)
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UK Struggles to Implement VBP
Ulf Staginnus is not suprised at all that the UK is finding VBP so difficult to implement and points to a recent article in the Financial Times which elaborated on the issues around VBP. Is VBP in danger of becoming a buzzword if things don't progress well? Read Ulf's blog here about VBP. (Source: THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG, 3/14/2013)
Medtronic great example of how to use social media
Although FDA hasn't issued firm guidance on how device companies should use social media that has not held Medtronic back. The company has fully embraced social media and they are doing it right. Want to learn some lessons from their example? Read more here. (Source: MD+DI, 3/7/2013)
Can Twitter help predict epidemics?
Twitter data may be messy and uncontrolled, but it does have some advantages over traditional data collection: #1 - it's faster; #2 - it can provide a more detailed location of where disease is breaking out; #3 - it is in wide use around the globe. The consensus? According to Taha Kass-Hout, director of the CDC’s Division of Informatics Solutions and Operations, "public health and health-care communities really need to pay attention to social media". (Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, 3/14/2013)
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2012 Pharmacy Trend Report
The Magellan Pharmacy Solutions' 2012 Medical Pharmacy & Oncology Trend Report is now available, providing trends and benchmarking statistics for injectables paid under the medical benefit. They have surveyed 50 top U.S. commercial health plans, representing nearly 160 million people, and leverage three years of trend report benchmarking data. (Source: icore)
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Are you a quick thinker or do you need time to ponder?
For some time it has been accepted that decision making is not a strictly rational process but has a large emotional component. The new book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, by nobel prize winning professor Daniel Kahneman, shows exactly how irrational (or non-rational) our thought processes are. What kind of thinker are you? Read more about this facinating new book here. (Source: Life-healthcare.com)
OHE Survey Seeks Reasons for Discontinuation of R&D Projects
OHE's Jorge Mestre-Ferrandiz recently presented findings of OHE research into R&D discontinuations noting that uncertain and changing pricing and reimbursement environment and the high costs of R&D have nudged companies into focusing on higher risk therapeutic areas that potentially also hold greater reward. OHE completed a small survey of four leading pharmaceutical companies for the years 2005-2009. The survey asked about discontinuations for technical/scientific and commercial reasons for both lead and follow-on indications. View the results of the survey in the presentation here. (Source: OHE, 3/12/2013)
How to Cut Specialty Rx Spend Increases in Half
The specialty drug trend has grown by double-digit rates over the past six years and for 2012 increased 18.4%. Express Scripts recently did a study and found that employers who used a tightly managed drug spending program which includes the use of multiple specialty utilization management programs saw half the increases as compared to those in an unmanaged program. (Source: Express Scripts, 3/7/2013)
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Glossary of Specialty Pharma Terms Open to Comment
The Specialty Pharmacy Association of America (SPAARx) has released a comprehensive Glossary of Specialty Pharmacy Terms. The glossary contains 100 key terms that are either unique to specialty pharmacy or are common terms that may have unique applications within the specialty pharmacy industry. The glossary is open to public comment and can be downloaded and edited. Questions and suggestions can be sent directly to Bill Sullivan. (Source: MarketWatch, 3/12/2013)
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Are payers-pharma capable of "fresh thinking"?
Payers and pharma have been set in their ways for a while. Improving collaboration between the two parties should improve innovation and delivery of healthcare. Can the two groups overcome the challenges in front of them? Find out more here. (Source: PMLiVE, 3/8/2013)
Eisai fires back at German G-BA
Eisai is "appalled" at the German Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) ruling that the additional benefit of Fycompa, a first-of-its-kind seizure drug, is unproven compared to current treatments. The Japanese drugmaker claims the German agency has failed "to adequately interpret the proven patient-relevant benefits substantiated in the submitted benefit dossier and to responsibly recognize the innovative nature of the new drug in a clinical setting with a highly unmet medical need." Is Germany's stance on new treatments going to harm its own citizens? (Source: FiercePharma, 3/8/2013)
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Kaiser Closing Healthcare Gaps with Big Data
Kaiser Permanente is using big data from their intergrated electronics health records system to fuel a massive analytics operation, part of an overall organizational goal of improving care and reining in costs. Kaiser has developed several modules of population management, all designed to identify and close gaps in care. (Source: InformationWeek Healthcare, 3/7/2013)
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NICE makes U-turn on Novartis' Xolair
NICE has backed down on draft guidance to withdraw its recommendation for Novartis' Xolair in the treatment of asthma. In November 2012, NICE said that in the light of new evidence following changes to the drug's dosing schedule, it was no longer able to recommend Xolair (omalizumab) for severe persistent allergic asthma in adults – overturning its initial recommendation in 2007. However, Novartis has now offered Xolair at a discount through a patient access scheme, convincing NICE to release final draft guidance upholding the 2007 recommendation. (Source: BioSpace, 3/7/2013)
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Holistic Real World Data: Multiple Perspectives
This webinar was a preliminary round of discussions in the lead up to the Real World Evidence 2013 conference. Featured are Craig Richardson, Brian Wells and Crystal Holick. (Source: eyeforpharma)
More here.
More here.
Should drug prices be higher in Europe?
According to John Lechleiter, Eli Lilly Chief Executive, new medicines are priced too cheaply in Europe and he suggests that this has put a stranglehold on scientific research and innovation in the EU. What do you think? Read more. (Source: totalbiopharma, 3/7/2013)
Learn how to make your data sexy
Bryan Hill discusses ways in which you can increase the appeal of your data, through mediums such as colour, size and orientation, and then adding heat maps, word clouds and experiential design to attract further attention. He also explores the differences types of data personalities. (Source: pharmaphorum, 3/8/2013)
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Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine
This is a slideshare presentation on EBM given to second year medical students at McGill University. (Source: Slideshare, March 2013)
View Slideshare.
View Slideshare.
PBMs Pitching Specialy Pharma Programs for 2014
Integrated PBMs like Humana Pharmacy Solutions, the PBM subsidiary of Humana Inc., and OptumRx, the PBM unit of UnitedHealth Group, are pitching patient-centered specialty pharmacy programs as part of their core services. These high-touch solutions rely on the unique ability of health plan-owned PBMs to look across the medical and pharmacy benefit, which industry observers say is quickly becoming a leading differentiating strategy. (Source: AIS Health, 3/1/2013)
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Oh Pharma! Step Away from the MDs. Who Pays Your Bills?
Medical Marketing & Media held a 6-person panel to groan about the small percentage of marketing budgets devoted to payer marketing. Lots of excuses abounded: “silo” budgets, we don’t understand them, it’s changing too quickly, we don’t know what to say, etc. I’m curious…why no HEOR person on this panel? You folks need to do a better job internally on education and convincing them of your value, so you get a piece of the $ pie! (Source: Medical Marketing & Media, 10/1/2012)
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Is pricing cars similar to pricing healthcare?
Unsure about the cost of that new Subaru? Ask around town and you will find widely varying prices for the same car. Debra Gordon, MS, blogs about similar price disparities in healthcare on the HealthEconomics.Com blog, tHEORetically Speaking.
Composite endpoints: Do they just pile on the problems, or simplify life?
Read about the pros and cons of composite vs. single endpoints for clinical and patient-reported outcomes in this insightful blog posting by Caitlin Rothermel, MedLitera, on the HealthEconomics.Com blog, tHEORetically Speaking.
Holistic Real World Data: Multiple Perspectives
This is perspective 2 of a 3 part series which features Brian Wells of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. This webinar was a preliminary round of discussions in the lead up to the Real World Evidence 2013 conference in Bethesda in June. (Source: eyeforpharma)
More here.
More here.
Are drug companies violating anti-trust laws?
A US Supreme Court case scheduled for March 25 places drug companies against government officials, who argue that prices for consumers would be reduced if companies did not strike deals to restrain trade. The FTC claims that generic and brand-name drugmakers enter "reverse payment" or "pay-to-delay" deals violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. (Source: FirstWorld Pharma, 3/7/2013)
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How to Promote to Payers in a Digital World
If you are tired of the old-school pharma marketing techniques of focusing on MDs and consumers, then follow Dr. Patti Peeples’ ScoopIt topic: “Pharma Payers & Managed Care Marketing in a Digital World: Tips & Tricks”. She consolidates relevant news, how-to’s, and more on talking to the real decision-makers in pharma – digitally.
Read tips here.
Read tips here.
Abacus International Expands Annual Partnership With HealthEconomics.Com
HealthEconomics.Com is pleased to announce their continuing partnership with Abacus International, specialists in health economics, systematic review, and HTA. (Source: PRWeb, 3/8/2013)
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Tracking Drug Trending for 2012
Express Scripts has just released the 2012 Drug Trend Report. This report quantifies annual changes in utilization, unit costs and overall prescription-drug spending, based on Express Scripts claims data for 100 million Americans. Among the country’s commercially insured population, total spending on traditional prescription drugs fell 1.5% in 2012. However, this decline was offset by an 18.4% increase in spending on specialty medications. Combined, total drug trend for the year was +2.7%. Find out more here. (Source: Healthcare Insights, 3/5/2013)
Can pricing teams rise to the ever-changing challenges?
Pricing teams are working overtime, trying to keep up with global political, social and economic changes. How do these teams operate and how to they address the changing trends? Find out more here. (Source: Cutting Edge Info, 3/4/2013)
Journal editor suggests quarantine of “groundbreaking studies about new treatments”
Dr. Elizabeth Loder, who is a US research editor for the BMJ, blogged “How medical journals can help stop disease-mongering.” Some of her ideas include the quarantine of ground breaking studies about new treatments or interventions until the findings can be replicated and consequences further explored. Another grand idea: have a disinterested party write certain important parts of a research paper to remove "spin". You can comment on her suggestions and read more here. (Source: HealthNewsReview.Org, 3/7/2013)
Brush-up on & test your knowledge with evidence based medicine flashcards
Easliy navigate and flip through these 21 flashcards about EBM. (Source: flashcard exchange, March 2013)
Available here.
Available here.
AMNOG thought leaders debate
Three AMNOG thought leaders recently were brought together by eyeforpharma to debate the key challenges of this Act. What will change over the next three years and how does pharma need to adapt to market access issues in Germany? (Source: eyeforpharma, 3/6/2013)
Q&A here.
Q&A here.
I want THAT price: Understanding the Rationale Behind International Price Referencing
Research analyst Sarah Ray blogs about International Reference Pricing comparing it to sibling rivalry. Don't be the red-headed step-child, further your understanding by reading her post here. (Source: Cutting Edge Information, 2/5/2013)
Rx spending down, but will it stay there?
For the first time in more than 20 years, there was a decrease in annual spending on traditional medicines. This is mostly due to the use of generics for treatment of common ailments. On the other hand, prices for brand-name drugs are up 12.5 percent and there has been an 18.4 percent spending increase for specialy pharmaceuticals. Want to know more? Read the entire article here. (Source: Pharmalot, 3/5/2013)
Deep Data is the Next Big Thing
You've heard about "Big Data", but Deep is the new Big. Deep Data looks "deeper" than just the big managed care databases and adds new sources of clinical data from electronic health records and patient registries. Researchers can layer the data and look at the comparative effectiveness and safety of medicines as well as provide insights to inform how payers and providers evaluate medicines for coverage. AZ in collaboration with HealthCore has leveraged clinical evidence derived from administrative claims and EHRs to look at the effect of formulary decisions on total cost of care for some late-stage commercial products. Are deep data insights helping you? Read more here. (Source: Medical Marketing & Media, March 2013)
AstraZeneca Using 'Deep Data' to Inform Stakeholders
The cover story of the latest issue of Medical Marketing & Media looks at how pharma is using big data to inform how payers and providers evaluate medicines for coverage. The article looks at AZ's collaboration with HealthCore, as well as others. (Source: AZ Health Connections, 3/4/2013)
Read more.
Read more.
China to establish FDA type agency after safety scandals
After numerous safety scandals, the National People's Congress of China will soon establish a ministerial body similar the that of the US FDA. Currently, the Chinese government has 13 different agencies controlling food and drug regulation and supervision. (Source: South China Morning Post, March 4, 2013)
Read more.
Read more.
Grace Period Requested by British Pharma Wholesales for VBP
Value based pricing is set to being on January 1, 2014 in the UK, but as of yet there is still no pilot system in place to test the new system. With this and the busy holiday period in mind, the British Association of Pharmceutical Wholesalers (BAPW) has asked for a one month grace period, similar to the one granted to pharmacies. (Source: PharmaTimes, 3/1/2013)
Read more.
Read more.
It's time to drop the words "hurdles" and "barriers" from market access conversations
Here's an idea which emerged recently, "the industry needs to stop identifying market access stakeholders as ‘barriers’ or ‘hurdles’, but rather to truly understand them as customers." Easier said then done, right? Read more here on how early and effective engagment is key. (Source: Pharmafile, 2/7/2013)
Health Economics in Public Decision-Making
Dr Richard Norman, Senior Research Fellow with CHERE, University of Technology, Sydney, provides his thoughts on how we can maximise the collection of health economic data in quality of life evaluations to appropriately inform public decision-making. (Source: TCRN, 2/8/2013)
Read more.
Read more.
NHS Trust Experimenting with Social Media
The Leeds and York partnership NHS foundation trust is "beginning to get to grips with the opportunities as well as the challenges of using social media at a corporate as well as clinical level." Along the way, they have realized the importance of expanding their "digital footprint" and have begun using Pinterest and YouTube. How does this work operationally for them? Read the entire article here. (Source: theguardian, 2/19/2013)
Determining a Strategy with Specialty Pharmacies
Many factors are driving the trend for self-administered oral oncology drugs. Specialty drugs are projected to be seven of the top 10 best-selling drugs by 2016, according to EvaluatePharma. What factors should be considered when determining a specialty pharmacy networK? Read this and more in this brief from the Oncology Business Review.
Latest CER Journal Available
The March Issue of the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research is now avaiable. Click here for contents.
Meet HE-Artist Dr. Mshilla Maghanga
Health Economists are more than just researchers….much more! HealthEconomics.Com has launched a new series to share the hidden talents among our peers, called HE: Artists, featuring talents, skills, and creative ventures. Meet our second HE-Artist, Dr. Mshilla Maghanga, a lecturer and consultant in Uganda, and an amazing painter! Meet Mshilla and see his work here. Are you a HE-Artist? We’d love to share your story.
The FDA weighs in on social media in a warning way
Be careful what you "Like" on Facebook. The FDA has issued a warning letter to a supplement company because they liked a Facebook page that has off-label claims. Will the FDA be issuing social media guidelines soon? How should pharma navigate these uncharted waters? Chart your course pharma and leave a trail for others to follow. (Source: World of DTC Marketing.com, 2/27/2013)
Read more.
Read more.
Market Entry in China
The final installment of this blog series addresses the following questions: If China is the right choice, what will it take to successfully export our company to China? What should we be prepared for, what can we do to avoid the typical China market entry errors specific to the healthcare industry? A basic introduction is given for regulatory issues, referral sources, competitors, financial models, HR, and operationalizing your business. (Source: Asia Healthcare Blog, 2/22/2013)
Read more.
Read more.
tHEORetically Speaking Blog - Finding Your Voice: Marketing HEOR Services
Dr. Patti Peeples shares some insights on communications and how to "separate the wheat from the chaff" when marketing your companies HEOR services. Is your message getting across to those who you want to receive it? What makes you stand apart from the rest? Read Patti's latest blog post to tHEORetically Speaking here.
Are you Creative? Artistic? Generally Awesome?
If you work in the health economics field, and write, paint, create, design, or are involved in unique athletic, volunteer, travel activities, or whatever…won’t you be part of a new series on HealthEconomics.Com called HE-Artists? Let’s share who we are and what makes us happy, beyond designing clinical trials and developing models. We’ll start featuring HE-Artists on the HealthEconomics.Com website and in the weekly Newsletter. Just complete short Q&A! Looking forward to getting to know you!
Specialty Pharmacy Defined
The Specialty Pharmacy Association of America (SPAARx) has released a comprehensive Definition of Specialty Pharmacy. This definition incorporates the newest developments in this rapidly growing industry and will provide a credible baseline for payers and manufacturers to better understand the important role that specialty pharmacy plays in the marketplace. SPAARx is posting the draft Definition of Specialty Pharmacy for public comment. Download the definition here and send your comments and edits to bill.sullivan@spaarx.org. (Source: SPAARx)
EBM and how to read research like a Pro: Part 1
Part 1 of this blog post series breaks down how to read a piece of EBM research by first understanding what type of research it represents (primary bench science, case reports, observational studies, RCTs). Starting here helps the reader get an idea of what kind of information the study design is good at getting, and what the limitations are. (Source: ED BITES, 2/21/2013)
PatientsLikeMe awarded $1.9m grant to create first open research platform
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded PatientsLikeMe with a US $1.9 million grant so it can create the world’s first open-participation research platform, for the development of patient-centered health outcome measures. The new platform aims to help researchers develop health outcome measures that better reflect patients’ experiences with a disease, and access health and quality of life in ways that matter to patients. (Source: pharmaphorum, 2/26/2013)
tHEORetically Speaking Blog: The ABCs of HEOR Social Media
Dr. Patti Peeples shares her social media savvy in her first blog post to the new HealthEconomics.Com Blog, tHEORetically Speaking. Scared to make your first tweet? Read Patti's post here and lose your fear.
Read the latest CHE Newsletter
Included in the 1st issue of the CHE Newsletter are: A report of the results of research into the cost-effectiveness of preventive treatment regimes in the context of mother to child transmission of HIV in Africa, focusing on WHO treatment recommendations and other possible approaches to prevention; a summary of the results of a project that investigated the circumstances in which NICE should recommend health technologies "only in research"; and an article about the influence of working conditions on physical and mental health and wellbeing, undertaken by one of CHE's "Alan Williams Fellows". Read them all and more here. (Source: CHE, Issue 16, Feb 2013)
Germany's IQWiG Pans Pfizer's Xalkori On Study Results, Side Effects
IQWiG has turned down Pfizer Inc.'s Xalkori (crizotinib) for late-stage non-small cell lung cancer. The decision highlights uncertainties in guidelines from the country's senior health technology assessment body, the G-BA, and warns holders of conditional EU marketing authorizations to tread carefully when relying on data from those authorizations in presentations to other agencies. Paid Subscription Required. (Source: The Pink Sheet Daily, 2/20/13)
US Government Expanding Access to Results of Federally Funded Research
In a recent policy memo, the Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren has directed Federal agencies with more than $100M in R&D expenditures to develop plans to make the published results of federally funded research freely available to the public within one year of publication and requiring researchers to better account for and manage the digital data resulting from federally funded scientific research. (Source: The White House Blog, 2/22/2013)
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Read more.
HOLs Key to Bridging Pharma and Managed Care
A new research study from Best Practices, LLC reports on the emerging and critical role of HOLs. The study, "Health Outcomes Liaisons Excellence: How the HOL Function Drives Value Across the Healthcare Industry," contains benchmarks and insights on how leading companies are delivering outstanding HOL services in an increasingly challenging business environment. (Yahoo! Finance, 2/24/2013)
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Read more.
Spanish Ministry warns of excessive pricing of cancer drugs
Pricing pressures continue for the Spanish economy. The Spanish Ministry has stated that if cancer drugs fail to demonstrate cost-effectiveness they will not be funded by the NHS. Ulf Staginnus suggests in his blog that reference pricing, coupled with more risk sharing will play an important role in Spain's new pricing system. (Source: Health Economics Blog, 2/23/2013)
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Read more.
Why are medical bills killing us?
Time Magazine investigative reporter Steven Brill spent seven months analyzing a variety of bills from hospitals, doctors, and drug companies in order to understand how medicine has become such big business. Could understanding these costs be the key to fixing healthcare in the US? He notes that although we debate health care policy, and who should pay the bills, the larger question of why are the bills so high is overlooked. Read his entire report here. (Source: Time, 2/20/2013)
Is being readmitted to a hospital a bad outcome?
This is a question which Dr. Ashish Jha, a professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health, wondered about. Currently, Medicaid has a policy which penalizes hospitals for high rates of readmission within 30 days of discharge for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia. In a paper he co-authored in the January 23-30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, he found that readmission rates did not correlate with hospital mortality rates, a key benchmark of outcomes. What he found instead is that readmissions are correlated with how sick and how poor your patients are. (Source: Information Week, 2/20/2012)
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Read more.
tHEORetically Speaking Blog: Challenging a Sacred Cow: The Top-Down Approach to CER
This week tHEORetically Speaking, the HealthEconomics.Com blog, features guest blogger Nick Emptage. Nick is the the blogger behind healthycriticism.com. He muses on whether CER leads to valid policy decisions, and offers some insights into how to deal with these limitations.
Introducing our Blog: tHEORetically Speaking, from HealthEconomics.Com
Insights, observations, and - for us research-y types - data and such, giving a peek into the digital world for health economics, outcomes research and market access. We talk a little policy, a tad on trends, and throw in a dash of advice. We periodically feature guest bloggers. http://healtheconblog.com/
Announcing HE-Artists: Divina Glah
Health Economists are more than just researchers….much more! HealthEconomics.Com is launching a new series to share the hidden talents among our peers, called HE: Artists, featuring talents, skills, and creative ventures. Meet our first HE-Artist, Divina Glah, an HEOR Analyst with CR Bard in London, and a fabulous jewelry designer, taking her inspiration from her Ghanaian heritage and her urban London upbringing. Meet Divina and see her work here. Are you a HE-Artist? We’d love to share your story.
Why are GOP Governors Caving on Medicaid Expansion?
Florida Governor Rick Scott is the 7th GOP governor to change his stance on the expansion of Medicaid in his state. What has changed? Hospitals. On average, hospitals have supported Medicaid's expansion and recently they have also been trying to convince these oppositional state governments that it is financially the smart thing to do. Find out why here. (Source: Forbes, 2/21/13)
Free download: Definitive collection of health and health care statistics for the UK
This publication provides both up-to-date statistics and a guide to finding and using health statistics from the UK and, to some extent, other OECD countries. Data are presented in easy to read tables and figures. (Source: OHE, July 2011)
Read more.
Read more.
Closing the Quality Gap Series from AHRQ Available
This AHRQ Report summarizes the knowledge of eight Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) to synthesize lessons learned and to advance the state of QI science. Includes effectiveness of bundled payment programs,
patient-centered medical home, adherence interventions, and public reporting, as well as QI strategies to address health disparities, prevention of healthcare-associated infections, QI measurement of disabilities, and
for patients with advanced and serious illness. (Source: AHRQ)
patient-centered medical home, adherence interventions, and public reporting, as well as QI strategies to address health disparities, prevention of healthcare-associated infections, QI measurement of disabilities, and
for patients with advanced and serious illness. (Source: AHRQ)
WellPoint Names 'Outsider' New CEO
WellPoint Inc., the second-biggest U.S. health insurer, has named Joseph Swedish, 61, CEO of the nonprofit Catholic hospital system Trinity Health Corp., as its next leader. He replaces Angela Braly, who left WellPoint last year amid investor discontent over the insurer’s performance. Swedish says he plans to focus on tighter coordination with doctors, investing in information technology to help consumers learn more about their care choices and working to bring medical costs down. (Source: Bloomberg, 2/13/2013)
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Read more.
Can a 'joint win' be achieved between NHS and pharma?
The bottom line? Good communication will be the bedrock of any working partnership. NHS and pharma have differing objectives; one is a publicly funded health service, the other comprises of commercial enterprises. In order to partner they must agree to a core purpose. Mike Farrar CBE, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, insists this "must be patient care". (Source: PMLiVE, 2/7/2013)
Read more.
Read more.
OHE's Review of Plans for Refining PROMs
OHE’s Nancy Devlin provided an overview of the EuroQol Group’s scientific research agenda for the coming year and plans for the EQ-5D-5L approach to measuring patient-reported outcomes of care. Health technology assessment affects patients’ access to oncology medicines. The EQ-5D is the principal instrument for measuring health related quality of life for HTA purposes, making planned developments in EQ-5D instruments and value sets important in decision making. (Source: OHE, 2/19/13)
Presentation here.
Presentation here.
Video: Real World Evidence Study Design
Marc Berger (VP Real World Data & Analytics, Pfizer) Bruce Fireman (Senior Biostatistician, Kaiser Permanente) and Brian Bradbury (Director of Observational Research, Amgen) discuss how observational study design and real-world evidence collection optimize their ability to understand relative medical value and drug safety in this video from eyeforpharma.
Watch here.
Watch here.
Video: Are payers frustrated with how pharma engages with them?
NHS payer, Omar Ali, defines how you should 'take the payer on a journey' throughout the product lifecycle to make them happy to engage in this video from eyeforpharma.
Watch here.
Watch here.
Are UK Drug Access Woes Due to "US-Dominated Global Pricing"?
Karl Claxton, Professor of Health Economics at the University of York, has said that the problems faced by UK patients in accessing many innovative new drugs are nothing to do with NICE, but rather that global drug prices are dominated by the US market. Since 2004, NICE has used a threshold range of £20,000-£30,000 per QALYs to assess how much additional NHS cost incurred for supplying new treatments would displace an amount of health for other patients, but the authors of a new study, of which Claxton is one, believe that £18,317 per QALY would be a more accurate threshold. He also called for a mechanism that allows manufacturers to negotiate appropriate prices in the UK, without fear that they will be referenced around the world and the rest of the world market. (Source: PharmaTimes, 2/21/13)
Read more.
Read more.
Read the latest CHE Newsletter
Included in the 1st issue of the CHE Newsletter are: A report of the results of research into the cost-effectiveness of preventive treatment regimes in the context of mother to child transmission of HIV in Africa, focusing on WHO treatment recommendations and other possible approaches to prevention; a summary of the results of a project that investigated the circumstances in which NICE should recommend health technologies "only in research"; and an article about the influence of working conditions on physical and mental health and wellbeing, undertaken by one of CHE's "Alan Williams Fellows". Read them all and more here. (Source: CHE, Issue 16, Feb 2013)
Teaching EBM and Assessing Competence
This presentation by P. Dahm, MD, MHSc and C. Scales Jr., MD, MSHS, looks at the importatnce of EBM related knowledge and skills and how to teach and assess EBM. Do facultly development resources exist? Find out here. (Source: ACGME.org)
Read the latest issue of HERCnews
The latest HERCnews issue from the Health Economics Research Centre of the University of Oxford is now available. In this issue: Hospital care costs after TIA and stroke • Database of mapping algorithms • Missing data in EQ-5D • Activity and healthy eating after breast cancer diagnosis • Spotlight on Wei Han • HERC expands – five new staff. (Source: HERCnews, Issue 2, February 2013)
Available here.
Available here.
Who is EUnetHTA?
Formed in 2008, EUnetHTA (European network for Health Technology Assessment) is implementing the proposal for a sustainable, permanent collaboration for HTA in Europe. The group unites government-appointed organisations from EU Member States, EEA and EFTA countries and a large number of relevant regional agencies and non-for-profit organisations that produce or contribute to HTA.
Grant Opportunity: Infrastructure Development Program in PCORI
Deadline December 20, 2014
More information.
More information.
WP243 Thought Leader Compensation: US vs. EU
Global strategies for establishing fair-market value payments for opinion leaders can prove challenging. This white paper provides a guidepost to determine European fee schedules and compensation limits. It also outlines the differences observed between US and EU hourly rates. (Source: Cutting Edge Information)
Read more. (Note: form must be completed to download)
Read more. (Note: form must be completed to download)
