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What drives patient adherence and compliance?
Cutting Edge Information's new report shows a distinct growth trend in dedicated budgets for patient adherence. U.S. companies reported an average budget increase of 281% from 2008-2012. This reports gives guidance forrunning effective patient adherence teams that can overcome the internal and external challenges tied to rapidly increasing budgets. (Source: Cuttingedgeinfor.com)

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Has lack of innovation resulted in plunging margins for medical device industry?
According to Smith & Nephew CEO, Oliver Bohuon, the medical device industry is "boring" and "doesn't innovate" and, as a result, is facing falling margins. He argues that aggressive innovation would result in health care providers paying a premium. Smith & Nephew is boosting R&D spending by $300 million over the next 5 years. The company saw 3% revenue growth in the first quarter of 2012. (Source: Fierce Medical Devices, 5/15/12)

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Economics for a Better World: Call for health economics session proposals
The Third New Directions in Welfare Congress is calling for session proposals. The Congress themed Economics for a Better World will take place in Paris, France, July 3-5, 2013. The Congress welcomes sessions on all policy, empirical, theoretical and econometric aspects of well-being and particularly those with a focus on recently developed measures of dimensions of well-being.

Session proposals can be submitted online here until 30 August 2012.
How Payers View Pfizer’s Rheumatoid Arthritis Pill
Recently a FDA panel recommended the new Phizer drug tofacitinib for rheumatoid arthritis, but now the drugmaker still must win over regulators, doctors and payers. Nearly 39 percent of managed care entities will require patients to first fail at least two other treatments before providing coverage. To find out why, read more here. (Source: pharmalot, 5/15/12)
Peddling pills to those who don't really need them
Author Merrill Goozner gives us three examples of "less is more". He finds that pharmaceutical companies who went looking for ways to get their products used by much wider populations in order to gain higher profits has led eventually to the risks outweighing the benefits for that larger population. (Source: The Fiscal Times, 5/11/12)

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How's that incentive plan working for you?
A new report from global consulting firm ZS Associates found that up to 75 percent of doctors and nurses were either unaware of incentive rewards or unable to distinguish incentive payouts from base pay. This report suggests some guidelines that need to be followed in order for incentives to have the desired influence. (Source: MarketWatch, 5/14/12)

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Real-Life Case Studies Show Immense Savings with Health Reimbursement Arrangements
Zane Benefits, developer of the ZaneHRA software platform for managing health benefits, published four case studies featuring companies who have converted to Health Reimbursement Arrangements over the past six years. The company provides a free guide to Health Reimbursement Arrangements via its whitepaper titled "Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) 101". (Source: chron.com, 5/14/12)

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New partnership seeks to create personalized health plans
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has partnered with software company SAS to develop more personalized and better targeted health plans for members. The partnership aims to use SAS analytics to identify customers who could most benefit from improving their health, determine how best to engage those customers and then develop new products, services and programs accordingly. (Source: FierceHealthPayer, 5/11/12)

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Implications for ACOs of Variations in Spending Growth
The Medicare Pioneer and Shared Savings ACO programs contracts with providers to assume financial risk and be rewarded for cost-effective outcomes.  Medicare’s use of national growth factors to set spending targets may cause ACOs to be under- or over-financed due to geographic variations thus discouraging ACO participation and expansion.  Use of local growth factors to set spending targets is recommended. (Source: McWilliams, NEJM, May 2012).

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Looking at CER from the Managed Care Organization Perspective
This paper describes ways that health care reform will affect MCO populations in the future, examines examples of how MCOs have utilized CER data in the past, and identifies questions that MCOs will have to address as they integrate CER into future decision making. (Source: AMCP.org)

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Looking at CER from the Pharmaceutical Industry Perspective
This paper looks at both the positve and negative impact that CER may have on the pharmaceutical industry.  The rising expectations and growth  in CER raise questions about information access, communication restrictions, flexible implementation policies, and incentives for innovation. Members of the pharmaceutical industry should be cognizant of the questions and should be participating in dialogues now to pave the way for future solutions. (Source: AMCP.org)

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Call for papers: JMCP Specialty Pharmacy Issue
This JMCP theme issue will focus on descriptive reports, commentaries, and research that examine the effects of managed care interventions and programs in specialty pharmacy. Specialty pharmacy trend has averaged 15%-20% per year for the last 5 years compared with 1%-6% per year for traditional drug trend, and specialty medications now account for almost 20% of total pharmacy benefit costs.  Manuscripts must be submitted on or before August 31, 2012. (Source: JMCP)

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The importance of keeping up to date on drug codes
Ensuring appropriate reimbursement for drugs can be a time-consuming and tedious process, especially if they are high-cost cancer medications. To ensure a hospital gets reimbursement and gets to keep that reimbursement it is wise to have a pharmacy team member paying attention to changing drug codes and billable units. (Source: Pharmacy Practice News, May 2012, Vol. 39)

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New Report: 2012 Benchmarks in Patient Registry Use for Accountable Care
This report provides actionable data from more than 100 healthcare organizations on their current and planned use of patient registries and the impact of registry use on healthcare quality, efficiency and cost. (Source: Healthcare Intelligence Network)

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Should drug co-payments be based on the value that a drug provides?
Some employers are changing the way they think about co-payments and are basing what employees pay on how much a drug may help, instead of sticker price. Some employers are thinking about adapting the approach for pricier specialty drugs, which typically have no generic competition. But in the latest twist, some companies are looking to vary the copayment depending on the value the drugs provide.(Source: NPR.org, 5/8/12)

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How to run a walking meeting
Kaiser Permanente has "Walking Meetings" to increase health.
Give it a try.  Here's how.
Rising cost of ‘specialty’ drugs prompts employers to limit their use
In coming years, more people will have to navigate the confusing and expensive terrain of  “specialty” medications.Growth in spending on specialty drugs is far outpacing spending on traditional drugs. Employers that provide their workers with health insurance are struggling with how to manage these costs. (Source: Washington Post, 5/7/12)

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What will dominate future pricing and reimbursement strategies?
A new report from GBI Research says reference pricing and economic evaluations will dominate future pricing and reimbursement strategies. Provided are key data, information and analysis of the major issues affecting the pricing and reimbursement decisions across the globe. The report also covers issues specific to particular geographies. (Source: businesswirenews.com, 5/8/12)

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Is the US healthcare system mired in maximizing reimbursement to the exclusion of patient outcomes?
According to analysis by the Healthcare Industry Group of global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal, healthcare delivery in the U.S. is more focused on revenue maximization and reimbursement with insufficient attention being paid to patient outcomes. The analysis takes a convergent view across the spectrum of the healthcare sector to better understand the potential impact of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act . (Source: MarketWatch, 5/7/12)

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Four decades of health economics through a bibliometric lens
This paper takes a bibliometric tour of the last forty years of health economics using bibliographic “metadata” from EconLit supplemented by citation data from Google Scholar and the authors' topical classifications. Reported is the growth of health economics (they find 33,000 publications since 1969—12,000 more than in the economics of education) and list the 300 most-cited publications broken down by topic. (Source: Health Equity)

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The Results are IN! 6th Survey on Observational Reseach Webinar, May 22, 11am ET
Register right now for this intriguing webinar, May 22, 11am ET, free of course.  PharmaNet/i3 has released results from its most recent Survey on Observational Research. The survey, sixth in an on-going series, was open to a multi-disciplinary group of industry professionals focused on the evolving category of non-interventional studies.  This iteration of the survey yields insights compiled from nearly 1500 participants.

Register for Webinar here.
Video Interview: Dr. Robert W. Dubois discusses the BGOV study on CER
Brian Rye, a health-care analyst with Bloomberg Government, and Dr. Robert W. Dubois, chief science officer with the NPC, discuss the implications of CER. Rye explains the findings of his Bloomberg Government Study, "Comparative Effectiveness Research: Implications for The Health-Care Industry." (Source: Businessweek)

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New app helps treat OCD symptoms
A new app, created by physician Kristen Mulcahy at the Cognitive Behavioral Institute of Falmouth, Mass., takes traditional exposure and response prevention therapy and translates it into a smartphone-friendly format for patients to use on the go. The app allows users to set up an "exposure hierarchy" in which they expose themselves to the source of their anxiety in a controlled setting. (Source: FierceMobileHealthcare, 5/4/12)

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Saying 'no' to beneficial care
The US government is finally coming to the conclusion that to just eliminate the cost of ineffective measures would not be enough to control skyrocketing medical costs. Medicare and Medicaid are the main drivers behind the long-term deficit projections, and U.S. health spending is on track to reach more than one fourth of the GDP by 2035. Democrats and Republicans must come together to tell Americans that we can't afford all the things that medicine can achieve. (Source: NEJM, 5/2/12)

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Big potential for 'vitual' pharma
Dr. Andree K. Bates considers the implications of a ‘virtual’ pharma structure of key aspects of market access. Adopting a model that embraces e-business could be particularly beneficial—if specific market access challenges are addressed. Among the advantages to a virtual structure include faster commercialization of assets, lower cost of operations in early stages of company’s growth,  and greater flexibility. (Source: eyeforpharma)

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How can integrated teams can provide more reliable forecasts?
Eli Lilly has overhauled their global forecasting team. The goal of its new, integrated global forecasting team is to increase transparency and visibility, improve teamwork via shared learning and better tools, and ultimately provide quicker and more reliable forecasts for improved decision making. Read more about how they have made these changes here. (Source: eyeforpharma, 3/20/12)
In-house Market Research function under attack, but this could apply to HEOR too:
Times are tough and market research, like every other function, is being called upon to demonstrate its value. Some companies have already outsourced the entire function and more are considering a similar move, so market researchers must justify their existence. These concerns could apply to the in-house HEOR department too.  What are you doing to differentiate yourself and ensure job security within the pharma company? (Source: PMLive) 

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Leading health economist Mark V. Pauly, Ph.D., earns prize
Mark V. Pauly, Ph.D., has been named the 2012 recipient of the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research. The Prize recognizes the contributions of health services researchers who apply analytic methods to examine and evaluate the organization, financing and/or delivery of health services.Dr. Pauly has made significant contributions to the fields of medical economics and health insurance. (Source: EON, 5/1/12)

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Top 10 Pharma CEO Salaries of 2011
This year's look at the biggest paychecks in pharma marks the end of quite a few eras in the industry. A few of pharma's top earners are gone from the CEO seat. In their places is a younger set, who plan to make smart decisions in pharma's austere new era.The three who top the list: William Weldon(Johnson & Johnson), Iam Read (Pfizer), and Miles White (Abbott Laboratories). (Source: FiercePharma, 5/1/12)

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HHS enlists Archimedes Model
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has contracted with Archimedes to make ARCHeS available to its agencies. The Archimedes Model is the most advanced mathematical modeling tool available to answer complex questions on health and health care and will enable the different government agencies the ability to research, analyze, and evaluate the effects of specific health care interventions more quickly and accurately. (Source: MarketWatch, 5/3/2012).

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Are observational studies a "necessary tool"?
In the coming years observational studies are likely to abound due to the amount of money being committed to CER. To ensure that these studies have minimal biases and are conducted rigously, these studies must be designed, conducted, and analyzed in a manner similar to randomized controlled trials. (Source: NPC, 5/3/12)

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Thinking of developing a website to share information with doctors? Don’t bother.
Just 10% of doctors prefer to receive information via pharma websites, but other online communication methods are 1st choice, followed by local meetings.  A slide excerpted from a Doctors.net.uk presentation by Jo Bell and Tim Ringrose, is available here (PDF).
10 tips for a great health care research article
Good writing is only one component. At the heart of it, it all depends on having a good research project to write about. According to author Kathleen A. Fairman, it is a process of the entire research process, including iterature review, planning, project organization, execution of the study methods, analysis, write-up, and effective response to the comments of colleagues and peer reviewers. (Source: JMCP)

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America's cancer survival rate controversy
According to a recent study in Health Affairs, the U.S. life expectancy after cancer diagnosis is higher than that those for ten European countries. But all experts aren't convinced. The differences could lie in whether the study looks at survival rather than mortality. Patients may be surviving longer not due to better care, but because these patients are diagnosed earlier.  U.S. mortality rates from cancer are no better than in Europe. (Source: Healthcare-Economist.com, 4/29/12)

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Can new legislation solve America's drug shortage problem?
An expedited review track and studies on regulations and manufacturing are being considered as possible solutions to national shortages of certain drugs. Provisions in the subcommittee draft of the reauthorization legislation seek to end approval delays and improve FDA programs. The bill would establish quotas for drugs in shortage and establish expedited reviews of major manufacturing changes for drugs that are, or have the potential to be, in short supply. (Source: amednews.com)

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Beyond Market Access for Economic Development: EU-Africa Relations in Transition
Now available from Amazon.com, this book starts from the observation that the establishment of free trade as such will substantially impact upon economic development, the different contributions focus on the potential contribution of non-traditional aspects of EPAs. (Source: Amazon.com)

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Bill Gates: global health care ambassador
Bill Gates is measuring his success in lives saved and the number of kids who aren't crippled. Today he is using his wealth to eradicate infectious disease and he hopes to lower the death toll by 80% over the next 25 years. The establishment of the Global Alliance for Vaccines & Immunisation (GAVI) has had a dramatic effect on the price of inoculation, dropping 40% since 1999. (Source: Forbes, 11/2/2011)

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Health Economist wins top prize for Medicaid/Medicare findings
MIT economist Amy Finkelstein PhD ’01, a leader in studying health insurance markets, has won the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal awarded by the American Economic Association. Finkelstein’s work has examined the effects of Medicare and Medicaid, national health care programs for older people and low-income people, respectively. (Source: Slice of MIT)

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How do HOLs spend the majority of their time?
Preparing to present data to managed care stakeholders is often health outcomes liaisons’ (HOLs) most time-intensive activity. Most HOLs spend the largest portion (sometimes a majority) of their time preparing to present pharmacoeconomic data at professional congresses and in face-to-face meetings with payer representatives. Other top activities include data collection and analysis, policy writing and review, and assisting with clinical study design.(Source: CuttingEdge Information)

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Country Report China
Country Report: The healthcare market in China includes information about healthcare services, reform, reimbursement, the pharmaceutical  & medical device markets and more. Available online or as a downloadable PDF. (Source: PMLive)

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Baffled by how to promote your HEOR message on the internet?
The newly launched “Digital Handbook for Pharma Marketers” may help you navigate the strange new world of digital advertising.  Learn what to promote, and HOW to maximize your digital ROI. (Source: PMLive, 4/30/2012)

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Spain - yet another Royal Decree to cut costs
From the Health Economics Blog we get an update on the worsening financial situation in Spain. It seems as if the the new Royal Decree RDL 16/2012 will heavily impact the phamaceutical sector. (Source: Health Economics Blog, 5/1/2012)

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Expansion of PA Policies for Oncology Agents
The Zitter Group has recently released the findings from the Q1 2012 Prior Authorization Tracking Tool (PATT) reports on oncology. The PATT is the largest database of detailed health plan prior authorization policies and metrics from more than 450 commercial and government payers. (Source: The Zitter Group)

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Addressing Reimbursement During Drug Development
Article includes some interviews with leading pharma experts in Market Access (Amgen, Genentech, Bridgehead Consulting), and includes some best practices, endpoints, deliverables, and more. (Source: PharmaVoice May 2012)

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If patients choose hospitals because of social media, will your HEOR customers choose you?
Are you digitally engaged enough? Your customers are health economists, but they are also consumers.  Learn from consumer behavior, and see what you can do differently to market your company or product. (Source: Scoop.it!)

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PODCAST - How Did Pfizer roll-out the iPad? Learn from their challenges and surprises.
Listen to David Kreutter, VP Global Business Analytics and Insights at Pfizer on the iPad rollout – arguably the biggest CLM project in the industry.  He shares what they would do differently a second time round, and provides metrics and milestones, challenges and surprises. He concludes by commenting on what the future of CLM poses for the industry and how it will change the way you work with your customers. If you listen to just one analytics man this week – Listen to David.
Ukraine: Introduction of Reference Pricing and tightened rules for buying Drugs
The Ministry of Health and domestic producers of pharmaceuticals have signed a memorandum understanding for regulating the prices of hypertension and diabetes drugs. The pilot project will begin as of June 1 and there will be a price stop on hypertension drugs. (Source: europe-health-care.eu)

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NPC comments on Addenda/Appendices to AMCP’s Format for Formulary Submissions Version 3.0
The NPC shares their comments on the Format addendum on CER. Among the suggestions made is to use the multi-stakeholder Institute of Medicine committee definition for CER. Read all the comments here. (Source: NPC, 4/2012)
Are Medicare payments driving down physician prices?
The annual physician services inflation rate has been below overall inflation for the past 12 months, and the month-to-month physician numbers have been lower than general inflation for eight of the past 12 months. For physicians faced with a low inflation rate, compared with the overall rise, payments have not kept up with practice costs in recent years. A major factor in keeping prices down? A 20% gap between what Medicare pays and actual physician costs. (Source: amednews.com)

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What is the return on investment for health economics evidence?
Investments by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries in HEOR are significant and continuing to grow. A recent study found that 64% of the companies surveyed reported increased spending on HEOR and market access teams with an average growth of 14%. New interactive HEOR tools can relate usage analytics on the tools to data on sales force effectiveness, and link the contribution of HEOR to the effectiveness of your KAMs or MSLs. (Source: BaseCase)

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Can we trust the results of observational studies about CER?
The Delphini Group blog looks at oberservational vs. cohort study results using the drug Losartan as a case study. Although observational studies claim to show comparative effectiveness differences between interventions, the best may only have a "20% chance of telling the truth". (Source: delphini.org)

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Insights from the frontlines of the CER debate
Three years ago, ISPOR CONNECTIONS (Mar/Apr 09) published an interview conducted with three thought leaders who are playing an influential role in the CER movement in the United States: Peter J. Neumann, ScD of Tufts; Sean D. Sullivan, PhD of the University of Washington School of Pharmacy; and Michael Drummond, of the University of York. Since then a lot has transpired in the CER movement, so ISPOR brings us a new interview with the experts. (Source: ISPOR.org)

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Will new FDA mission statement undermine public health?
In his blog, Kevin Outterson remarks about the new mission statement for the FDA. Historically, its mission has been to protect the public’s health by evaluating the safety and efficacy of drugs and devices. Now, the FDA will also have a mission which isn't just safety, but also "promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation among the industries regulated” by the FDA.  (Source: The Incidental Economist)

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What kind of health insurance do health economists buy?
This is the question that Dinah Wisenberg Brin, of  the University of Pennsylvania, asks four of the country's top health economists: Stephen Parente, University of Minnesota Professor of Health Finance and Insurance; Mark Pauly, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School Professor of Healthcare Management; Len Nichols, George Mason University Professor of Health Policy; and Michael Chernew, Harvard Medical School Professor of Health Policy. (Source: LDI Health Economist)

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Professors skeptical of new health care documentary
Health care analysts from the University of Pennsylvania critique the new PBS documentary "U.S. Health Care: The Good News" which aired in February. The documentary asked the question "Can the techniques of a handful of innovative health care centers that have successfully lowered costs and improved quality be readily transferred to health systems across the rest of the country?" (Source: LDI Health Economist)

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Cleansing Chinese Publishing
The Chinese government and publishing industry are determined to weed out misconduct and bad publishing practices from the more than 5,000 of the country’s scholarly journals by committing to be more vigilant and implementing punishments such as blacklisting and the public disclosure of misconduct. (Source: The-Scientist)

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Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund Fees Assessed on Health Plans
The U.S. Department of Treasury recently issued proposed regulations regarding fees imposed on certain types of  health plans to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund. The trust fund is PCORI's funding source. (Source: JDSUPRA, 4/25/2012)

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The Working Group on Relative Effectiveness
Home page of The Working Group on Relative Effectiveness, located in the EU.  Stated objectives are to support Member States apply relative effectiveness systems in order to allow containment of pharmaceutical costs as well as a fair reward for innovation. (Source: Pharmaforum)

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Bargains at Costco: toilet paper, wine, and health insurance?
Aetna has announced that it will sell individual health insurance policies at Costco stores. Members of the wholesale member-only stores will have access to the Costco Personal Health Insurance program, which includes five health plans that offer major medical benefits, dental coverage and lower copays for prescriptions filled at Costco pharmacies. (Source: FierceHealthPayer, 4/26/12)

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Low Levels of Drug Reimbursement Lead to a High Out-Of-Pocket Expenditure
GBI Research has recently released “Pricing and Reimbursemenof the Healthcare System in India" which provides a comprehensive overview of the healthcare system, and the pricing and reimbursement process in India with a detailed analysis of the different regulatory mechanisms used. The report closely scrutinizes the major changes in pharmaceuticals related pricing and reimbursement in the recent past, and the impact these changes will have in the future. (Source: A2ZSport)

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New oncology app for mobile tablet devices
The Intellectual Property & Science division of Thomson Reuters has announced its commitment to support R&D pharmaceutical leaders with a new oncology application for mobile tablet devices, already in use by AstraZeneca executives. The rich visualization dashboard leverages content from Thomson Reuters Cortellis, the company's flagship life sciences platform, and provides real-time data for clinical oncology drug research and development activities. (Source: Reuters, 4/24/12)

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IMS Health Expands Services in Pharma R&D
IMS Health has acquired DecisionView, a San Fran-based software solutions company that helps life sciences organizations plan and track patient enrollment for clinical trials around the world. IMS will integrate its market-leading health outcomes, provider and anonymized patient data assets with DecisionView's advanced optimization technology, predictive analytics and performance data gathered from more than 1,200 clinical studies across 90+ countries. (Source: MarketWatch, 4/24/12)

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PCORI to release final list of priorities today
PCORI, an independent, non-profit health research organization will release their final list of priorities for the coming year today, April 25th.   Earlier this year, PCORI issued its draft list of National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda. After soliciting comments on its proposed agenda, and holding a public workshop, PCORI recently announced that it would be holding a Special Board of Governors Teleconference/Webinar on April 25, 2012. (Source: Policy & Medicine)

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The ol' bait and switch
Despite a 2009 settlement that was expected to increase converage for out-of-network care, the nation’s largest health insurers have been switching to a new payment method, based on Medicare rates, that in most cases significantly increases the cost to the patient. The agreement required the companies to finance an objective database of doctors’ fees that patients and insurers nationally could rely on, but it did not obligate them to use it. (Source: NYTimes)

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Survey Says....
Physicians say they would prefer to to participate in continuing medical education online, according to a recent study conducted by ON24 and MedData Group. The study of 971 physicians of varying specialties found that while only 6.4 percent were actually using IT for CME, 84.1 percent said they'd prefer it, and a whopping 96.1 percent saw the benefit to it, such as the convenience, avoiding travel, and the like. (Source: FierceHealthIT)

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The election results are in!
AMCP has announced election results for the 2012-2013 president-elect position and Board of Directors openings. Elected were Kim Caldwell, director of legislation and public policy interface, Humana Pharmacy Solutions, Humana, to serve as AMCP’s 2012-2013 president elect, along with directors David Calabrese,  Kathleen Kaa, and Mitzi Wasik. (Source: Formulary)

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Available for download...
The Dictionary of Health Economics. Available from Download Provider.

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Are incentive payments related to health gains?
No! Although there is an incentive program in place in the UK which finacially rewards performace in 19 clinical areas, this study found there to be no association between the expected health gain and the incentive. (Source: BMC Health Services Research)

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e-Learning course: Health Economics Managed Care
This e-learning course is brought by the University of Health Care. This course will teach you how managed care emerged as an alternative to traditional fee-for-service delivery as well as the basic categories and features of managed care and managed care plans. (Source: FixUSHealth.com)

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The Economics of New Health Technologies : Incentives, organization, and financing
This book by Dr. Joan Costa-Font addresses the following important objectives: to provide a detailed analysis of what technological change is; to identify drivers of innovation in several healthcare areas; to present existing mechanisms and processes for ensuring and valuing efficiency and development in the use of medical technologies; and to analyse the impact of advances in medical technology on health, healthcare expenditure, and health insurance. (Source: Amazon.com)

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What might the future look like for healthcare reimbursement?
According to consultant, Donald Tex Bryant, fee-for-service reimbursements will gradually disappear and be replaced by models based upon the ability to better manage patient diseases and conditions. These models includes ACO's, patient-centered medical homes, and bundled payment contracts.The goal is to reduce the cost of providing healthcare to patients enrolled in the programs while improving the outcomes for individuals. (Source: KevinMD.com)

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Pricing and Reimbursement Strategies for Medical Devices
Reportlinker.com brings us a new market research report : Pricing and Reimbursement Strategies for Medical Devices. The major markets of the US and Europe are examined, analyzing the strategies being used by medical device manufacturers to sell and succeed within them. (Source: Sys-Con Media)

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Could Value-Based Pricing Transform Cost-Effectiveness Analyses?
The author of the PharmacoEconomics Blog wonders whether CEAs might change should VBP become more commonplace.VBP asks at what price would an intervention’s overall incremental costs be low enough relative to its incremental benefits so that it is deemed cost effective. And what defines "value"? An important consideration that may be at odds with VBP is the budget impact of the intervention.

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Kill the bugs, save the world!
Trevor Lewis, of Medical Device Consultancy, poses that the future of healthcare is the use of molecular diagnostics to determine the genetic profile of pathogens to enable appropriate specific therapies to be used against specific diseases. Molecular diagnostics can help with drug discovery, clinical trials and therapy by ensuring the responsible pathogen is detected, and the appropriate therapy can be given immediately and cost effectively. (Source: PharmaPhorum)

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Go Vertical or Go Home: Using the Vertical Analog Scale to assess the EuroQuol PRO measure.
This paper focuses on two concerns about the EQ-VAS: (1) difficulties with the data because patients may fail to respond to it as the instructions require and (2) substantial differences between patient responses on the EQ-VAS versus the EQ-5D profile and condition specific instruments.  According to the authors, these issues raise fundamental questions about the role and use of EQ-VAS in the EQ-5D instrument. (Source: OHE)

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JAMA Theme Issue: CER
This entire issue of the most recent JAMA (April 18, 2012, Vol 307, No. 15, pp 1555-1657) is CER. Read articles regarding PCORI, patient engagement, risk models and patient-centered evidence and more. (Source: JAMA)

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Medical device marketing in modern times
With the digital technologies available today, it’s possible to use interactive, virtual product models that represent the physical product in a realistic manner.  The interactive 3-D model includes the ability for the user to move it around, zoom in, and measure its dimensions at his or her own pace and degree of interest. This allows companies  to showcase their products and save by eliminating the need to ship physical products to globally dispersed sales events. (Source: MDDI)

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Investment Opportunity: Pharma stocks
According to Mark Schoenebaum, biotechnology and pharmaceutical analyst for ISI Group, there is an opportunity to invest in pharma stock that does not exist in the biotech sector. Stock reactions in that sector are often immediate whereas it may take six months or more for a pharma stock to react to product related news. In general, pharma investors should begin re-focusing on products that matter. (Source: Forbes, 4/19/12)

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Formulary Data: There's an app for that!
Fingertip Formulary, a provider of access and insight into formulary data, announced the launch of their iPad applications today at the AMCP annual meeting. Pharmaceutical reps can now access real time formulary data searchable by: state, health plan, drug class or specific drug name on their iPad. Pharma companies are starting to arm their field sales forces with iPads and other tablets. (Source: EON, 4/19/12)

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Webinar: AMNOG - One Year On
Once the 1st country in Europe to get innovative products thanks to its favourable pricing structure, Germany was a popular launch destination. But the introduction of AMNOG and the G-BA test has left many wondering if they would not be better off avoiding the country altogether. Presenters Justus Dehnen, Head of Pricing & Reimbursement, IMS Consulting, and Olaf Zweig, Pricipal at Booz & Co. will discuss AMNOG in a live webinar on April 23rd. (Source: BrightTALK)

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What are biopharma's concerns in achieving commercial success?
Parexel recently conducted a survey during its webinar entitled "Issues Impacting Commercial Decision Making and Patient Access in the Biopharmaceutical Market." Analysis of the results by Parexel shows that the industry is waiting too long to incorporate reimbursement, patient access, and payment considerations into development. (Source: Healthcare Global)

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How to succeed in the new stakeholder environment
Eyeforpharma brings us an article which examines how pharma can build mutually advantageous partnerships within a changing stakeholder environment. The payer is increasingly settting the rules for pharma companies. According to Ed Schoolveld, market access & pricing practice leader at ZS Associates,companies must understand the payers perspective, build consensus and communicate value in order to succeed in this new environment. (Source: eyeforpharma)

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The power of games
Today games are fuelling development of the interface tools and driving technical development. Gamification is one of the most important trends in technology with the promise that it can turn ‘users’ into ‘players’, dramatically increasing the capacity to influence behaviour. The power of games within healthcare will come from a deep understanding of motivational design, through getting under the skins of the people we want to communicate with. (Source: PMLive)

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Do you know about payer segmentation in the pharma marketplace?
A relatively new approach to the segmentation of pharma markets has begun to evolve based on differences between payers. Payer segmentation is often based on the observation that some payers have narrow, cost-based, definitions of value while others take a broader, holistic view of the worth of a pharmaceutical.  As the prescribing decision shifts from the individual Dr. to the patient/payer/prescriber complex, the industry can learn something from other markets. (Source: PMLive)

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Kantar Health names new director
Kantar Health has named Richard Goosey Senior Director of Advanced Methods for Kantar Health UK. Mr. Goosey has 30 years of consultancy experience in marketing sciences and advanced analytics on both the agency and client side covering both healthcare and consumer markets.Mr. Goosey joins Kantar Health from Roche UK, where he specialized in business planning and forecasting in support of the Oncology HER2 Franchise. (Source: Kantarhealth.com, 4/18/2012)

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CER unlikey to influence FDA
The FDA generally only permits sponsors to make drug comparisons if they have evidence from two robust head-to-head studies. While drugmakers are subject to stringent regulations, a payer, the government or physicians can make comparisons without these limitations.CER programs will provide ammunition to critics of pharma and medical device companies, and FDA policies will challenge the abilities of companies wishing to respond. (Source: Drug Industry Daily)

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Your mother was right!
Courtesy and manners are still essential, particularly in business. Here are a few business etiquestte rules that matter now. My favorite, turn off your cell phone and be present! Inc.com brings you more here.

HTA Around the World: Lessons Learned
ISPOR brings us papers from the Value in Health Special Issue, Health Technology Assessment in Evidence-Based Health Care Reimbursement Decisions Around the World: Lessons Learned [Volume 12 Issue s2, Pages S1 - S53 (June 2009)] which were developed to inform the ongoing debate on the nature and role of HTA. Leading academicians and practitioners from around the world offer their perspectives on HTA in their country and identify lessons learned.  (Source: ISPOR)

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Four decades of health economics through a bibliometric lens
This paper, published in the March 2012 Journal of Health Economics, takes a bibliometric tour of the last forty years of health economics using bibliographic “metadata” from EconLit supplemented by citation data from Google Scholar and our own topical classifications. (Source: SciVerse)

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AstraZeneca finds big opportunity is China pharma market
AstraZeneca is poised to take advantage of the growth of the prescription drug market in China - it has more than 4,700 employees in the country, in manufacturing, sales, clinical research, and new-product development. Steve Yang, the company’s VP and head of R&D for Asia and emerging markets, discussed the challenges of pharmaceutical innovation in China in an interview with McKinsey’s Jeremy Teo at the Shanghai headquarters of AstraZeneca, China.(Source: InPharm, 4/12/12)

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Are you in the clouds?
The convergence of reliable and secure cloud-based computing and growing cultural acceptance of doing things online, means that there is at last a viable solution to the age-old problem of cohesive, co-created plans - just as the pharma industry needs them more than ever. Cloud computing will allow shared online plans for people working across the globe which will accelerate and streamline the planning process. (Source: InPharm, 4/17/2012)

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The results are in...
Hanson Wade recently surveyed reps from the Late Stage Clinical Development industry and found that 100% of organizations are actively looking for ways to optimize their late stage clinical development process. Survey results found that the major challeges are: 1) working effectively with CRO's, 2) demonstrating product value to payers, and 3)  Phase IIIb/IV trial design. (Source: Hanson Wade)

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Can an agreement be made for a new drug pricing benchmark?
No viable alternative has surfaced as a preferred drug pricing benchmark to the AWP. All agree that there are five criteria fundamental to a new succesful alternative: transparency, accessability, comprehensiveness, timeliness and immunity to manipulation. GlassBox Analytics has developed the “Predictive Acquisition Cost” which uses various available factors associated with the cost of a drug, via a multi-dimensional predictive analytics model. (Source: Elsevier)

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A novel idea: Pay physicians for a treatment cycle that promotes better care and reduced drug costs
A new report from UnitedHealthcare examines the current cancer care payment system and considers alternative strategies to reward physicians for improving clinical outcomes and reducing treatment costs, rather than paying them based on the number of drugs administered to treat cancer. The article considers two new payment strategies being tested today. UnitedHealthcare launched its own episode payment pilot program in 2010. (Source: BusinessWire, 4/16/2012)

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And the winner is...
Those DARn Red Balls was the winner of the AMCP's best direct mail piece. DAR, Inc's self marketing piece arrived in a square box that was three-feet tall by three-feet wide. Inside was the DARn Red Ball along with an oversized marketing piece that on one side details creative uses for the ball and on the other side, the Red Ball theme is carried over into marketing messages for DAR’s services. (Source: AMCP)

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Will the government be able to judge individual doctors?
There was a little-noticed provision of the 2010 health care law: paying more to doctors who provide quality care at lower cost to Medicare, and reducing payments to physicians who run up Medicare's costs without better results. Efforts have already begun to change the way Medicare pays hospitals, physicians and other providers who agree to work together in ACOs. Experts agree that it will be difficult to make statistically accurate assessments of doctors' care. (Source: KHN)

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Are you up to date on privacy recommendations on email-enabled patient surveys?
With the increased use of research participant surveys in support of clinical research projects there is heightened risk that inappropriate configuration and administration of these surveys will lead to a privacy breach. This document describes the best practices that all electronically administered patient surveys should adhere to in order to minimize this risk. (Source: Stanford Center for Clinical Informatics)

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Cigna expands ACO program
Cigna has expanded its ACO program with the creation of 10 new initiatives in seven states, bringing  its total to 22 collaborative programs in 13 states that cover about 270,000 customers. Cigna partners with various physician practices to improve quality, affordability and patient satisfaction, focusing particularly on patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. (Source: FierceHealthPayer, 4/12/12)

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Delayed 1 year: new ICD-10 deadline proposed for October 2014
The delay is part of a proposed rule that would create a unique health plan identifier (which would streamline billing processes for providers) that HHS estimates could save doctors and insurers $4.6 billion over the next decade. (Source: FierceHealthIT, 4/9/12)

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Are your electronic health records safe?
The adoption of EHRs is one of the biggest reasons for the rise in security breaches of patient records, according to HIMSS' latest analytics report on the security of patient data.The report notes that with the move to patient records in electronic form, the data is more vulnerable since it's more accessible and mobile. Also, entrusting patient data to third parties means that the scope of patient data security extends far beyond the walls of their own hospital. (Source: FierceEMR)

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Check out the new HOL report from Cutting Edge
At many companies, HOLs do not begin their work on a product until it has been filed for approval. Data from Cutting Edge Information's report, Health Outcomes Liaisons: Managing a Field-Based Team that Speaks the Payer's Language, shows that only 43% of companies involve HOLs in Phase 3, and only 14% do so at any point prior. Payers and market access executives both say there are many benefits to engaging payers earlier in a compound's development process. (Source: CuttingEdgeInfo)

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ERT Announces Acquisition by Genstar Capital
ERT, a global technology-driven provider of health outcomes research services to biopharmaceutical sponsors and contract research organizations (CROs), announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Genstar Capital LLC, a leading middle market private equity firm for $8.00 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $400 million. (Source: MarketWatch, 4/10/12)

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View the International Profiles of 13 Health Care Systems
This publication presents overviews of the health care systems of 13 countries—Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. A summary table presents information on population, health care spending, number of physicians, hospital spending and utilization, use of health information technology, and number of potentially avoidable deaths. (Source: The Commonwealth Fund)

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Comparing the use of CER in drug coverage and pricing decisions
This issue brief examines the use of CER across six countries—Denmark, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. With CER gaining traction in the United States, these international experiences offer insights and potential lessons. Investing in CER can help address the current gap in publicly available, credible, up-to-date, and scientifically based comparative information on the effectiveness of drugs and other health interventions. (Source: The Commonwealth Fund)

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Will we see CER informing US policy decisions?
CER has potential to inform policymaking, such as decisions over which treatments to cover and at what price. Several industrialized countries have operated organizations conducting and commissioning CER for many years. As PCORI develops and CER becomes more widely available, U.S. decision-makers can learn from international experiences using CER to drive health care toward improved quality and value. (Source: The Commonwealth Fund, 4/5/12)

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Can CRO relationships enhance focus and flexibility for pharma industry?
CROs have become increasingly valuable partners as pharma fights to ensure their future success. Booz & Company has identified four types of CRO relationships, ranging from straightforward vendor arrangements to highly integrated alliances in which CROs become deeply embedded in the pharmaceutical company’s critical research operations. To choose the most effective partnership structure, pharmaceutical companies need to first assess their internal capabilities. (Source: booz.com)


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AstraZeneca's downward spiral
Investors are agitating for big changes at the troubled drugmaker,  even asking for a new CEO. Some shareholders are lobbying for CFO Simon Lowth to take David Brennan's job, while others back the company's commercial VP, Tony Zook. But Bernstein Research analyst Jack Scannell thinks a more radical switch is necessary. (Source: FiercePharma, 4/9/2012)

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The ABC’s of the Health Care Law and Its Future
The New York Times spoke to Jonathan Oberlander, author of “The Political Life of Medicare” and a professor of social medicine and health policy and management at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, about the Affordable Care Act and its future. Read what he has to say here. (Source: nytimes.com, 4/2/2012)
Is aetna's latest premium rate hike "unreasonable"?
The California insurance commissioner ruled that aetna's 8% premium rate increase was "unreasonable" but was unable to prevent the insurer from implementing the hike April 1. Aetna has raised premium rates by an average 30.3 percent over two years for 73,000 members in the small group market. Insurance Commissioner David Jones found the increase unreasonable because projections of medical cost increases weren't supported by actual claims. (Source: FierceHealthPayer, 4/9/2012)

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What are the Best Drug Companies Of The Past 15 Years?
Matthew Herper, writer for Forbes, argues that the best drug companies are those that have the most drugs approved (because a drug company’s main job is to invent new medicines and get them to patients). Based on this arguement he has created a list of the best drug companies of the past 15 years. Novartis leads the pack with 21 new drugs compared to 16 for Merck. (Source: Forbes, 2/9/12)

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The writing is on the wall for pharma companies
Pharmaceutical giants look remarkably similar to the IBM of the late 80′s and early 90′s, which is not good news for them. But IBM was able to demonstrate how it's possible for a large company to shift from a product-centric culture to a customer and service centered company. Big pharma will succeed or fail based not on how many drugs they sell, but on how well their offerings improve health outcomes. (Source: Forbes, 3/25/12)

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Embracing decision-support tools will drive evidence-based medicine
The adoption of decision-support tools has been lagging due to the slow adoption of electronic health records. But once EHRs are embraced, these tools will drive evidence-based medicine in the care setting and beyond. The degree of integration and interoperability of a hospital or healthcare system's IT infrastructure can influence the effectiveness of decision-support tools. (Source: Managed Healthcare Excecutive, 4/1/2012)

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How do Supreme Court justice's worldviews differ on the fundamental questions of health policy?
In this perspective, Mark Hall, J.D., of The New England Journal of Medicine, takes a close look at the oral arguments on the ACA. Many legal scholars believed that this would be an easy case, because health insurance so obviously involves interstate commerce and the mandate is unquestionably central to many of the ACA's core unchallenged provisions. But these matters can be seen differently depending on each justice's worldview. (Source: NEJM, 4/4/2012)

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Is China's new pricing model damaging drug quality and product revenue?
According to the Asia Times, companies with questionable or objectionable manufacturing processes are albe to slip through the first round of the new tedering system and then easily outbid companies whose focus on higher quality standards pushes their costs higher. In turn, the more reliable manufacturers are faced with the options of either lowering their quality to compete on pricing in the second round or foregoing the market entirely. (Source: Cutting Edge Information)

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How would you define specialty pharmacy?
The topic of a definition for "specialty pharmacy" is often discussed, but has yet to be answered. Specialty Pharma Journal would like to take on the task of helping create the definition of what specialty pharmacy means to specialty pharmaceutical stakeholders. (Source: SpecialtyPharmaJournal.Com)

Provide your input.
Need an easy solution for complicated models? Linked sliders can help.
BaseCase brings us a blog about linked sliders which allow users to create complex models with lots of factors on just one page. They are easy to implement and offer enough flexibility to adapt them to almost any need. Several working examples are provided to show their full potential. Once the models are created, they are easy to use. (Source: BaseCase)

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Irish Health Service imposes freeze on new medicines
Patients are losing out on expensive new life-saving drugs due to drastic budget cuts in Ireland by the Health Service Executive. This comes despite several of the drugs being passed as cost-effective by the watchdog the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics. The hefty price tag attached to some of the drug is leading to the new round of rationing. (Source: Independent.ie, 4/2/2012)

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What do pacemakers and washing machines have in common?
Consumer Reports are now rendering opinions on medical devices, such as pacemakers. Consumer Reports’ lobbying arm, Consumer Union, has been actively pursuing congress calling for “more rigorous safety testing” before allowing medical implants onto the market. Unlike those in the clinical research industry, there is no peer review forfor those who review washing machines.(Source: Applied Clinical Trials Blog, 3/27/2012)

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OHE celebrates 50 years with new archival website
OHE is celebrating their April 2, 1962 founding with the launch of a new archival website, ohematerials.org.This site contains OHE’s publications from 1962-2002.The most recent ten years of publications can be found on their main site, ohe.org.The changes since 1962 have been extensive in all areas of medicine and in the NHS. Perusing the fifty years of OHE publications show that some issues are perennial. (Source: OHE.org, 4/2/2012)

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Call for nominations: CER National Leadership Awards
The ICER is sponsoring the first annual CER National Leadership Award.  This award recognizes individuals who have been innovative leaders in advancing the methods and practical applications of comparative effectiveness research in the US. Nominations are now open and will be accepted until May 31, 2012. (Source: ICER, 4/2/2012)

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Pharmaceutical Technology Assessment: Perspectives From Payers
This study, published in the April 2012 JMCP, finds that the processes and evidence used in making pharma coverage decisions varies substantially among US payers. The findings come from interviews which were conducted with 26 respondents from payer, payer-intermediate, and drug compendium organizations. (Source: NPC)

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What's getting expensive the fastest?
The United States spends about $2.5 trillion -- one in every five or six dollars of GDP -- on health care. Here are ten graphs explaining where all that money is coming from, where it's going, and how it matches up against other countries. (Source: The Atlantic, 3/19/12)

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Weill Cornell Medical College Establishes Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy
Weill Cornell Medical College has announced the establishment of the Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy (CHiP) to improve health and healthcare through informatics and technology. The Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy fosters collaboration among a team of faculty from multiple departments to address issues at the intersection of healthcare informatics and healthcare policy. Its members conduct research; develop, evaluate, and implement new technologies to transform the healthcare system; and drive improvements in health and healthcare policy. (Source: newswise, 3/30/2012)

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How will CER impact pharmaceutical innovation?
Jennifer Graff, PharmD, director of CER at the NPC, will share some potential implications for the biopharmaceutical industry during her presentation at the ExL Pharma CER Evidence Summit on April 2-3 in Washington, DC. According to Dr. Graff, there are both incentives and disincentives for biopharmaceutical innovation as CER evolves. (Source: NPC, 3/30/12)

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Input needed for Addenda/Appendices to AMCP's Format for Formulary Submissions
The AMCP has commissioned the Format Executive Committee to assemble a team of experts to develop and publish three addenda/appendices to AMCP's Format for Formulary Submissions Version 3.0. These three addenda will focus on CER, specialty pharmaceuticals, and companion diagnostics. Input from potential users of the system are asked to provide substantive comments and recommendations. This initiative will not result in a new version of the Format. (Source: AMCP)

Submit comments.
More patient-level data needed for patient-centered outcomes research
The establishment of PCORI calls for patient-centeredness in research and decision making in medicine and health policy, but currently there are few data sources. As more data becomes available electronically, and linked across more care providers and sources, more questions can be answered with greater rigor. This kind of innovation will make patient-centeredness in research and care decisions more powerful, targeted, and relevant. (Source: CEA Registry Blog)

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Economics for the Market of Medicines in the UK
This presentation, by Jorge Mestre-Ferrandiz,  covers the key issues in the UK medicines market from drug development through health technology assessment and market access. The presentation agenda looks at the supply side (R&D), demand for medicines, NICE, and regulating medicine prices. (Source: Slideshare, City Univ. London)

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Duking out the healthcare debate
David Brooks editorializes about Obamacare and posits that it centralizes governmental authority. While Mr. Brooks sees the individual mandate as an acceptable policy, he argues that the administration made a "disastrous error" in centralizing so many of the cost-control elements of the new health care system. (Source: The New York Times, 3/26/12)

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If the Supreme Court tosses the individual mandate, what else comes down with it?
How much of the law could, or couldn’t survive, if the Court rules the mandated purchase of insurance to be unconstitutional. This article looks at the possible outcomes of that ruling and what they would mean for the health reform law. (Source: The Washington Post, WONKBLOG, 3/28/12)

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Do you know the difference between an ACO & a HIE? Thomson Reuters is here to help!
In an effort to demystify the new lexicon of healthcare reform, Thomson Reuters has published a new paper called "Vocabulary of Healthcare Reform," which explains the new reform terminology along with insights to augment the definitions of these terms. In addition, the paper is also packed with proprietary statistics and charts that further quantify the key healthcare reform issues. (Source: MarketWatch, 3/28/12)

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NICE 'inspires' price cut for Pradaxa
Boehringer Ingelheim has announced a price cut for its oral anticoagulant Pradaxa in the UK. This just two weeks after final draft guidance from NICE supported use of the drug on the NHS for preventing stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with AF. NICE will issue final guidance on Xarelto, which is a Factor Xa inhibitor, in AF in May, giving Boehringer precious time to establish its direct thrombin inhibitor Pradaxa. (Source: PMLive)

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Quintiles to incorporate Archimedes Simulator
Quintiles and Archimedes have announced an agreement to co-promote clinical and commercial solutions for biopharmaceutical companies to help reduce the time and expense associated with developing and marketing novel therapies. Quintiles will incorporate Archimedes’ ARCHeS Innovator modeling technology and expertise into its existing solutions that span the product lifecycle. (Source: MarketWatch, 3/28/2012)

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New Report: Pharmaceutical Pricing Strategy
Pharmaceutical Pricing Strategy is a new paid report from Cutting Edge Information. The report includes more than 400 metrics and analyzes; how different teams prioritize their products; the processes pricing groups use to develop a pricing strategy for pharmaceutical products & medical devices; &  company-level data for each representative company type. (Source: CuttingEdgeInfo.com)

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Survey says: Cautious optimism for use of CER in decision-making
A new NPC survey of health care stakeholders shows that there is cautious optimism about the impact of CER on health care decision-making and that recognition is continuing to grow for PCORI.  Despite the growing recognition for PCORI’s role in CER, AHRQ and NIH are viewed by surveyed stakeholders as the leading agencies for establishing priorities, and for funding and monitoring research. (Source: NPC, 3/27/2012)

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What is the Economic Rationale for the Health Care Law’s Individual Mandate?
Health Economist Dr. Austin Frank editorializes in JAMA on the rationale for the ACA's individual purchase mandate.  He posits that it makes strong economic sense because it spreads risk across healthy and ill individuals (the entire population), & underscores the externalities of health insurance purchasing. The mandate will keep premiums low, because the healthy will be included in the risk pool, and the sick will receive coverage prior to going into Medicare. (Source: news@JAMA)

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2012 Shaping up to be an eventful year for healthcare
This year has real consequences for healthcare companies, providers, and consumers.The Supreme Court will soon make a judgment on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, but there are other important developments for Affordable Care Act in the year ahead. (Source: PRWeek, 3/26/12)

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New quality standards on the way from NICE
Medicines adherence is among 123 new quality standards that NICE has been asked by the Department of Health to develop. Also in development are public health quality standards in areas including smoking cessation, encouraging physical activity, and preventing and managing alcohol misuse. The standards outline what high-quality care should look like in the NHS, and will form the basis of commissioning decisions taken by the NHS Commissioning Board. (Source: PJOnline, 3/27/2012)

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Is IPAB the latest Apple Product?
It may sound like a new Apple product, but IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) is a controversial board created by the health law, designed to help hold down costs in Medicare. Republicans, and some Democrats, have denounced the concept, saying it would wind up rationing care and would eclipse congressional authority over Medicare. (Source: KHN, 3/22/12)

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How do healthcare providers use the results from patient satisfaction surveys?
The May 2011 Benchmarks in Patient Satisfaction e-survey by the Healthcare Intelligence Network captured efforts to improve patients’ and members’ experience and satisfaction with their care. View the latest chart with the Top 5 uses of patient satisfaction survey results

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New Journal Launched: Journal of Euromed Pharmacy
Published by the Department of Pharmacy of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Malta, in collaboration with the Malta Pharmaceutical Association, publishes in the areas of pharmacoeconomics, quality, and patient safety. The latest issue carries contributions by post-graduate students of the Department of Pharmacy in the areas of pharmacoeconomics, quality systems in the pharmaceutical industry and use of drugs and patient safety. (Source: The Malta Independent)

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Video: The Canadian Healthcare Debate
Why is the cost of healthcare always going up? Watch this debate on The Agenda with the Canadian Health Minister and others.

Watch Video.
New Pharma online magazine
New Pharma launched their new online magazine this month with a big celebration in New York City. The 1st issue contains articles about doing business in China, product serialization, legal pathways for biosimilars and more.

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Is the current pharma business model broken?
Sixty-eight percent of EU and US drug industry executives have concluded that the current pharmaceutical business model is broken. That from a survey of data from more than 150 senior industry executives mostly with responsibility for a product portfolio or specific brand and with influence or responsibility for sales and marketing decisions. The highest-rated challenge for the industry over the next two years was downward pressure on pricing and healthcare budgets. (Source: PMLive)

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Interested in Online Graduate Education for an M.S. in Applied HEOR?
Listen to this archived Webinar from Thomas Jefferson University about their newly launched program, enrolling Fall 2012.

Listen here.
Report: Prospective Observational Studies to Assess Comparative Effectiveness
This report details the recommendations of the ISPOR Good Research Practice Task Force on Prospective Observational Studies for comparative effectiveness research. Key issues discussed include how to decide when to do a prospective observational study in light of its advantages and disadvantages with respect to alternatives. (Source: PubMed)

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What is the ISPOR Medication Adherence and Persistence Special Interest Group?
The goal of this Working Group is to develop good research practices when conducting medication adherence studies. Their first work product, Medication Adherence Good Research Practices: Factors to Consider when Conducting Initial Medication Adherence, is available in draft form. To access this work and to see more details click here.
Do you know how to search PubMed for evidence?
Here is a helpful guide from VCU on how to search PubMed for evidence.

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Podcast: The quality of life endpoint– If the car doesn’t drive faster you don’t need a better seat!
In anticipation of the upcoming Clinical Commercial Payer Forum, eyeforpharma gives us a podcast with event speaker Mathias Flume.

Listen here.
Podcast: Why clear benefit for the patient still comes top of the GBA checklist.
In anticipation of the upcoming Clinical Commercial Payer Forum, eyeforpharma gives us a podcast with event speaker Mathias Flume.

Listen here.
Podcast: Prescriptions with a premium price – the good the bad and the ugly.
In anticipation of the upcoming Clinical Commercial Payer Forum, eyeforpharma gives us a podcast with event speaker Mathias Flume.

Listen here.
Podcast: On the surface the German Market Access system appears centralised – is it really?
In anticipation of the upcoming Clinical Commercial Payer Forum, eyeforpharma gives us a podcast with event speaker Mathias Flume.

Listen here.
Podcast: 'Value Based Pricing is going to completely change the roadmap...'
In anticipation of the upcoming Clinical Commercial Payer Forum, eyeforpharma gives us a podcast with event speaker Omar Ali.

Listen here.
Who's MABEL?
The next release of data from the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) longitudinal survey of 10,500 doctors is now available. Applicants for the data will be supplied with the first three annual waves of unit record de-identified MABEL data (2008, 2009 and 2010). MABEL is funded by the NHMRC until 2016 (for nine annual waves) through a Centre of Research Excellence in Medical Workforce Dynamics.

Further info.
National Health and Wellness Survey Expands into Russia
NHWS is the largest international self-reported patient database in the healthcare industry. Survey responses were collected directly from 10,000 patients in Russia. NHWS Russia offers a holistic view of the Russian patient. This real-world patient-level information has the advantage of being able to compare data with key established markets and other emerging markets. (Source: HEOR Group, LinkedIn)

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Will the UK's NHS reform bill soon become law?
Controversial reforms to the health system in England are set to be passed into law after a final attempt to postpone their implementation was defeated in parliament. The Bill has faced criticism from many UK healthcare groups. It sets out the biggest set of changes to the NHS in England since it was founded more than 60 years ago. (Source: PMLive)

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AMCP comments on PCORI draft of National Priorities
Read comments from AMCP CEO, Edith Rosato, R.Ph., to the PCORI on its Draft National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda, Version 1. Overall the Academy is pleased.

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Lucrative Algorithms
Scientists from many different backgrounds around the world are spending their free time competing for big prize money thanks to Kaggle. Kaggle turns data analysis into world-wide gaming competitions. Competitors are given the same sets of data. Using this, competitors try to build a data model to solve a predictive problem. Allowing competitors to see how their models compare to others drives better and better results.  (Source: ABC Television, 8/18/2011)

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Arthur Caplan to Lead New Division of Medical Ethics
Renowned bioethicist, Arthur Caplan, PhD, has been appointed as director of the new Division of Medical Ethics in the Department of Population Health at NYU's Langone Medical Center. In his new role, Dr. Caplan will be instrumental in incorporating a strong bioethical framework into global health initiatives at NYU Langone Medical Center and New York University. (Source: MarketWatch, 3/16/2012)

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How Does Medicaid Managed Care Affect Health Outcomes?
More than 70 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries receive their benefits through a managed care program. States have moved increasingly from demonstration projects to statewide programs and from voluntary to mandatory participation. The availability of information about health outcomes and satisfaction varies widely, depending on each state’s criteria for Medicaid, the extent of data required to be reported and the enforcement of the requirements. (Source: Wolters Kluwer, 3/19/2012)

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Can "gamification" work for clinical research?
Boehringer Ingelheim is the first pharmaceutical company to use the innovative Kaggle gamification platform approach to clinical research. The German pharma company’s US arm has launched a three-month data science competition that seeks to predict a biological endpoint, with $20,000 on offer in prize money. Kaggle is an online community of almost 31,000 data scientists who work across disciplines and industries to tackle problems outside their realm of expertise. (Source: PMLive)

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How much is spent on health in America?
NPR's Health Blog, SHOTS, gives a great picture of the health care industry in America. The blog looks at the numbers; the percentage of the American workforce in health care, public and private spending, and the number of uninsured. (Source: NPR, 3/19/2012)

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Epic Fail: The staggering cost of inventing new drugs
Forbes staff writer, Matthew Herper, and statistics editor, Scott DeCarlo, make a rigorous analysis of the actual cost of inventing a new drug. They have found that the average drug developed by a major pharmaceutical company actually costs at least $4 billion. The price can soar to as high as $12 billion! The main source of the expense falls to failure, not clinical trials or other factors. (Source: Forbes, 2/22/2012)

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What swayed NICE to reverse draft guidance on new oral MS drug?
Novartis’ multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya  has been recommended by the UK’s NICE in final draft guidance that overturns its previous negative recommendation. NICE was swayed by fresh data from the phase III FREEDOMS and TRANSFORMS trials that showed the drug would be an effective use of NHS resources, if Novartis offered the drug at the proposed reduced rate. (Source: PMLive)

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Boston leads the way towards global payments
The Boston healthcare market is moving rapidly toward global payments, led by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' Alternative Quality Contract, according to a new HealthLeaders-InterStudy. A shift by insurers to global payment strategies puts the burden on pharmaceutical companies to prove the efficacy and value of their products. (Source: MarketWatch, 3/14/2012)

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Is "Bad Science" being used to justify UKs NHS shakeup?
In the last year, two unpublished papers have been released to coincide with announcements from prime minister David Cameron concerning his health bill. The Guardian points out numerous problems with the reports, among them the error of confusing minor statistical associations with causation. (Source: The Guardian, 3/15/2012)

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Will global pharma marketing continue to fall?
Pharma’s spending on sales and marketing fell by 3.4 per cent last year as companies slashed costs to cope with an increasingly challenging market.  But the negative global trend was reversed in countries like China, which saw another year of growth driven by pharmaceutical companies’ continued expansion into emerging markets. Despite growth in emerging markets, the downward trend is set to continue this year. (Source: PMLive)

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New Pricing Strategy Report from Cutting Edge
Cutting Edge Information's report, Pharmaceutical Pricing Strategy: Maximize Revenue in an Evolving Economic Climate, will help your pricing team navigate the political, social and economic changes with benchmarks on structure & resources, along with best practices in handling this shifting environment. (Source: Cutting Edge Reports)

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Novartis: Leading the way in emerging markets
Novartis is leading the way in emerging markets as it extends the company's overall strategy, which is to apply the best science to those therapeutic areas where there is unmet patient need and a high potential for growth. Novartis also has a diverse, multichannel product portfolio and central coordinating unit that can pool resources and be customized to fit local health demographics and medical practice. (Source: PharmExec.com, 3/12/2012)

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Will AMNOG cause Germany to find itself with one option per drug class?
Results are mixed in the decisions from Germany's AMNOG. AstraZeneca's Brilique was the first product to complete the new review process and receive a favorable opinion, allowing the drug company to negotiate a price rather than being subject to reference pricing. The diabetes drug Trajenta was not so lucky. Up to now, Germany was often the first European country to receive innovative products, but this may change as a result of these new evaluation laws. (Source: CuttingEdgeInfo)

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New paper: Get more, pay more?
This pay-for-view paper from the Journal of Health Economics looks at estimates of willingness to pay per QALY.  These estimates can be taken as an indication of monetary value of health gains, which may carry information regarding the appropriate height of the cost-effectiveness threshold.  (Source: SciVerse, Journal of Health Economics, Volume 31, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 158–168)

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Using economic evaluations for drug reimbursement decisions - what have we achieved?
A new report by Professor Mike Drummond of the University’s Centre for Health Economics assesses the actual impact of the research of clinical and cost-effectiveness of drugs. He finds evidence of a number of beneficial changes in reimbursement processes, including the measurement of more meaningful clinical endpoints and increased engagement between manufacturers, drug regulators and payers. (Source: The University of York, 2/9/2012)

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How to control rising healthcare costs in China.
In an interview with Health Minister Chen Zhu, he noted that China's total healthcare spending could rise in the next few years. That spending has been fueled by efforts to extend health coverage to all of China's 1.3 billion people. In an effort to control costs China is implementing several measures, including increasing the number of medications on the "essential drug list" and instituting a system similar to the UK's NICE. (Source: Chicago Tribune)

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PCORI finally nails down a definition
After a long and "extraordinarily difficult" process PCORI has finally come up with a definition of "patient-centered outcomes research". The definition had to encompass comparative effectiveness research, as well as how patients and providers communicate, studies of barriers, as well as what patients should do to improve those outcomes themselves. (Source: HealthLeadersMedia, 3/12/2012)

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What can data analytics bring to pharma's bottom line?
PharmExecBlog sits down for an interview with Brad Sitler, principle industry consultant at SAS’s Center for Health Analytics and Insights group. He speaks to how pharma can use data analytics to adapt sales and marketing functions as well as how healthcare reform will drive the data. (Source: PharmExecBlog.com, 3/6/2012)

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NICE appoints new directors
The UK’s NICE has appointed Professor Mark Baker and Alexia Tonnel as directors. Baker will replace the departing Prof Peter Littlejohns as director of the centre for clinical practice, while Tonnel will take over the role of director of evidence resources following the retirement of Dr Fergus Macbeth. Both new directors have previously worked for NICE, which evaluates a product’s cost-effectiveness and sets clinical guidance in the NHS, for several years. (Source: PMLive)

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Farmeconomia accepting manuscripts
Farmeconomia. Health economics and therapeutic pathways is accepting manuscripts for publication in 2012. The journal is primarily interested in articles concerning drugs as well as reviews of quality of life or outcomes research.

More information here.
ACO 101- A brief course by Neil Kirschner, Ph.D.
This brief course (downloadable pdf) about Accountable Care Organization offers a  definition, brief history, basic and administrative ACO functions, components of ACO shared savings model, legal issues and more. (Source: acponline)

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Advancing the quality of electronic data collection
Bracket, a division of UBC, has joined the Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome (ePRO) Consortium, which seeks to improve the quality of patient reported outcomes, a crucial element in the drug development process. The ePRO Consortium, a program run by the Critical Path Institute, is committed to advancing the quality, practicality and acceptance of electronic data capture methods used in clinical trials for PRO endpoint assessment. (Source: CenterWatch News Online)

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Archived Webinar: New Online M.S. Program for Applied Health Economics & Outcomes Research
Learn more about the New Online M.S. Program for Applied Health Economics & Outcomes Research, Jefferson School of Population Health from this archived webinar.

Click here.
Will revoking patent rights get Big Pharma in line?
In order to bring Big Pharma in line, the  US House and Senate are working on similar bills that would allow Health and Human Services to revoke a company's patent rights. This in reaction to continued cases of pharmaceutical companies defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. (Source: FiercePharma)

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U.S. payers look to Europe
The US healthcare market is facing the same economic challenges as those in Europe and more and more are looking to European payers for guidance. Today reimbursement discussions are highly technical and focused on the health economic value. Managed market teams continue to grow in importance and companies continue to invest in HEOR functions. (Source: Cutting Edge Information)

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ISPOR Performance-Based Risk-Sharing Arrangements Task Force
The draft of the ISPOR Task Force Report: Performance-Based Risk-Sharing Arrangements–Good Research Practices for Design, Implementation, and Evaluation: A Report of the ISPOR Performance-Based Risk-Sharing Arrangements Task Force is available for comments.  If you would like to review the draft report, email: emolsen@ispor.org  For more information, see: ISPOR Performance-Based Risk-Sharing Task Force »
Is HEOR the red headed step-child?
In a guest post by Marya Zilberberg, MD, MPH, she speaks to the importance of HEOR early in the drug development process. In the new era of cost controls, companies who set objective milestones by which to judge the worthiness of technologies in development at every point in the development process will succeed. (Source: Healthworks Collective, 3/4/2012)

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The price of tea in China...oops...I mean drugs
Chinese healthcare reforms can't succeed if hospitals keep pushing up drug prices according to the country's health minister. Hospitals derive much of their income from drug sales and for that reason they often inflate prices. Meanwhile, Chinese drug companies say the broader price controls will cut into their purses. Larger drugmakers are expected to suffer less than smaller ones, and may benefit from resulting consolidation in the industry. (Source: FiercePharma, 3/5/2012)

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More growth for Big Pharma in China
GlaxoSmithKline will be adding "a few hundred" sales folks to back up products the company is introducing in China according to CEO Andrew Witty. That's on top of 700 hires in 2011. The reason? The same one that's motivating other Big Pharmas in China, healthcare reforms and market growth. IMS Health forecasts growth of 19%-22% annually in Chinese drug spending through 2015. (Source: FiercePharma, 3/5/2012)

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Video Interview: How does CER lead to better health decisions?
In February 2012, the National Health Council held its annual Voluntary Health Leadership Conference in San Diego, California. Joe Selby, MD, MPH, Executive Director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, was interviewed by the NHC about how better information gleaned through comparative effectiveness research can lead to better health decisions. (Source: YouTube)

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New evidence-based medicine center at Brown
Three prominent researchers at Tufts who specialize in analysis of medical research will leave this year to start a new center focused on evidence-based medicine at Brown University. The researchers lead the evidence-based practice center at Tufts. At Brown University, they will have opportunities to work with affiliated hospitals and in fields outside of medicine. The launch of the center is part of Brown’s efforts to build a school of public health. (Source: boston.com, 3/1/2012)

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What are the opportunities and challenges of the APAC region?
Christoph Glaetzer, Vice President of Market Access for Asia Pacific (APAC) of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, points out the significant differences with the region and even within some countries. Whereas some countries have sophisticated healthcare others are still developing their healthcare systems and funding strategies. (Source: Asia Healthcare Blog, 3/4/2012)

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New streamlined pricing and reimbursement proposal for Europe
The European Commission has proposed new measures to help medicines reach the market quicker by streamlining the pricing and reimbursement process. The revisions would set a 120-day (current 180 days) decision limit for national regulators on innovative medicines, and a 30-day limit for generics. The proposals were welcomed by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, although the trade body suggested further measures were also necessary. (Source: PMLive)

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The Healthcare Communication Revolution
Due to increasing budgetary and regulatory pressures, communication is far broader and more complex than ever before. Until very recently, the focus of communication was on branding. Today, communication is playing a vital role in opening channels, defining the common language and helping to facilitate the best environment for encouraging closer collaboration and demonstrating the value story. (Source: PMLive)

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ICON Selected by Roche for Technology Partnership
ICON, a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, has announced that it has been selected by Roche as its technology partner for storing and managing medical images collected during the company’s clinical research programs. Roche is using ICON’s MIRA™ (Medical Image Review and Analysis) software as the company’s central repository for medical images. (Source: Reuters.com, 3/5/2012)

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How can phama adjust to meet evidence needs?
This article summarizes both internal and external opportunities for manufacturers to establish a foundation of evidence for successful market access, starting in Phase I of development and continuing throughout the post-approval product lifecycle. (Source: PubMed.gov)

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Are health economists clueless bureaucrats?
The author of this criticism offers five things that will change the publics negative view of health economists. They are: 1) create a tool that allows companies to explore what-if scenarios around expected ROI, 2) get involved with mobile health developers, 3) look at the patient perspective, 4) help providers make decisions, and finally 5) get honestly involved in the public discourse about health care and policy.  (Source: Healthycriticism.com)

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Read all about it! March 2012 PharmaVoice Magazine
The March 2012 PhamaVOICE magazine, Molecule to Market, has just been released. This issues looks at the continuum of getting a new drug to market from pre-clinical and clinical trials to getting a product to market and beyond. (Source: PharmaVOICE)

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Abstracts from Professional Poster Presentations at AMCP’s 24th Annual Meeting & Expo
Included here are poster presentations that have been prepared for the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s 24th Annual Meeting & Expo, April 18-20, 2012, in San Francisco, California. Poster presentations are selected by the Program Planning and Development Committee from proposals that are submitted to the AMCP. (Source: JMCP)

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Is the pharma industry seeing a "talent crunch"?
Pharma and life sciences have topped the ‘talent challenge’ poll in PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ new Global CEO Survey. 51% of pharma CEOs surveyed said it has become more difficult to hire workers within the sector, outweighing the number of CEOs from a range of industries. Also, the problem of hiring, developing and retaining talent in the emerging markets remains one that is particularly pertinent to pharma. (Source: PharmExec.com, 2/24/2012)

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The healthcare market in Japan
This report focuses on the current healthcare market in Japan and takes a look at the pharmaceutical market, Kaih oken (universal cover), pricing and reimbursement, Japanese globalization, generics, biotech and more. The report uses many graphs and charts to present the data. (Source: PMLive)

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ICON Acquires PriceSpective
ICON, a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, has announced the acquisition of PriceSpective LLC, a global leader in value strategy consulting. The acquisition strengthens ICON’s expertise in value based pricing and market access. (Source: PressRelease, 2/28/2012)

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NICE denies "money-savings" accusations
NICE has denied it has been asked to delay the uptake of new drugs in the UK because they are too expensive. This in response to comments made by GlaxoSmithKline’s CEO Sir Andrew Witty. Witty expressed that European austerity measures were leading to delays in the approval of innovative new drugs. NICE pointed out it has said ´yes´ to the majority of treatments it has assessed for availability on the NHS. (Source:  PMLive)

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US Payers: Comparative Effectiveness Research and Formulary Decision-making
This is a new paid report from ISR reports.  The data in this report highlight that US payers desire more data from randomized controlled trials that utilize a comparator product(s), not just a placebo. The report is based on data generated from 30 survey respondents, all of whom have a responsibility for formulary decision-making at their organization. (Source: ISRreports)

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Are innovative new drugs being held back to save governments money?
GlaxoSmithKline chief executive Sir Andrew Witty has accused the UK government of systematically delaying the introduction of new cancer drugs in order to save money and warns that ministers are making false economies as they try to grapple with the deficit in the public finances. He fears that in addition to price reductions, governments are delaying approval of innovative new drugs. (Source: The Telegraph, 2/28/2012)

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European pharma debt write-off?
Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain are delaying paying for drugs for up to three years.  European states owe $20 billion to the pharma industry.  Swiss pharma giants Roche and Novartis are examining whether to limit supplies, but deteriorating economic conditions may requires this debt to be written off. (Source: Business Insider)

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New Russian Biofund partnership deal
Pharmaceutical services company Quintiles and government-backed Russian Venture Company have signed a partnership deal that will set up an unspecified number of joint venture companies focused on clinical development services within the Russian Federation. Quintiles said the deal would support its growth plans in Russia. Issues to be addressed are Russia's underrepresentation in clinical development and its overrepresentationin terms of unment medical needs. (Source: PMLive)


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Do you know the four key metrics needed for a successful ACO pilot program?
The difference between a successful ACO pilot program and a well-intentioned failure could come down to just four key metrics, according to a new white paper published by Thomson Reuters. The model is used to estimate the expected finalncial impact of a Medicare ACO. Modeling of a variety of baseline conditions and savings assumptions has suggested four important conditions for pilot success.(Source: HealthNewsDigest.com, 2/21/2012)

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Grant Opportunity: Infrastructure Development Program in PCORI
Deadline December 20, 2014

More information.
Call for Papers: Value in Health Regional Issues
The first issue of the ISPOR journal Value in Health Regional Issues focusing on the Latin America region will be published in December of this year. Manuscripts for consideration in this issue must be submitted by JUNE 30, 2012.  Papers submitted after this date will be considered for the December 2013 issue.

More information here.
Most of us are lazy when it comes to choosing the best Journal in which to publish our HEOR data.
A 2+ year project is finally completed, you’re ready to publish, and you make the journal decision in a matter of moments, or rely on someone else.  Does your in-house medical communications group, consultancy, or the lead author recommend the same old journals, again and again?  HealthEconomics.Com has a complete list of relevant Journals, so review the list and make sure you know ALL of your options.  In addition, Cutting Edge Info has an interesting report, Strategic Medical Publications Management.
Should health information websites be subject to peer review?
Online health information could be subjected to a system of peer review, similar to that used by medical journals to evaluate article submissions.The suggestion comes from researchers running a UK study of online chemotherapy information. They said it is “vital that patients have access to good quality and accurate information”. (Source: PMLive)

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Who has the cheapest drugs in EU?
The 11th Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme Report said that, during 2010, the UK had the lowest cost for medicines out of the 13 comparator countries, with Germany having the highest in the EU. Over a five-year period, however, France on average had the lowest, followed by Finland, Spain and the UK, with Germany again facing the greatest expense. This cost was still lower than the US, which was by far the biggest spender compared to the other 12 countries. (Source: PMLive)

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Delaware looking for "real-world evidence" to control Medicaid costs
Delaware is participating with HealthCore/AstraZeneca in contributing data from Medicaid patients in the hopes of finding new ways to address the staggering costs involved in running the state and federally funded health plan. HealthCore and AstraZeneca are working together on a "Real-World Evidence Collaboration" to conduct CER aimed at sorting out which treatments work best. (Source: FoxBusiness, 2/23/2012)

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How can Big Pharma meet the "real world" data challenge?
Big Pharma is attempting to build the tools, platforms, and organization to enable it to respond to the increasing demand for data. All the top 10 pharma companies surveyed are said to have initiated RWD projects to guide product development and commercial decisions that hinge on a better understanding of disease states and treatment patterns. (Source: PharmExec.com, 2/22/2012)

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Will Germany's new pricing law drive Pharma away?
Concerns about AMNOG are altering the launch equation in Europe. Up to now, Germany was seen as the best place to introduce new drugs in Europe, but that is changing as the first few decisions of AMNOG have arrived with mixed results. Because a low German bellwether will be referenced by so many other countries, it might be preferable to receive no German business at all. (Source: Cutting Edge Information)

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Value-based pricing: a predatory opportunity?
When a current best practice/standard of care is "preyed upon" by a new intervention, pharma must be able to show improved value in today's value-based pricing marketplace. (Source: PMLive)

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Austerity Pricing Limits in Europe as a Result of Financial Woes
Constrained by compressed government budgets and sovereign debt issues, many European countries have imposed reductions in pharmaceutical pricing. Most of the pricing cuts have been in the 4–5% range, with deeper reductions generally seen in countries with sovereign debt issues or serious budgetary problems. Companies are looking to emerging markets to grow profitability. (Source: PharmExec.com)

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Will we soon see 'Brazil NICE' or 'China NICE'?
The UK’s NICE is playing an increasing role in emerging pharma markets with the aim that they will eventually set up their own versions of the cost-effectiveness watchdog. Chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon said ‘Brazil NICE’ and ‘China NICE’ could, in time, be established to follow NICE’s internationally recognized approach to health technology assessment. (Source:  PMLive)

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Big Bad Pharma
This article by John Mack gives a great picture of why the pharmaceutical industry has such a bad reputation.  Loaded with graphics and primary news links, he explores the big picture, looking at drug shortages, supply chain, manufacturing, and journalism and how they have all contributed to "BIG BAD PHARMA". (Source: Pharma Marketing News, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2/23/2012)

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Practical Advice for Medical Device Firms
This white paper provides practical advice for device manufacturers in executing a successful market entry strategy that involves navigating the FDA approval process, designing and conducting efficient and cost-effective clinical trials, and adeptly evaluating the existing marketplace. (Source: Clinipace Worldwide)

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Report: Pharmaceutical Licensing and Alliances in the Asia-Pacific Region
This paid report from Venture Planning Group offers: 1) an overview of drivers, resistors and trends within the Asia-Pacific Region, 2) a summary of geographic licensing and partnering activity, and 3) analysis of types of partnerships and healthcare sectors targeted.  The report contains 88 pages and 53 table/pages. (Source:  Venture Planning Group)

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What are PRO, ObsRO and ClinRO?
Health outcomes research is a science which has emerged as the measuring and interpreting of treatment benefits to patients. Experience with regulatory guidance addressing the development, use and collection of outcomes data from patients (PRO), clinicians(ClinRO) and/or caregivers(ObsRO) continues to accumulate. ERT offers definitions of these frequently used acronyms. (Source:  ERT.com)

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Does the 2013 Obama budget threaten the pharmaceutical industry?
The pharmaceutical industry has raised concerns over parts of US President Barack Obama's fiscal 2013 budget, claiming that the proposals could lead to substantial job losses in the sector.  Changes to Pharma rebates for Medicaid beneficiaries, a budget freeze at NIH, and reducing data protection for innovative biologic medicines are among the concerns. (Source:  PMLive)

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What are the pros and cons of pharmacoeconmics research?
Big Pharma is increasingly concerned about R&D expenditures and are fostering closer relationships with payors, insuring that medications are a "must-have" for patients. However, some fear that this has led pharma to abandon experimental products due to fears over reimbursement. The result could be fewer landmark new medicines. (Source:  Datatrial)

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Cost concerns dominate benefit design in 2012
According to The Zitter Group’s Managed Care Benefit Design Index: Emerging Trends in Access, cost concerns for both payers and employers continue to dominate insurance benefit design. Zitter Group research shows that increased prior authorizations and higher cost-sharing is a trend in the industry. Cost-sharing increased for PY2012 and employers seem to have increased formulary restrictions to a level in line with ASO recommendations. (Source: Managed Healthcare Executive)

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Will global health plans be offered by your insurer soon?
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) is the latest insurer, and the first in the state, to offer international coverage. GeoBlue is a new insurance product that will provide global health plans to BCBSMA members. It includes a network of hospitals and English-speaking doctors in nearly 200 countries and many other helpful services for expatriate employees working abroad.  (Source:  Managed Healthcare Executive, 2/15/2012)

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UnitedHealth Group Launches Cloud Platform
UnitedHealth Group's Optum health services business has launched an open-cloud platform to allow developers to create and host health care applications. The cloud offers a developer various toolkits and a dashboard that enables health professionals to access patient information they use on a daily basis to form their care plans for patients. Optum will demonstrate the cloud service at the HIMSS12 health care IT conference in Las Vegas, beginning Feb. 20. (Source:  eWeek)

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PCORI: Will $440 million be enough to make health care any more evidence-based?
This criticism asks the questions: how do you evaluate an intervention if there's no evidence-based intervention to compare it to?, and how can the comparative-effectiveness question be answered by a single study? Many of the diagnostic and therapeutic interventions that constitute the standard of care have never been evaluated in high-quality clinical trials or replicated enough to statistically get rid of probabilistic statements. (Source: healthycriticism.com, 2/15/2012)

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How can Pharma capture sales when their drugs go off patent?
In 2010 AstraZeneca's cancer drug Arimidex went off patent. Since then sales have plummeted 91%. In a creative effort to capture sales, AZ is launching a direct-to-patients sales program for the breast cancer drug. The company's "Arimidex Direct" plan will offer U.S. patients a month's supply at $40, with the orders fulfilled and shipped by pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts. (Source:  FiercePharma, 2/17/2012)

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Why is Systematic Review essential for Pharma?
Governments are increasingly looking to evidence-based medicine to inform reimbursement. A systematic literature review represents the best-available evidence for answering a specific research question, and has become essential to supporting a new product launch. This involves the structured interrogation of medical literature databases, filtering through thousands of records, selecting a final data set and appraising the quality of included studies. (Source: PMLive)

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What do you think of this? Alternative to Facebook for Pharma
PharmaWall allows administrators to manage what content is posted to their Facebook page. With this customizable system, pharma companies control both company-generated and user-generated content through a behind-the-scenes approval process. Administrators can accept, revise or decline user-generated content before it appears on Facebook, and the system keeps detailed records of both the content and the approval decisions for further review or auditing purposes. (Source: pharmawall)

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NICE not convinced of Botox's migraine value
NICE is not convinced that Allergan's anti-wrinkle injection Botox is worth using to treat migraines. Botox is licensed to prevent headaches in adults with chronic migraine, but the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said on Thursday the company had not provided sufficient evidence to prove its value. The agency's draft guidance is open for comments until March 8. (Source: Reuters, 2/16/2012)

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Statistical issues in comparative effectiveness research
The Proceedings of the University of Pennsylvania annual conference on statistical issues in clinical trials: statistical issues in comparative effectiveness research is now available from the journal Clinical Trials. A subsciption to this journal is necessary to access the proceedings. (Source:  SAGE journals)

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Do new ACP ethics guidelines imply patient care be more "stingy"?
American College of Physicians Ethics Manual: Sixth Edition, 2012 has outlined new ethics guidelines and has reignited a debate about the role and responsibility of physicians in addressing the country's problems with health care costs. The ACP argues that the guidelines will help physicians to consider more carefully the tests and treatments they order and prescribe for patients and to think on a higher level about the well-being of the community at large. (Source:  NEJM.org)

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Patient Reported Outcomes success with eDiary in Clinical Trial
invivodata's eDiary, Diary PRO, was chosen to capture PRO data in a recent Phase III clinical trial by INSYS for the use of its cancer pain medication SUBSYS. INSYS selected invivodata’s DiaryPRO based on its effectiveness at capturing real-time, patient-centered data and its easy-to-use features which enable patients to easily record data, even during temporary, and sometimes severe pain flares. The FDA has recently approved the new drug. (Source:  Daily Markets)

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Who would you like to nominate for the PharmaVOICE 100?
PhamaVOICE.com wants to know who you would like to nominate for inclusion in the PhamaVOICE 100. Who inspires and motivates you and others? Who is having the greatest influence on corporate leadership, research and development, technology, creativity, marketing, strategy and more? Who is impacting life-sciences through their actions? You may summit up to three nominations, but don't wait, submissions are due May 1, 2012. (Source: PharmaVOICE.com)

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What counterfeit drugs are on your doctors shelf?
Counterfeit Avastin is being hunted down in doctors offices and clinics around the country.  The FDA has alerted doctors about some "non-FDA-approved" versions of Roche's and AstraZeneca's other injectable meds as well.  It makes sense that counterfeiters would turn to injectable drugs, if only based on sticker price. Vials of legitimate Avastin in the 400-mg size--the size counterfeiters chose to fake--run $2,400 apiece. (Source:  FiercePharma, 2/16/2012)

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Research and Markets: 2012 Benchmarks in Patient Registry Use for Accountable Care
This new report provides data from more than 100 healthcare companies on their current and planned use of registries and the impact of registry use on healthcare quality, efficiency and cost. Registries are straightforward tools for creating realistic views of clinical practices, patient outcomes, provider performance, safety and comparative effectiveness and for supporting evidence-based medicine development and decision-making. (Source: bradenton.com, 2/15/2012)

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ERT web traffic up 41%
ERT has launched a new corporate website to further elevate its market and thought leadership position as the company has seen tremendous commercial growth over the last year. The new site provides enhanced content and improved navigation in order to give visitors a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of ERT's services and expertise in the health outcomes research field. (Source:  The Sacramento Bee, 2/16/2012)

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Is it time to appoint a 'Chief Patient Officer'?
Patient engagement and perceptions have been dramatically altered by the arrival of new IT.  As the "patient revolution" intensifies, now is the time for pharma companies to appoint a Chief Patient Officer—a new position designed to build an accord around trust. The new "CPO" would allow biopharmaceutical companies to evolve from being just drug manufacturers to being committed partners in global healthcare improvement. (Source:  Pharmexec.com, 2/1/2012)

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eyeforpharma Managed Care Summit 2012 Podcasts
Get eyeforpharma's two exclusive podcasts and white papers on demonstarting and communicating value to payers. These two managed care podcasts with Beckie Fenrick from BlueCross BlueShield Florida and Glenda Owen from Endo Pharmaceuticals include topics on how BC/BS is fighting increased costs of care, effectively demonstrating and communicating product value to payers, and understanding payer needs and the new role of manufacturers.

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Has Johnson & Johnson lost its way?
Recent setbacks at J&J, including recalls of over-the-counter products Benadryl and Children's Tylenol as well as the recall of two hip devices, indicate that the company has lost sight of its credo which put patients before profits.  The result has been weaker performing stocks. (Source:  Knowledge@Wharton, 2/15/2012)

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You can run but you can't hide
The head of NICE says pharma will face health technology assessment barriers in every country – including fast-growing developing markets.  This in response to GSK's chielf executive Sir Andrew Witty who recently told investors his firm may move its drug development operations away from Europe, the US and Japan because of the increasing regulatory burden in these markets, and relocate to emerging markets. (Source: InPharm, 2/15/2012)

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Update from Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Presentation by Joe V. Selby, M.D., from the National Comparative Effectiveness Summit from October 2011.  Included are PCORI mission statement, definitions, methodology committee structure, pilot projects and more.

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Patient-Centered Outcomes Research: Evidence-Based System Transformation
Presentation given by Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., at the 3rd National Comparative Effectiveness Summit from October 2011. Included are current challenges, goals of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Qualtiy, priority conditions and more.

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The Role of Government in CER
Presentation by Clifford Goodman, PhD, at The National Comparative Effectiveness Summit from October 2011. Includes CER attributes, toolkit, discussion of Patient-Centered Outcomes and more.

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WellPoint and Aetna launch new patient quality of care programs
The new programs promote the adoption of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model as well as tie physician reimbursement more closely to patient outcomes, under the belief that improved care coordination leads to lower medical costs and improved patient health. This trend is likely to accelerate as providers increasingly are paid based on quality of care, rather than quantity. (Source:  AISHealth, 2/6/2012)

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Is Obama budget short-sighted?
President Barack Obama's budget proposal includes extending Medicaid-level rebates to the 9 million seniors who qualify for the low-income health program. New drug rebates would cost pharma $156 billion according to Bloomberg. The Obama budget also includes new user fees for generic meds and biosimilars, plus higher fees on branded drugmakers. (Source:  FiercePharma, 2/14/2012)

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How are differences in regulatory markets and payer demands affecting Phase IV Trials?
Differences in what regulators and payers are looking for in post-approval information in Europe and the United States seem to be driving greater regional variations in the types of Phase IV clinical trials that pharmaceutical and biotech companies emphasize. (Source:  CuttingEdge Information)

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How do scientists use social media?
AstraZeneca has surveyed their scientists and some partners around the world to ask how they use social media for science-related activities. The results show that respondents believe there is a place for social media in science, especially in the areas of information sharing, collaboration, knowledge building and networking. AstraZeneca plans to use the results to help inform our R&D social media communications strategies for 2012 and beyond. (Source:  AZ Health Connections)

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Road map for building Pharma 3.0
Pharma 3.0 is a collection of trends signaling a new direction for healthcare. Pharma companies and non-traditional players have expanded the number of Pharma 3.0 initiatives including technologies, disease categories, and stages in the care cycle. This article provides a road map of sorts in order for Pharma companies to increase their focus to stay ahead in this rapidly changing ecosystem.  (Source:  Ernst&Young)

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Should you be concerned about value-driven health care?
Despite all of the excitement about value-driven care, there is a remarkable lack of clarity about what “value” means. Also, providing better outcomes at lower costs may be a noble goal for a health care organization, but a system organized around competition to achieve this objective is not functional in a market-based health care economy. Author Nathan Favini gives us a critical look at these ideas. (Source:  KevinMD.com)

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Will we see cheaper biosimilar drugs in the marketplace soon?
The specialty pharmaceutical market will open for new manufacturers of biosimilar drugs thanks to draft rules issued by the FDA. Some examples of the expensive, specialty pharmaceutical drugs that could potentially be replicated with biosimilars consist of Remicade for RA, Herceptin for cancer, erythropoietin for anemia, and insulin for diabetes. (Source: SpecialtyPharmaJournal.com)

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Value is in the eye of the beholder
Drugmakers are scrambling to justify the worth of their medications, but not everyone agrees on value. A new survey finds drastically different notions of value when decision makers at big pharma, health insurers, regulators, government payers, generic makers and service providers were asked about the extent to which improved efficacy, patient outcomes, unmet medical needs, comparative costs and quality of life would contribute to assessing value. (Source: Pharmalot)

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Research teams from Express Scripts, HealthCore and WellPoint garner Excellence Awards
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy announced the winners of the JMCP 2011 Award for Excellence. The top award went to a team of researchers from Express Scripts, Inc., and honorable mention goes to a team of researchers from HealthCore and WellPoint. (Source:  PR Newswire, 2/10/2012)

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What impact have reform and the recession had on U.S. healthcare costs?
The latest report from the McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform sheds light on the underlying dynamics and trends shaping the health care industry in this period of rapid change and uncertainty. (Source:  McKinsey&Company, 12/2011)

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Who's to blame for destroying R&D value?
According to Andrew Baum, managing director of European Pharmaceuticals at the investment bank Citi, “The destruction of the value of pharma in recent years lies squarely at the feet of the strategy of the previous management of the industry." Baum believes that value destruction came from pharma investing heavily in a flawed R&D model, and then not seeing the results.  (Source:  InPharm, 2/10/2012)

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Setting pay for performance targets
Examined is the effect of a health plan's pay for performance incentives on the percentage of outpatient drug prescriptions that are filled with generic rather than brand-name drugs in physicians' practices in an established physician network – the generic prescription rate. (Source: Wiley Online Library)

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How is AMNOG shaping up?
This white paper highlights several decisions IQWiG has made public for recently reviewed drugs. Now a body of evidence exists which can shed some light upon how restrictive and timely access will be under the new AMNOG legislation. To better understand how the future access environment in Germany will take shape, each of the brands reviewed to date has been assessed for key learnings as brand managers plan for the new Germany. (Source: PharmaiQ)

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Is Value Based Pricing the answer for the UK?
2011 failed to showcase the UK's VBP policy in a positive light and has led some to question its practicality and value at a time of significant reform. It remains unclear on what VBP actually means and how it will work.  (Source:  PharmaiQ, 2/8/2012)

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Practical Advice for Medical Devices Firms
This free white paper provides advice for device manufacturers in executing a successful market entry strategy that involves navigating the FDA approval process, designing and conducting efficient and cost-effective clinical trials, and adeptly evaluating the existing marketplace. (Source:  CliniPace Worldwide)

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What would happen to trends in health coverage and costs if health reforms are not enacted?
Those are questions that are often missing from the current debate. Earlier this year, researchers from the Urban Institute reported on the economic implications for the nation if the health reform effort were to fail in a report called The Cost of Failure to Enact Health Reform: Implications for States. The report makes clear that the cost of failure would be substantial and felt in every state. 

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Jumpstarting digital capabilities in pharma. How come it hasn't happened yet?
Pharmaguy John Mack is the 1%. Read his thoughts on why ePharma is such a small piece of overall marketing dollars spent. (Source:  Pharma Marketing Blog, 2/8/2012)

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How can value best be demonstrated to payers?
In this interview, German Payer Cornelius Erbe shares his thoughts on how best to demonstrate value to payers and also highlights the importance of head-to-head studies. (Source:  pharmaphorum, 2/6/2012)

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Key Speakers added for DIA 2012: Collaborate to Innovate meeting
DIA has announced the additions of Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer, US Department of Health and Human Services, and FDA’s Stephen P. Spielberg to the speaker line up of their annual meeting, which will take place June 24-28 in Philadelphia, PA. (Source:  Yahoo! Finance, 2/7/2012)

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Health outcomes liaisons in high demand
With health outcomes liaisons in high demand, life sciences companies must offer a competitive salary package and a career map to attract and retain effective HOLs, according to recent research by consulting firm Cutting Edge Information. The "Health Outcomes Liaisons" study details compensation figures for US- and EU-based HOLs at different levels of experience: no experience, two years of experience and five years of experience. (Source:  MarketWatch, 2/7/2012)

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Can Big Pharma cure cancer in emerging markets?
There are many business opportunities for pharma in emerging markets around the world. Many cancers common in these markets are treatable (and often curable) with the added contributions made by affordable drugs and diagnosis. The only way to make such initiatives sustainable though is to link them to the bottom line. (Source: Pharmaceutical Executive Global Digest, 2/2012)

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Extending the Life Cycle of a Mature Brand in an Emerging Market
Learn how to maximize mature brand uptake in an emerging market, complete with numerous case studies and market data.  Download this presentation by Aleksandra Mislorowska, Merck Serono’s Emerging Markets Business Director.  (Source:  eyeforpharma.com)

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Workforce Health and Productivity Report
This resource shows how nine employers used lost-time self reports to move the dial on health & productivity management. The nine case studies include key insights for almost everyone, regardless of size. (Source:  IBI)

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India's pharma success story
The Indian government plans to capitalize on their pharmaceutical growth potential in an effort to beat the competition from its Asian counterparts in the generic-drug and API manufacturing market. The country plans to double its pharmaceutical exports by 2013-2014 as well as undertake a Brand Pharma campaign to raise awareness of the Indian pharma success story and their growing expertise in generic-drug manufacturing. (Source:  PharmTech.com, 2/2/2012)

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What are the challenges working in the Asian-Pacific marketplace?
Sue Caleo-Naeyaert, Regional Pricing and Market Access Director for the Asia Pacific market at Merck Serono and speaker at the upcoming NextLevel Pharma “Market Access in Key Asian Markets” event, spoke with Asia Healthcare Blog about the interesting challenges of the region. (Source: AsiaHealthcareBlog)

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Bayer's Cancer Cure?
In this blog, Pharmaguy John Mack points out the realities of how close pharmaceutical companies actually are to "curing cancer", despite Bayer's CEO claim that "If you have cancer, you get a pharmaceutical product, and your cancer goes away." (Source: Pharma Marketing Blog, 2/7/2012)

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New market research on industry efforts to enhance the patient experience and satisfaction of care
This 35-page analysis, based on the responses of 146 organizations to the Healthcare Intelligence Network July 2011 survey on Improving Patient Satisfaction and the Patient Experience, presents the all-new data in more than 45 easy-to-follow graphs and tables. market research found that most respondents are dissatisfied with their patient satisfaction scores . An instant PDF download is available for $117. (Source:  Healthcare Intelligence Network)

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Should cost-effectiveness evidence be relevant in Medicare decision making?
This paper, recently published in Medicare Care, evaluates what factors Medicare considers when making national coverage determinations for medical technology. Medicare’s stated position is that cost-effectiveness evidence is not relevant to their decisions.  This research found that, while controlling for other factors, the availability of cost-effectiveness evidence was a statistically significant predictor of the coverage decision.

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How to overcome mounting European pharma debt
Estimates for unpaid pharma debts in Europe's troubled markets top $15 billion. Big Pharma has not been as affected as smaller regionals, but all are getting creative about managing the risks. Some shifts include; offering older and cheaper medicines, cutting inventory, supplying drugs to faster paying individual pharmacies, incentivizing cash collections and more.  (Source:  FiercePharma, 2/6/2012)

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Will there be convergence between the UK's NICE and Germany's IQWiG?
Currently, NICE and IQWig highlight different evidence bases on the reimbursement front. Differing decisions on prostate cancer therapies between the two decision making bodies highlight the different evidence base between the two health technology assessment authorities – but that could all change later this year when IQWiG expands its assessments to consider cost. (Source:  EuroPharmaToday, 2/6/2012)

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New Report Available - Market and Product Forecasts: Targeted Cancer Therapies
This report provides:  1) Sales forecasts of targeted cancer therapy brands over the period 2010-20, 2) An overview of the overall targeted therapies market as well as country specific and brand specific forecasts, 3) Analysis of the impact of generics and biosimilars on the marketed targeted cancer therapy brands over the forecast period 2010-20, and 4) Insight on the pharmacoeconomic constraints likely to affect sales growth.

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How will German health reform impact pharma market access in 2012?
German watchdog IQWiG is already busy in 2012 having published five early benefit assessments since the new year with three more slated for February. What remains sure is that the assessment body remains stringent and sticks to its principles. (Source:  IHS Healthcare and Pharma Blog, 2/2/2012)

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Can competition help the integration of care?
Competition can help the integration of care in the NHS says a new report from the Office of Health Economics. The report recommends careful expansion of competition between providers of NHS-funded health care in England, and points out that, on the best available evidence, competition at regulated prices has improved the quality of some NHS services. (Source:  PharmaTimesOnline, 2/2/2012)

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Trends in PRO: Interview with Dr. Arthur Stone
In 2002, Dr. Arthur Stone published his ground-breaking work, “Patient Non-compliance with Paper Diaries” in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). This was the first publication to concretely demonstrate and quantify the unreliable and biased nature of paper diaries as a method of patient data collection in clinical trials. Here, Dr. Stone reflects on how the collection of PRO data has improved over the past ten years. (Source: The Pulse – Volume 5, Issue 1, Winter 2012)

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The gamification of health care
What is gamification you may ask? It is the idea that you can apply basic elements which make games fun and engaging to things that typically aren't considered a game. This was the most predominant trend at the 2011 Mobile Health World Congress. Insurer Humana is leading the way, launching initiatives to "make fun things healthy, and healthy things fun." (Source:  iMedicalApps, 8/3/2011)

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Proportion of Days Covered vs. Medication Possession Ratio
This article looks at both proportion of days covered (PDC) and the medication possession ratio (MPR) as a way of measuring patients' medication adherence. Based on several studies that have directly compared the adherence rates of both MPR and PDC the authors make some inferences about these different calculations. (Source:  URAC & AMCP, Winter 2011, Vol. 4, Issue 4)

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Can you guess PharmExecs brand of the year?
Humira. The anti-TNF drug continues to grow, a decade after its launch with a growth rate of 21.1% and sales of $7.9 billion for 2011.  Thomas Freyman, Abbott Laboratories EVP finance and CFO, said that Humira is a "cornerstone" of the proprietary pharma business, one he expects to contribute "strong and sustainable growth" for the new proprietary pharmaceuticals business. (Source: PharmExec, 2/1/2012)

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The three P’s of effectiveness research:  PCORI, Priorities, and Politics
In this blog post by William Looney, he points out the priorities of the Obama Administration's Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and wonders about the high level of inclusiveness given to the patient community. Will this end up politicizing the process and interfere with the integrity and robustness of research protocols? (Source:  PharmExec.com, 2/1/2012)

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How do price changes affect Medicare beneficiaries?
This paper from Health Economics uses regression discontinuity methods to compare the plan choices of individuals who retired just after the grandfathering cutoff date of premium contributions and were therefore exposed to significant price changes to the choices of a ‘control group’ of individuals who retired just before that date and therefore did not experience the price changes. The results indicate a statistically significant effect of price. (Source:  Wiley Online Library)

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Are patients' perspectives important from the beginning of clinical trials?
This paper discusses the benefits of collecting patient-reported outcomes (PRO) data for evaluating the outcomes for treatments in clinical trials, through the product life cycle. Such information can be used for evaluating the treatment benefit of new products and to engage patients to make decisions about treatment options and ultimately to support commercialization of pharmaceutical products. (Source: SciVerse)

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Another prostate cancer pill bites the dust
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued draft guidance recommending against Johnson & Johnson's new prostate cancer pill Zytiga,  saying that the drug doesn't work well enough to justify its price. And that's after J&J offered a discount to help sway the agency in its favor. It's the second prostate cancer pill that NICE has rejected in recent months. (Source:  FiercePharma, 2/2/2012)

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What's next for IBM's Watson?
IBM's Watson computer is training to be a physician's assistant.  Oncology experts at Cedars Sinai, along with WellPoint and IBM, are "feeding" Watson millions of pages of research.  Because Watson is capable of learning, it will incorporate new data and the evolving thinking of clinicians. As cases progress, Watson will upload the patient data along with new research. (Source:  Forbes, 2/1/2012)

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Integrating scientific and real-world evidence within and beyond the drug development process
Read this pay-per-view article from the new Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research. Epstein et al., Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research, January 2012, Vol. 1, No. 1s, Pages 9-13. (Source:  FutureMedicine.com)

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New Journal Launched - The Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research
The goal of CER is to assist patients, physicians, purchasers, and policy makers to choose between the available effective treatments in order to improve healthcare delivery. The underlying question being  - which treatment will work best, in which patient, and under what circumstances? The peer-reviewed bimonthly journal Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research provides a rapid-publication platform for debate and for the presentation of new findings. (Source:  Future Medicine)

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NPC selects five research projects related to CER for funding in 2012
The recipients were selected as part of NPC’s “request for proposal” process launched last year. “Our work over the last year has focused on the intersection between the policy issues and the standards and methods for evidence generation, interpretation and application, as well as on demonstrating the value of health outcomes,” said NPC President Dan Leonard. The awards total nearly $820,000. (Source: National Pharmaceutical Council, 1/30/2012)

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"Big Brother" looms in FDA lawsuit
Six scientists and doctors who handled evaluations for FDA medical device approvals are suing their former employer. They accuse the regulatory agency of spying on their personal Gmail accounts for two years after the employees told Congress about medical devices with "unacceptable risks" that gained approval anyway. (Source:  FierceMedicalDevices, 1/30/2012)

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Should Patents on Pharmaceuticals Be Extended to Encourage Innovation?
Read this interesting debate which gives both sides of the coin. The "yes" side by Josh Blooms contends that pharmaceutical innovation demands longer patent time. The "no" side, written by Els Torreele, poses that to extend patents is more of a bad thing. (Source:  The Wall Street Journal, 1/23/2012)

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Gouge-fest. What do overpriced pharmaceuticals and textbooks have in common?
Pharmaceuticals and textbooks are often overpriced and represent the most bloated sectors in our economy, but why? Harvard health economist David Cutler blames third party payers as well as insufficient information about cost and quality. Even if a doctor wanted to prescribe the pill with the best value, she likely would lack the required information to do so. How can the principle-agent problem be solved? (Source:  forbes.com, 1/27/2012)

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Study participants needed to uncover strategies and tactics to improve patient adherence
Cutting Edge Information is conducting a study to assess the different ways pharmaceutical companies are approaching patient adherence. This study aims to uncover the strategies and tactics that are working to keep patients on their treatment plans as well as examine the money invested in the most successful programs. (Source:  CuttingEdgeInfo.com)

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Does healthcare reform in France and Germany create market access barriers?
What are the ramifications of Germany's AMNOG reform and France's pharmacovigilance reform? The emergence of relative efficacy requirements into national P&R processes already poses a number of challenges to the pharmaceutical industry. And what would happen if these requirements made it into the European regulatory process? It could mean that some compounds never reach the market when they may have been the best treatment  alternative for some patients. (Source:  IHS, 1/24/2012)

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How have NICE's HTA processes affected speed of access to new treatments?
This OHE report examines two aspects of the impact of the HTA process on access. First, it examines the elapsed time between launch of a medicine to publication of a technology appraisal. Second, the report analyses elapsed time between the start and completion of the technology appraisal process itself. (Source: Office of Health Economics, 1/25/2012)

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Different analytical approaches....different answers
In this study the researches used contingent valuation methods to determine how the general Danish population values health improvements by way of both time trade-off elicitation technique and willingness-to-pay. (Source: Wiley Online Library from Health Economics, Vol. 21, Issue 3, pgs. 222-237, March 2012)

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What are your thoughts about IBI's new Intervention Bank?
IBI has launched a new Health and Productivity Intervention Bank and is looking for your feedback and suggestions in its two different "accounts".  The accounts include:  1) A compilation of 22 abstracts from reviews or meta-analyses of intervention studies from peer-reviewed literature, and 2) Access to employer case examples and best-practice illustrations to put interventions in a "real world" context. (Source:  IBIweb.org)

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Will you do this for your next medical education marketing message? 
Read how one company put the world’s most influential medical textbook on an iPad app and used interactive diagrams, expandable tables, clinical decision trees, and image-based slide shows.  This could revolutionize medical marketing communication.  What is your company doing to stay on top of these technology trends? (Source: MarketWatch, 1/25/2012)

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How do you determine the economic benefits of vaccination in an increasing global world economy?
Using a tool called the susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) model, Dr. Petra Klepac of Princeton University looks to answer this question.  She combined the SIR model and the assumption that vaccination costs rise exponentially with vaccination rate as well as the total social cost of infection and travelers . This allowed Dr. Kelpac to calculate the vaccination rate for which the total cost to society is lowest. (Source: The Economist, 1/23/2012)

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Systematic Review of Comparative Effectiveness Data for Oncology Orphan Drugs
The results of this study show that oncology orphan drugs marketed in the United States have varying levels and quality of clinical evidence and a scarcity of evidence regarding economic value. Read more about this study published in The American Journal of Managed Care.

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What is the heart of a successful patient adherence program?
Communication! Patients are using online resources and networks for healthcare education and support. This is driving the demand for personalized materials and educational experiences. It is important that manufacturers recognize their role in developing effective patient adherence programs. Some of the latest trends include: live call center support, online resources through websites and social  media, mobile sites and more…(Source:  PhoneScreen Blog, 1/17/2012)

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Where to begin risk assessment? Begin at the end.
In this article by Michael Klepper he suggests that in order to determine the risk of an investigational drug it is important to "begin at the end". The “end” is the manufacturer who must show a favorable benefit–risk profile before drug approval is granted. Any misstep along the way can result in an incorrect assessment. (Source: Published in Frontiers in Pharmaceutical Medicine and Outcomes)

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Pharma and biotech boosting investment in medical affairs worldwide
The new study, “Medical Affairs: Effective Global Resource Allocation,” provides data evidence of different approaches to medical affairs resources in developing and mature markets. Country-level medical affairs budgets currently average $1.9 million. According to the study, growth in medical affairs spending within emerging markets differs from resource trends in developed countries, which appear flat by comparison. (Source:  Cutting Edge Information)

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Embracing mobile health technology. Is our paradigm shifting?
In an effort  to change the current health care paradigm a new think tank, the West Health Policy Center, was launched Monday. The new center will conduct research on better reimbursement models, improved price transparency and “smart technology” — a field that includes mobile health monitors and other innovations. One of the organization’s goals is to spur health insurers’ eventual embrace of mobile health technology as a money-saver. (Source: The Washington Post, 1/24/2012)

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Germany's IQWiG sees added benefits for Incivo
Read more about the quality-of-life results and the outcomes considered in this article published in The Pharma Letter. A subcription is required to read this article.

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The Big Pharma Recession Report
Recently a number of high profile pharmaceutical companies have announced significant job cuts and many pharmaceutical professionals feel uncertain about their job stability in 2012. In a recent global study by Pharma IQ entitled “The Big Pharma Recession Survey 2011”, nearly half of the survey participants 44.4 percent said that they were worried that their role might be made redundant in the next 12 months. (Source:  PharmaIQ)

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Nominations being sought for 7th Annual Strategic Patient Adherence Awards
Nominations for the 7th Annual Strategic Patient Adherence (SPA) Awards are being accepted thru February 1st.  Awards will be presented at CBI's 11th Annual Patient Adherence Forum on April 26-27 in Philadelphia, PA .  Don't miss the opportunity to nominate a colleague, your organization or a friend for this prestigious award. (Source: CBI)

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Institute of Clinical Research offers courses on medical device clinical trials and marketing.
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Why is pharma scared to innovate?
In order to flourish pharma must use knowledge-based innovation. Despite this fact, it has been among the worst industries in applying the power of knowledge to its innovation business. Rather than being energized by the possibilities and promise of Speed of Change, the industry seems to have been paralyzed by it. What have been the contributing factors to this phenomenon? (Source:  PharmExec.com)

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PCORI Draft: National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda
PCORI released draft priorities and research agenda on 1/23/12, without singling out specifics on what will be studied. (Source:  CER Newsfeed, 1/23/2012)

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Public comments sought. What do you think about the PCORI National Priorities for Research draft?
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) released for public comment a first draft of its National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda, which will be used to guide funding announcements for comparative clinical effectiveness research that will give patients and those who care for them the ability to make better-informed health decisions. Public comments are sought until mid-March (Source:  MarketWatch, 1/23/2012)

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Is There a Role for Pharmacoeconomics in Developing Countries?
This is a pay per view article by Jonathan R. Harper from the Journal PharmacoEconomics.

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Interesting flow chart summary of new FDA guidance
Jonathan Richman, author of the blog “Dose of Digital,” has developed a flow chart that summarizes the FDA’s recent draft guidance “Responding to Unsolicited Requests for Off-Label Information About Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices.” Richman believes that despite the hearings it has held and the promises it seemed to make, the FDA is never going to produce guidance specifically for social media. But Richman suggests that the new guidance should serve as that.

View PDF flow chart here.
ISPOR 5th Asia-Pacific Conference
Abstracts are now being accepted for the ISPOR 5th Asia-Pacific Conference in Taipei, Taiwan. Research Abstracts, Decision-Maker Case Study Abstracts, and Issue Panel/Workshop Proposal submissions invited. Abstract SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 22 March 2012

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Video: Dr. Art Kaplan speaks on communication challenges for patients
Dr. Art Caplan, Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses communication challenges for patients in this video. How do patients find trusted sources of information and comprehend what it means? (Source: National Pharmaceutical Council)

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Patient Reported Outcomes. What can be gained from patient communication?
Be part of the discussion about patient reported outcomes (PRO) with Scott Dessain, academic oncologist and medical researcher at Lankenau Hospital. His blog aims to start a discussion and gain insights on a web-based format for PRO data collection and how such a website can incorporate key teaching, compliance, and relationship-building components to strengthen the provider/patient relationship and help support the reasonable use of health care dollars. (Source: Digital Pharma Blog)

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Incremental Progress for Oncology in 2011
This blog posting from Sophia Walker looks back at Oncology in 2011 and finds that as always, progress in incremental. Topics included are progress in melanoma treatment and shifts in regulatory approval. (Source: IHS Healthcare and Pharma Blog, 1/16/2012)

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The future of the Indian pharmaceutical market
The Indian pharma market has witnessed a successful growth rate of 21.3 per cent for the 12 months ending September 2010 . However, it is not just a growth story as the $12.6 billion Indian pharma market is currently the world's second largest by volume. (Source:  ExpressPharma)

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NICE’s Social Value Judgments about Equity in Health and Health Care
The paper 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. (Source:  OHE)

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CER Gaining Importance
Industry Standard Research (ISR) today announced the release of a new report focused on the impact comparative effectiveness research (CER) has and will have on formulary placement. US Payers: Comparative Effectiveness Research and formulary decision-making looks at how US payers view the importance and impact of various study/ data sources. (Source:  BusinessWire, 1/17/2012)

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New descriptive analysis of more than 22,000 Cochrane meta-analyses
A new descriptive analysis of more than 22,000 meta-analyses within Cochrane Reviews has just been published in an open access article in BMC Medical Research Methodology. Every meta-analysis in the 2321 full reviews in the January 2008 issue of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was classified according to the healthcare specialty, the types of interventions being compared and the type of outcome. (Source: The Cochrane Collaboration)

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Has the recession caused US citizens to forgo healthcare?
U.S. healthcare spending grew 3.9% in 2010 following record slow growth of 3.8% in 2009; the two slowest rates of growth in the 51-year history of the National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA). “This indicates that the most recent recession that officially ended in 2009, appears to have continued to impact personal healthcare spending growth in 2010,” according to Micah Hartman, statistician with the National Health Statistics Group. (Source:  Managed Healthcare Executive, 1/17/12)

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Check out this suggested reading list for CER
This site offers a list of recommended articles on methods that are used to conduct comparative effectiveness research. Papers are identified by the type of method (clinical trials; observational studies; or syntheses). A list of key papers on policy issues related to comparative effectiveness research has also been identified. (Source: Academy Health)

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What's in it for ACO early adopters?
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) yesterday announced six candidates for its accountable care organization (ACO) accreditation program, launched just two months ago. What's in it for these ACO early adopters who voluntarily seek evaluation? NCQA offers an independent assessment of ACO readiness, NCQA said. "Organizations that earn accreditation may have extra credibility and first-mover advantages in their local markets" and more. (Source: FierceHealthcare)

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Doctors on the take? Medical conflicts of interest.
To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment.
Many researchers have found evidence that such payments can influence doctors’ treatment decisions and contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of more expensive drugs and medical devices. (Source: NY Times, 1/16/2012)

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What is Encyclopedia: Patient-Reported Outcomes
This site gives a great in-depth description of Patient-Reported Outcomes. (Source: What Is Encyclopedia)

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Modeling Health-Related Quality of Life over Time
HERC Cost Effectiveness Analysis Course:  Modeling Health-Related Quality of Life over Time by Vilija R. Joyce, MS.  The objective of this course is to describe how to analyze health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data with multiple observations over time.  (Source: United States Department of Veterans Affairs, HSR&D)

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Research and Markets: Pharmacoeconomic Analysis in R&D Decision Making: An In-Depth Report
This report gives in depth analysis of the ways in which the pharmaceutical industry can ensure that it collects sufficient data to support health technology assessments for new products and how it can apply economic analyses to support decision making during the R&D process. (Source: pharmiweb.com)

Press Release. Report.
Ethical and scientific questions surround HPV vaacinations
This article from the Annals of Medicine and written by L. Tomljenovic and C. Shaw points out the fraudulent global health agency policies in combination with the pharmaceutical companies lack of science based evidence in demonstrating the safety and efficacy of Gardasil and Cervarix. (Source: Natural News.com, 1/11/2012)

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Concerns surround New Outcomes Research Institute
Research of best medical practices and health care costs need further research, but will the Patient Center for Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) help or hinder this process and ultimately be used to limit expensive, potentially life-saving treatments? (Source: Healthcare Exchange, 1/1/2012)

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YouTube Video: Reimagining pharmaceutical innovation
Thomas Pogge, Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale, gives a fascinating talk on Reimagining Pharmaceutical Innovation. By reforming harmful supranational regulations, Thomas Pogge is developing a complement to the patent system to stimulate pharmaceutical innovations that would be accessible, without delay, to poor and affluent patients alike around the world.

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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)

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