Pharmacy Resources
This is an update of the October 2007 AMCP Guide to Pharmaceutical Payment Methods which was created by the AMCP Task Force on Pharmaceutical Payment Methods. Includes payment benchmarks, payer/payment methods, product flow through channels of distribution, stakeholder issues, and more.
Primer in AJHP by Schumock and Pickard, containing a good basic overview.
The National Quality Forum recently endorsed the proportion of days covered (PDC)—a measure of medication adherence—as an indicator of quality in drug therapy management. (Source: J Manag Care Pharm. 2009;15(9):728-40 Copyright © 2009, Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy.)
An AMCP-sponsored review of the published literature concludes there is strong evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of managed care pharmacy tools in achieving intended outcomes, such as increased utilization of preferred drugs, formulary compliance and decreased prescription drug spending.
Consumer Reports publication "Best Buy Drugs (or Best Drugs For Less)" which rates 200 Rx and OTC drugs on efficacy and cost, using an "unbiased review of the best scientific evidence available". They work closely with experts at Drug Effectiveness Review Project, part of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
Consumer Reports opinion poll found that only 4% of respondents had discussed drug price with their physician at point of prescribing; 66% "blindsided" by costs once they reached the pharmacy.
The study found that implementing a $0 copay structure for generic medications can be an effective strategy to increase generic dispensing, with the generic dispensing rate (GDR) increasing to 60.8 percent (a 4.2 percent increase) during the study period. (Source: CVS Caremark Research, Reuters, October 2009)
This paper shows that a reinforcement of physician liability for off-label use may be the preferred instrument for achieving dynamic efficiency. (Source: Felder & Olbrich, Ruhr Economic Paper, Oct. 2009)
Pharmaceutical companies spent $57.5 billion on pharmaceutical promotion in the United States in 2004. The industry claims that promotion provides scientific and educational information to physicians. While some evidence indicates that promotion may adversely influence prescribing, physicians hold a wide range of views about pharmaceutical promotion.
Drug giant Merck compiled a “hit list” of doctors to “discredit” in order to stop criticism of their drugs, according to evidence released from the Vioxx drug trial in the US. (Source: Harriet Grecian, The Journal, Issue 26, Oct. 2009)
Drug giant Merck compiled a “hit list” of doctors to “discredit” in order to stop criticism of their drugs, according to evidence released from the Vioxx drug trial in the US. (Source: Harriet Grecian, The Journal, Issue 26, Oct. 2009)
The leading drug makers need to move quickly to adapt to a new world order in which some emerging markets are set to overtake some established national markets in pharmaceutical sales. (Source: Natasha Singer, NYT, March 16, 2010)
A consumer website alerting prescription drug users about dangerous medications.
Tool developed specifically for managed care professionals to address their unique needs. This is a site which can help you track late-phase pipeline including in-depth reviews, tabulated format for a quick analysis, search and filtering capabilities, default and customized reports, and frequent updates
Medical reference website for health professionals and patients.
On line daily news with special areas devoted to medical, nursing, pharmaceutical companies, consumers, etc.
The results of the fourth annual “Emerging Trends Driving Changes in Pharmacy Benefits” survey sponsored by the Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy (FMCP) have been released. The survey is made possible through the generous support of Merck & Company. The HSM Group conducted the survey and analysis. Concerns about the management of specialty pharmacy continued to eclipse other issues in this year’s survey, both in terms of judging clinical evidence and cost management.
A recent report by Acumen, LLC, finds that consolidating Part B and Part D drug benefits would reduce Medicare's total payments by $150 million, which is 0.4% percent of total Part D drug costs.
The RxEOB platform collects and unifies formulary information from a variety of sources, in whatever format it is in, and then allows it to be distributed where it is needed, in the format it is needed, including governmental Part D reporting and ePrescribing integration.
According to the FDA, 7 in 10 Rxs filled in the U.S. today are for generic drugs. IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics recently released a report that found spending on brand-name medications declined 0.7% in 2010, whereas spending on generics, both branded and unbranded, rose 4.5% and 21.7% respectively.
An AMCP-sponsored review of the published scientific literature concludes there is strong evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of managed care pharmacy tools in achieving intended outcomes, such as increased utilization of preferred drugs, formulary compliance and decreased prescription drug spending. The study also concludes that additional research is required to provide a comprehensive understanding of the value of managed care pharmacy tools.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association fourth annual Medical Cost Reference Guide: Facts and Trends to Support Knowledge-Driven Solutions. The guide provides information on trends in the healthcare industry from nationally recognized data sources.
Website that provides monographs of newly released drugs, for study or to store on your PDA for quick reference.
The Zitter Group’s new Managed Care Oncology Index focuses on both payers and oncology practices, making it the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the major trends underway in the evolving payer market for oncology. This unique study offers pharmaceutical marketers insight into trends in physician reimbursement, product selection, practice profitability, patient access, and how managed care organizations plan to pursue oncology cost-cutting.
An online resource for P&T committee members in hospital-based and managed care organizations. Formkit provides P&T members with pharmacoeconomic information, FDA and industry news, and access to the most up-to-date formulary kits.
The leading web portal for pharmacy resources, news, education and careers
Monthly listing.
States such as Pennsylvania and South Carolina are funding this “academic detailing” as a tool to reduce those governments’ prescription drug-related health care expenses. (Source: Forbes, 4/25/11)
Searchable collection related to daily practice.
Providing a daily dose of news and features from the world of the biotechnology, health-care, and drug industry for both the consumer and medical professional.
Free, searchable database of more than 4,000 prescription and over the counter (US) drug products on the web. Currently contains simple information, such as generic and brand name, and therapeutic category. Contains Top 200 prescribed drugs.
RxEOB’s RxEConnect allows health plan users to use pharmacy claims data to generate personalized communications, including cost-savings opportunities, care alerts, drug-migration, health program recruitment, as well as EOBs and TrOOP reports.
RxMonitor, from RxEOB, allows health plans to unleash the power of Pharmacy Business Intelligence. The solution is an analytic and reporting engine for gleaning insights from pharmacy data to meet the unique informatics needs of all stakeholders.
RxSentinel, from RxEOB, is a suite of health plan branded web-applications and supporting APIs that allows pharmacy data, and the insights generated from it, to meet the informational needs of external stakeholders – physicians, providers, and employers.
Worldwide listing in searchable database.
Updates annual drug development expenditures. Average expenditure on drugs in human clinical trials is around $27m per year, with $17m per year on drugs in Phase I, $34m on drugs in Phase II and $27m per year on drugs in Phase III of the human clinical trials. (Source: Christopher Paul Adams and Van Vu Brantner, Health Economics, Feb. 26 2009)
Updates annual drug development expenditures. Average expenditure on drugs in human clinical trials is around $27m per year, with $17m per year on drugs in Phase I, $34m on drugs in Phase II and $27m per year on drugs in Phase III of the human clinical trials. (Source: Christopher Paul Adams and Van Vu Brantner, Health Economics, Feb. 26 2009)
This award winning article studies how changes in consumers’ co-payments for prescription drugs affect use of and expenditure on prescription drugs, inpatient care, and outpatient care. (Source: Berkley Electronic Press, Forum for Health Economics & Policy: Vol. 10: Iss. 2 Article 4)
Official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and other healthcare products manufactured and sold in the United States.
The Wall Street Journal article, based on a tentative settlement of litigation in which First DataBank and the McKesson Corporation were accused of unilaterally increasing AWPs, included the findings that (a) at least since 2003.
