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Assessment
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs, Prescription Drug Prices, Prescription Drug Spending for Commercial Plans | Leave a comment »
On D-2-C Ads?
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Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma, Ethics | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs, D2C drugs, Drug Advertisements, www.MCOL.com | 1 Comment »
More Doctors Closing Office Doors to Drug Salesmen
[By Staff Reporters]
According to Kevin B. O’Reilly, of the AMNews on 3/23/09, drug reps may soon become dinosaurs-of-sorts. And, the relationship between doctors and drug reps is cloudy, darkening and may never be the same again.
Changing Relationships
Pharmaceutical companies, battered by sluggish drug pipelines, the looming loss of blockbuster patented drugs, an economy in recession and scrutiny of their relationships with physicians; are re-examining the value of sending drug reps into doctors’ offices. Detailers are struggling to grab a shrinking slice of physicians’ valuable time, and attention, while adjusting to new drug industry rules banning freebies such as pens and notepads.
Declining Reputations
While most physicians still have positive views of detailers and drug-makers, those sentiments are cooling. And, the next-generation of medical students and future physicians may be another driver of this wave. About one in four physician’s works in a practice that refuses to see drug reps. Of doctors who do see reps, about 40% will meet with detailers only with scheduled appointments. The by-appointment-only figure jumped 23% during the last six months of 2008, according to a survey of more than 227,000 medical practices representing 640,000 physicians that was released in February.
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Assessment
What is your practice policy on this issue? Are drug reps being replaced by webcasts, podcasts, IMs, text-messages, cell phone advertisements, direct-to-doctor [D2D] communications and/or some other new-wave social media or rich e-format?
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Conclusion
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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Drugs and Pharma, Ethics, Managed Care, Practice Management | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs, big-pharma, D2C, D2D, detailers, drug makers, drug reps, generic, IMs, patent, pharmaceuticals, text messages, webcasts | 13 Comments »
New Proposal for “Academic” Detailing
[By Staff Writers]
A bill will soon be introduced in the United States Senate that would offer physicians an alternative source for the latest information about new drugs, instead of relying on pharmaceutical manufacturers and retail drug representatives.
The Proposal
The legislation, sponsored by Senators Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) would create a federal “academic” detailing program to produce independent educational materials for physicians and medical professionals on the safety and comparative effectiveness of prescription drugs.
This would include generic and over-the-counter products, based on research at pharmacy and medical schools, according to Modern Physician.
Assessment
Now, some academic detailing services have already been implemented at the state level and by integrated health systems such as Kaiser Permanente, while preliminary results suggest that these programs have effectively changed prescribing behavior while reducing health care costs.
Conclusion
And so, what are your thoughts on the matter; please comment and opine?
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 2 Comments »
“What’s up with That?”
By Patrick C. Cox, Jr
How many times have you viewed the Lipitor® “educational” commercial featuring Dr. Robert Jarvik?
If you are like me, probably often since Pfizer appears set on getting their money’s worth from the production. The spot pops up everywhere it seems. Pretty impressive with the rowing, the lake, and natural beauty along with a heartfelt pitch from Jarvik on what a difference Lipitor® has made in his life.
He shares his thoughts that Lipitor® is one of the most researched drugs and he’s glad that he takes it as a doctor, and a dad.
Well, the commercial may have run one time too many. Questions have been raised by consumers and now congressional figures as to Jarvik’s credibility and his Lipitor® endorsement.
For example, he never pursued a medical internship, is not licensed to practice and can’t legally prescribe.
Of course, Jarvik has been recently defending his status as a scientist and his role in simply educating the public in the ad. But, his revelation as a past Lipitor® patient, with implied personal endorsement, could certainly make patients feel they’re missing something if they too aren’t taking the compound.
Assessment
Of course, we all know the real reason behind the ad. Pfizer has invested millions hoping Jarvis’s personal endorsement will get patients saying to themselves, “Hey, Dr. Jarvik prescribes it for his patients and takes it himself, how come I’m not on it?”
The next step they’re hoping for is for them to ask their “prescribing” physician the same thing.
Assessment
Well that’s the problem, isn’t it? Lipitor® is a good drug, but it’s not for everyone. And, only doctors should know what’s best for their own patient’s; right?
So, should drug companies be held accountable for these ads and/or provide more disclosure to the public?
In other word’s, should Pfizer have told us that Jarvik isn’t really a doctor, can’t and isn’t prescribing anything to anyone – and wait a second – did he really even take Lipitor® at all?
Guess only his “prescribing” physician would know, for sure!
Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 5 Comments »
United States Pharmacopeia [USP]
Staff Reporters
After examining records submitted by 870 hospitals to MEDMARX, a database run by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), a new report finds that 1.4 percent of mistakes resulted in patient harm, including seven errors that may have caused or contributed to death. The study implicated 1,470 different drugs in errors associated with brand or generic names that looked or sounded similar. The USP compiled an even longer list of 3,170 name-pairs that looked or sounded alike.
Assessment
Medication mix-ups doubled since 2004 driven largely by a troubling proliferation of prescription drugs with confusingly similar names. The 2008 total is nearly double the 1,750 pairs that USP identified in the 2004 study.
Conclusion
And so, how is this possible with bar-coding, RFID tags, eMRs, CPOEs and related modern inventory management technologies?
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 1 Comment »
Doctors May Profit from Generic Drug Switch
Staff Writers
Several of the nation’s health plans are drawing scrutiny for offering financial incentives to entice doctors to prescribe cheaper generic medicines; according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal.
This practice includes paying them up to $100 each time they switch a patient from a brand-name drug to a generic equivalent.
As some pharmaceutical patents for a growing number of blockbuster drugs expire, some health insurers are using doctor-bonuses for writing more generic prescriptions.
Proponents argue that the goal of saving patients, employers and insurers money is a noteworthy one. Others argue that it is only justified to reimburse doctors for spending time evaluating patients to determine whether a cheaper generic alternative is better – not for paying them for a wholesale switch.
But aggressive approaches, like cash-rewards for each patient switched from a given list of drugs, are coming under fire for injecting financial incentives into what should be a purely medical decision.
And, some medical societies are concerned that rewards may put doctors in the ethically questionable position of taking payments that patients know nothing about.
Conclusion: And so, what are your thoughts on the matter?
Lexicon: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com
Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 1 Comment »
“I Want My [Prescription-Drug] Money Back!”
[By Patrick C. Cox; Jr.]
Merck & Company may have to as a result of a recently filed lawsuit in the state of Florida.
Coming on the heels of the disappointing Vytorin™ Enhance Trial results, patient Marion J. Greene, 72, is suing to get her money back. She had been taking Vytorin™ at $100 a month instead of generic cholesterol medications at about one third the costs.
Apparently Ms. Greene feels she hasn’t been getting her money’s worth and claims Merck has misled the public. Although some of her costs were reimbursed, she is seeking a refund of what her attorneys are calling “overpayments.”
Class Action Lawsuit Status Sought
The lawsuit has been filed in Jacksonville and attorneys are seeking class-action status charging Merck & Co. with misleading patients about the effectiveness of Vytorin™.
State consumer protection laws, breach of warranty, and unjust enrichment law violations will form the basis of the charges that Merck overstated Vytorin’s effectiveness vs. generics.
Oversight
The lawsuit certainly will raise more public eyebrows and questions about drug company sales and marketing practices.
You can bet too that Congress will be looking into expanding its oversight as the public demands more accountability. With more awareness and scrutiny physicians cannot afford to be caught in the middle by continuing take drug company promotional claims at face value.
As things heat up MD/DO’s can count on being challenged even more to defend their choices of one medication over the other, or they too could be faced with a patient screaming, “I want my money back!”
Assessment
Has a patient ever cried foul like this to you; if so, what have you done?
Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 3 Comments »
The Competition Heats-Up
[By Patrick C. Cox; Jr.]
The chances are pretty good that you are taking a proven compound – called a statin – on a daily basis along with millions of other patients. The drugs are relatively safe, easy to take, widely available, and covered on most healthcare insurance plans … And, they do work.
While not a license to do or eat whatever we want; a smart lifestyle and diet along with a statin will result in reduced cholesterol levels in most patients.
But, there’s lots of pharmaceutical manufacturer competition and the results will be dramatic. Billions of dollars will be spent on statins alone this year. And, the stakes are high.
The Vytorin™ Enhance Trial
With the recently released but disappointing results of the Enhance Trial where Vytorin™ did not reduce arterial plaque, the race is heating up between manufacturers. The contest is for a drug company to be able to lay claim to the statin efficacy “crown” – lower cholesterol and favorable results on arterial plaque.
But of course, you have to prove it first and then have the medical community buy-in.
Saturn Trial Launching Soon [Crestor™ versus Lipitor™]
Within the last few days AstraZeneca has announced plans for launch of the Saturn Trial pitting its A/Z’s Crestor™ 40 mg. – against Pfizer’s Lipitor™ 80mg. The goal is to prove product superiority in the ability to decrease – or regress – atherosclerosis over a two-year period.
Future Trials?
Of course, millions of dollars are on the table in both research costs and potential long-term revenues. And, we’re likely to see similar comparative trials on the horizon as companies struggle to increase their statin market share.
Assessment
And so, are statins worth this kind of attention and associated research dollars? Health economists call this type of ciphering a “cost-volume-profit-analysis [CVPA].”
Or, should big-pharma drug companies be putting their research dollars toward the discovery of more novel compounds?
Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 2 Comments »
Pharmaceutical Samples to Wrong Patients [PRMA]
[By Staff Writers]
Most free drug samples that physicians reserve for poor or uninsured patients actually go to wealthier patients who have insurance, reports a new study by the American Journal of Public Health [AJPH].
Patients with the highest incomes were the most likely to get free samples, according to the survey of nearly 33,000 Americans, while only 28 percent of those who got samples were poor, whether insured or not, with incomes less than twice the federal poverty level.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America [PRMA] studies show 75 percent of physicians frequently or sometimes give out samples to help patients with out-of-pocket costs, while many poorer and uninsured folks never get to see a doctor and/or more often visit public health clinics or emergency rooms, where samples may not be available.
Assessment
Or, they forego care!
And so, what is your opinion on this finding; malicious or merely absent-minded?
Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 6 Comments »
A new study suggests that nearly two of three academic leaders surveyed at US medical schools and teaching hospitals have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, illustrating how pervasive these relationships have become; researchers say.Get our Widget: Get this widget!
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 2 Comments »
Annals of Internal Medicine [AIM] Study on Part D
[By Staff Writers]
The AIM recently reported from its online survey that Medicare Part D induced a 13.1 % decrease in out-of-pocket expenses for patients and a 5.9 % increase in prescription drug use.
The study compared out-of-pocket costs and the number of pills purchased by those who were eligible for Part D – with comparable patients who were not. It also compared Part D members to patients who were eligible for, but did not enroll in, Medicare Part D.
The program saved pre May 15, 2006 members about $6 per month and gave them an extra three to four days worth of one medicine per month.
After the enrollment deadline, average savings among all eligible seniors increased to about $9 a month with 14 extra days of medicine per month. The study also found that patients who enrolled early in the Part D program and higher rates of utilization and out-of-pocket costs prior to the Part D period and stood to benefit most from enrollment.
Assessment
And so, what are your thoughts on these results, first reported by Newswise on January 8, 2008?
Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 2 Comments »
Proposed Legislation for 2011
[By Staff Writers]
In one of their final acts for 2007, the American Medical News just reported that US House of Representatives and Senate lawmakers introduced new legislation mandating e-prescribing for Medicare participating providers, beginning in 2011. The bill, if enacted, would fine physicians who continued writing paper prescriptions after January 1, 2011.
Paradoxically, it would also allow the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] to grant one or two year financial hardship exemptions for not using the appropriate technology. Of course, the definition of “hardship” would be left up to HHS discretion.
The proposal also provides one-time Medicare grants to offset the costs of technology: $2,000 in the first two years of implementation, $1,500 in the next two years, and $1,000 permanently thereafter.
Assessment
Finally, doctors would also receive a one percent bonus on Medicare Evaluation and Management {E&M] services provided in conjunction with an e-prescription. Compensation for E&M services provided during a visit using a paper prescription would be cut by 10 percent if the prescription could have been handled electronically.
Conclusion
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Filed under: Information Technology | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 1 Comment »
Prescription Information Dissemination OK’d
Associated Press, December 24, 2007
A federal judge in Maine recently overturned a new state law that restricts access by medical data companies to doctors’ prescription information.
U.S. District Judge John Woodcock concluded that the law, which was scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, would prohibit “the transfer of truthful commercial information” and “violate the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment.”
The law had been challenged on constitutional grounds by IMS Health Inc. of Norwalk, Conn., Wolters Kluwer Health of Conshohocken, Pa., and Verispan of Yardley, Pa., which collect, analyze and sell medical data to pharmaceutical companies for use in their marketing programs.
Judge Woodcock noted that he relied heavily on an April 30 ruling by a U.S. District Judge in New Hampshire that shot down a similar law in that state, while a similar case is pending in Vermont.
And so, what is your opinion on physician prescription information privacy? Will other states follow Maine?
Filed under: Information Technology | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | Leave a comment »
Pharmaceutical / Medical Device Industry Bedfellows
By Staff Writers 
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently reported that nearly two-thirds of academic leaders surveyed at 125 US medical schools and the nation’s 15 largest teaching hospitals have financial ties to the medical industry.
Serving as paid consultants or thought leaders – accepting industry money for free meals, honoraria and drinks were among the most common practices reported by the heads of academic departments.
Moreover, researchers said drug companies and makers of medical devices often use these connections to influence doctors to use products that aren’t necessarily in the patient’s best interest.
Overall, 60 percent of department heads reported some type of personal financial relationship with the industry, while 27 percent said they had recently served as a paid consultant.
The same percentage reported serving on a company scientific advisory board, and 21 percent who headed departments of medical specialties closely related to patient care said they had served on speakers’ bureaus for industry.
And so, is this ethical or acceptable to you; or just standard industry practice?
Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 1 Comment »
Premium Increases for Seniors
[By Staff Writers]
Medicare Past D, the prescription drug benefit set forth under the MMA is variable by the plan vendor, with premium rates set on an annual basis.
Cost sharing is subsidized for qualified Medicaid/Medicare crossovers and specified low-income beneficiaries. The MMA allows for the deductible and variable coinsurance coverage levels to increase on an annual basis in subsequent years.
The standard benefit and cost sharing for 2008 is:
· Annual Deductible of $275;
· 25% Coinsurance for covered drugs costs between $276 and $2,510;
· 100% Coinsurance (no plan coverage) of the cost of covered drugs between $2,511 and $5,726.25;
· The Maximum beneficiary annual out of pocket, which determines the upper limit of no plan coverage as stated above is $4,050; and
· 5% coinsurance of the cost of covered drugs above $5,726.25 (or a co-payment of $2.25 for covered generics and $5.60 for covered brand-name drugs-whichever is greater).
Assessment
Now, in accordance with the Medicare Modernization Act, single beneficiaries and married couples with annual incomes exceeding a specified amount now pay a higher percentage of the cost of Medicare Part B coverage, through the Part B premium.
These higher-income beneficiaries will pay a monthly premium equal to 35, 50, 65, or 80% of the total cost, depending on their income level, by the end of the 3-year transition period that started in 2007.
Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 5 Comments »
Medicare Part D
[By Staff Writers]
The CMS reported in USA Today that Medicare beneficiaries are likely to see a smaller number of drugs covered under Part D plans next year, as insurers revise offerings and the government reduces hundreds of products from a list of approved drugs.
On average, the number of drugs offered by the 10 insurers with the largest enrollment shrank by 26 percent from this year to next. Two of the largest insurers – UnitedHealth and Humana – saw drops of 30 percent in some of their plans, from more than 3,750 drugs to just more than 2,620. The drop came mainly because of changes made by Medicare, which shrank the list of drugs it will pay for – reducing those that have been pulled by the FDA, are no longer being made, had duplicative billing codes or were drugs deemed “less than effective”.
Medicare officials and insurers opine that most beneficiaries are unlikely to be affected, and that enrollees taking drugs that were pulled will usually be able to find alternates, or can go through an appeals process to try to stay on their current drugs.
And so, do “fewer covered drugs” help or hurt Medicare D recipients?
Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 1 Comment »
Prognosis for Big Pharma
[By Staff Writers]
According to the Wall Street Journal, generic drug competition is expected to wipe $67 billion from top pharmaceutical companies’ annual U.S. sales between 2007 and 2012.
Why? More than three dozen drugs lose patent protection; roughly half of the companies’ combined 2007 U.S. sales.
Moreover, during the five years from 2002 through 2006, the industry brought to market 43 percent fewer new chemical-based drugs than in the last five years of the 1990s, despite doubling R&D spending.
Assessment
And so, what do you think about this grim prognosis for big pharma as patents expire and the industry is failing to find new drugs to replace existing ones?
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma | Tagged: Big Pharma and Drugs | 3 Comments »
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