September 26, 2021 
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For a few of you that still follow this (my old blog), I’m sharing a few things from the past months:
2. I supported the work we just published around specialty pharmacy.
3. I published a short article in Drugstore Management.
February 13, 2021 0 Comments
[Note: I’m republishing a few Deloitte blogs that they are no longer hosting as part of the new website.]
Originally Posted by George Van Antwerp on September 28, 2017
A flying car that conveniently folds into a briefcase never materialized, but the digital revolution now underway in pharmacy could lead to a reality not far from the futuristic world envisioned by The Jetsons cartoon series of the 1970s.
As an industry, health care is often seeking ways to pay for and reward value rather than volume. While pharmacy often lags behind medical in this area, discussions are starting to focus more on consumer engagement, patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and collaboration across the ecosystem (i.e., retail, mail, and specialty pharmacies, distributors, manufacturers, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)). Rather than creating value through scale to drive price negotiations, three primary forces will likely push companies across the pharmacy ecosystem to transform their business models:
If we look to the future, will pharmacy companies be the delivery channel, the aggregator, the clinical care management company, the technology vendor or something very different? As pharmacy leaders ask themselves where they want to play and how they will win, defining the role of pharmacy within the health care ecosystem will likely be critical.
Technology: Imagine the following future scenario (all of which is in development).
As you start your day, your smart toilet detects abnormal sugar levels in your urine and alerts your physician. After a telehealth visit (from your couch) with an avatar of your physician, your physician gives you a prescription for a new medication. You fill your own prescription using a 3D printer. The generic drug is embedded with a smart chip that transmits clinical data back to the physician before dissolving in your stomach. The physician sends information about common side effects to your home monitoring system, which tracks your health and compliance. After a few days, your smart home recognizes you as you walk into the kitchen and asks how you are feeling. Your response about a rash correlates with a common side effect, and the monitoring system offers to schedule an appointment with your physician to determine if an alternative medication might be better.
While none of these technologies will see broad adoption any time soon, the pharmacy industry should consider investments now in preparation for the future. Such investments will likely help traditional players compete with start-ups and health-focused technology companies that will probably try to carve out the most profitable sectors (as we see in retail).
Pharmacy companies should be asking:
Consumerism: Today’s hypercompetitive marketplace often requires constant innovation and digitization. It commonly requires companies to look at their products and solutions through the eyes of the consumer, particularly as adoption of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) continues to expand. One way to think about this is to follow the consumer journey. Here are four moments when consumers are often open to engagement:
| Open Enrollment | What is the best health plan for me given my conditions and prior medication use? How can I save money? What is the likely progression of my condition? |
| Diagnosis | What is wrong with me? What are my treatment options? How have other patients responded to this medication? What are the side effects? Is there a lower-cost medication? |
| Pharmacy Selection & Pick-up | Which pharmacy will save me the most money? Which pharmacy is most convenient? Where will I get the best service? What do I need to know about the drug and my condition? Will it interact with any food I eat, vitamins I take, or other medication? What is this prior authorization and why did I not know about it until I went to pick up my medication? |
| Ongoing Support & Management | What should I be doing to manage my condition? Why was my copayment so high? How can I see the status of my order in real-time through an app? How do I know if the medication is working? Am I better or do I have to keep taking the medication? |
Data: For many companies, it is still a challenge to integrate pharmacy and medical data. When you begin to look at lab data and unstructured data (e.g., patient reported outcomes, physician notes), the challenge can increase. At the same time, many technologies are creating new opportunities to leverage data and analytics to shift from reactive to proactive.
Data and analytics might help the pharmacy industry to:
Three drivers of change – technology, consumer, and data – will likely manifest themselves in different ways at different companies. As leaders think about business-model innovation and new product solutions using frameworks such as the Ten Types of Innovation or the Ambition Matrix, we will likely continue to see greater differentiation across the pharmacy market. I am excited about what this means for pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, PBMs, retail pharmacies, specialty pharmacies, and provider owned pharmacies.
This blog was first published in A view from the Center: Deloitte’s Life Sciences & Health Care Blog
February 13, 2021 0 Comments
[Note: I’m republishing a few Deloitte blogs that they are no longer hosting as part of the new website.]
Published Date : October 18, 2018
Author: Deloitte
Categories : Biopharma, Drug rebates, Life sciences, Regulatory
Nearly half of all Americans (49 percent) have at least one prescription drug, and 12 percent of the population has five or more, according to 2017 data from the Centers for Drug Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2016, $329 billion was spent on prescription drugs—an increase of nearly 30 percent from 2010.1
With so much money at stake, drug pricing has become a front-page issue. But the sale of pharmaceuticals is based on a complex economic model that few people fully understand. It involves employers, health plans, pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs), pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, and the government.
As the administration looks for ways to reduce prescription drug prices, prescription drug rebates is one area that has come under scrutiny. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar recently said it was within his agency’s power to eliminate rebates on prescription drugs. A proposed rule from HHS, which could end or significantly alter rebates, is being reviewed at the Office of Management and Budget. This regulation could affect commercial health coverage and Medicare Part D, but might begin with an initial focus on Medicare.
How drug rebates work
Pharmaceutical manufacturers establish a list price for their products with an understanding that discounts and rebates will be used to reduce the list price employers or government programs actually pay. A clinical drug evaluation conducted by a PBM’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) committee identifies which drugs have to be covered and which drugs are optional. Health plans and PBMs then consider rebates as they design their formulary (i.e., the preferred drug list used by health plans). This discussion considers the breadth of the formulary (i.e., number of drugs per therapeutic category), whether the formulary is open or closed, and the number of formulary tiers. Rebates typically increase as a formulary becomes more narrow (or closed) because it increases the likelihood that certain drugs will be prescribed.
In 2017, rebates and discounts offered by brand-name drug manufacturers reduced list prices by an average of 44 percent.2 Several PBMs have said they keep 5 percent or less of the rebates, which means the vast majority of rebate dollars are transferred to health plans, self-insured employers, and Part D plans to help reduce premiums. While some PBMs say they send 100 percent of rebate revenue to clients, they do charge plan sponsors administrative fees. PBMs also collect administrative fees from pharmaceutical manufacturers for managing the rebates. What is less clear is how consumers benefit from rebates. For example, do rebates translate to lower health insurance premiums for everyone versus directly benefiting only the patients who use the medications?
The administration views rebates as one lever that could have an impact on drug prices. At the heart of this debate is whether drug prices are artificially high because of the rebate system, or whether this system helps to bring drug prices down.
Antitrust litigation prompted drug-rebate model
Drug rebates became popular among PBMs after the antitrust litigation of the 1990s challenged the ability of drug manufacturers to offer up-front discounts. The courts determined such discounts ran afoul of antitrust law by favoring managed care providers over pharmacies. In response, drug manufacturers turned to rebates, which the courts indicated would be preferable.
Under current law, rebates are permissible because the anti-kickback statue—and implementing regulations—has a discount exception (also known as the safe harbor). The administration’s “blueprint” to reduce drug prices includes the removal of this safe-harbor protection of manufacturer rebates. The intent is to decrease out-of-pocket costs for consumers and reduce overall drug spending.
Over the past five years, the amount of rebates and discounts offered by pharmaceutical manufacturers has doubled to $153 billion in 2017, according to life sciences analytics firm IQVIA. This trend aligns with a growing number of high-cost specialty drugs and more aggressive cost-management tactics—such as closed formularies—among plan sponsors. Until the administration began focusing on drug costs, the gross-to-net bubble (i.e., the difference between the list price and the actual price paid after rebates) had shown no signs of decreasing.
The IQVIA data also indicates that while list drug prices have increased, net prices have remained relatively flat over the past five years. The higher list prices can lead to higher rebates, however one recent study suggested that there is no correlation.3 These higher list prices can result in bigger out-of-pocket costs for patients who have high-deductible health plans or coinsurance-based copayments, although they do help offset premium costs for all enrollees.
This issue of alignment, and how to contain drug costs, is at the heart of the issue. The ability to design formularies and negotiate rebates is a core value proposition for many PBMs. While the rebate model has existed in a bit of a black box for many years, from a business-to-business perspective, it has become less opaque (although not yet fully transparent). Consultants and sophisticated plan sponsors have increased their use of rebate audits and have called for greater transparency.
If the rebate model goes away, what will replace it?
Many groups have said it might be time to replace the rebate model. But what would replace it? Would all list prices need to be re-aligned to match today’s net prices or will a completely new model emerge? Will we see widespread adoption of value-based (or outcome-based) contracts between health plans, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and providers? At this point, there are no clear answers.
Several potential replacement models are being discussed that could take the place of rebates. A point-of-sale (POS) rebate model might be easiest to implement and could be an interim policy step. Under this model, the plan sponsor would have its PBM implement POS rebates so that members would pay the net cost of brand-name drugs. This could mean lower out-of-pocket costs for people who have high-deductible health plans or who are responsible for coinsurance. This would likely affect only a minority of members because rebates aren’t used for generic drugs, which make up almost 90 percent of all prescriptions filled in the US. It would not affect people who have flat-dollar copayments that aren’t tied to the net price of the drug (in a point-of-sale rebate scenario).
What can stakeholders expect if drug rebates are eliminated?
How would the list prices for drugs be affected if rebates are eliminated? Would pharmaceutical manufactures drop list prices down to the net price point, or would some alternative discounting program emerge? The other key discussion point is whether eliminating rebates will change the pricing trajectory and impact the industry’s economic model. If Average Wholesale Price (AWP) inflation slows, or reverses as a result, PBMs and other stakeholders that have some of their revenue streams tied to AWPs could need a strategy to replace lost revenue.
Eliminating rebates will not be like turning off a spigot. A PBM with a three-year contracting cycle, for example, might need a year or two to open and renegotiate thousands of contracts. Government bids, based on the existing system, are priced out almost nine months in advance. Without rebates, drug manufacturers will likely have to rethink their market-access approach and reevaluate their pricing strategies.
The loss of rebate revenue could cause plan sponsors to re-evaluate their pricing models, plan designs, and underwriting process. Without a new model to represent the current net-of-rebate cost for all drugs, consumers could see higher out-of-pocket costs, or more limited benefits to keep premiums from rising.
The drug-rebate model is extraordinarily complex, and people across the health care ecosystem are closely analyzing a variety of possible scenarios that could occur if that model changes or is eliminated. There are many questions that can’t yet be answered. Will rebates go away completely? How long will it take? Will the change be limited to Medicare? Will rebates continue to exist, but get shifted to the point of sale? Maybe the biggest question is…who wins and who loses? And can re-evaluating business models and potential financial vulnerability now help to create different winners?
We will begin to try to answer these and other questions in future blogs as we continue to dig into this issue and further evaluate the potential impact on all of the stakeholders in the health care ecosystem. Stay tuned.
1 Health Affairs, January 2018, “National Health Care Spending in 2016”
2 Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., Drug Channels Institute, April 24, 2018 (April https://www.drugchannels.net/2018/04/the-gross-to-net-rebate-bubble-topped.html)
3 https://www.pcmanet.org/new-data-rebates-are-unrelated-to-drugmakers-pricing-strategies/
February 13, 2021 0 Comments
[Note: I’m republishing a few Deloitte blogs that they are no longer hosting as part of the new website.]
Published Date : July 26, 2018
Author: Deloitte
Categories : Analytics, Health plans, Regulatory
First the good news. While we are in the midst of an opioid epidemic, large employers have seen prescription rates fall significantly since peaking in 2009. That year, 17.3 percent of covered employees or dependents had at least one opioid prescription. People who work for large employers are now using fewer prescription opioids.1 This is likely due to an increased focus—among health plans and clinicians—on limiting opioid prescriptions among patients who might be at risk for opioid dependence. There also is growing evidence that opioids aren’t appropriate for all patients or for every type of pain.
Now the bad news: Employers are spending nearly nine times more to treat opioid addiction and overdoses (prescription and illicit drug use) than they did 12 years ago—from $300 million in 2004 to $2.6 billion in 2016, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The average inpatient treatment cost for an opioid addiction topped $16,000 in 2016, according data from Kaiser. More than half of this spending is for the treatment of an employee’s dependent children. After a person first seeks formal help for an addiction, it can take as long as eight or nine years to achieve sustained recovery, according to a report from the Surgeon General.
And the ugly news: Opioids, both prescription and illicit, were involved in more than 42,000 deaths in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That number is five times higher than in 1999. Moreover, emergency department visits for opioid overdoses increased 30 percent nationally between July 2016 and September 2017, according to the CDC.
Compared to people who do not have a substance-use disorder (SUD), people with SUDs incur higher health care costs and have a greater number of disability claims, miss more work days, and are more likely to be demoted or fired, according to the National Business Group on Health (NBGH). Along with direct medical costs, opioid addiction and treatment also impacts productivity, absenteeism, and recruiting, according to a recent NBGH survey of 62 large employers. One out of four employers say it has become difficult to find qualified workers who are not dependent on opioids.
Misuse and abuse of opioids is having a devastating impact on many employers and their workers and families.
Is workers compensation the canary in the coal mine?
Pain-related conditions affect 116 million adults in the U.S., according to the Institute of Medicine. This costs employers up to $635 billion in medical costs and lost productivity.2 Workers who are injured on or off the job could wind up becoming addicted to opioids that are prescribed to help manage their pain. While employers want to prevent addiction, the crackdown on prescribing is sometimes making it difficult for people to get access to opioids that they need to manage pain. Non-opioid therapies might not be as effective and could keep people off the job longer. What is the cost for employers when workers are unable to return to work either due to an injury or because of an opioid addiction? Moreover, some employees might choose not to seek help if they are worried about their job security. Employers want their employees to have effective pain-management options and don’t want them to seek illegal sources for drugs.
Workers’ compensation programs are often seen as employee benefits programs. They provide injured employees with a percentage of their salary until they are able to return to work. Given the volume of opioids being prescribed for work-related injuries, workers’ compensation insurers were some of the first organizations to recognize the critical role that physicians played in preventing opioid addiction.
Today, many workers’ compensation insurers are beginning to utilize advanced detection tools. Thanks to their unique position in the ecosystem—where they touch health care, consumers, and governments—they can effectively leverage state and federal guidelines, physician education, and advanced analytics to help prevent dependency and addiction.
Some industries have higher addiction rates
Industries where workers have physically demanding jobs, perform repetitive motions, or spend long stretches on their feet tend to have higher rates of opioid abuse. These industries include construction, automobile manufacturing, carpentry, and trucking. About 15 percent of people who work in the construction industry have engaged in illicit drug use, according to a lead commercial insurance carrier. The automobile manufacturing plants that produce more than 70 percent of US cars are in states that have seen significant increases in drug overdose deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recognizing an uptick in opioid abuse among truckers, the Department of Transportation added four prescription opioids to its mandatory drug-screening beginning on January 1, 2018.
What can employers do to address opioid use and abuse?
Given the costs associated with opioid abuse and misuse, employers might want to consider strategies that help prevent their at-risk employees from becoming addicted. But employers often need alternatives to treat pain among employees. They also need quality treatment for addiction. Strategies many employers are using to address this issue include:
Employers should also consider working closely with their health plans to develop solutions to curb opioid use and misuse. The Center for Health Solutions recently conducted research to find out what health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are doing to help address the opioid epidemic. Many health plans and PBMs have a stake in improving care outcomes, and they have key assets—especially data—that could be used for diagnosis and treatment.
Strategies that some health plans and PBMs are already using include:
Additionally, research indicates that the focus on opioid abuse is shifting to greater use of data and analytics to identify and engage those who might be at risk.3 Given the number of patients who use prescription opioids, and the ongoing threat from illicit drugs such as fentanyl, it can be to important shift from a fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) mentality to a fraud, waste, abuse, and care approach.
An ecosystem approach is still needed
As we noted several years ago, tackling the opioid crisis requires coordination across health plans, PBMs, pharmacies, providers, employers, and many other constituents. This is a complex problem that goes beyond what any one group can influence.
At the same time, we cannot let the drop in new opioid prescriptions lull any of us into complacency. Systemic issues should be addressed from a policy perspective, including enabling data integration opportunities. And, given the need and risk of relapse, we likely need patient engagement strategies that effectively manage their risk over time and through treatment.1 Kaiser Family Foundation, April 2018: https://www.kff.org/health-costs/press-release/analysis-cost-of-treating-opioid-addiction-rose-rapidly-for-large-employers-as-the-number-of-prescriptions-has-declined/
2 National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92521/
3 HealthIT Analytics: https://healthitanalytics.com/features/for-opioids-and-substance-abuse-big-data-analytics-is-just-the-beginning
February 13, 2021 0 Comments
[Note: I’m republishing a few Deloitte blogs that they are no longer hosting as part of the new website.]
Published Date : September 29, 2016
Author: Deloitte
Categories : Health care providers, Health IT, Value-based care
Hispanics are a large and fast growing segment of the US population. As of 2014, there were over 55 million Hispanics in the US with the population projected to grow to 119 million by 2060. From a health care perspective, they’ve often been underrepresented and underserved. As the Hispanic population grows and ages from their current average age of 29, health plans and prescription benefit managers (PBMs) should consider learning more about their expectations, needs, and challenges.
In an effort to engage with Hispanic consumers, many health plans offer language lines or interactive voice response options in Spanish and translate printed materials. However, consumers often complain that translations are too literal and would prefer something more conversational. Though studies show that language barriers can be linked to worse health outcomes, having the same language doesn’t mean that all Hispanics share a common history, health care experience, or even the same risk of a condition like diabetes. For example, while Hispanics are nearly two times more likely than non-Hispanic whites to have diabetes, there are variances across the subpopulations with 18.3 percent of Hispanics of Mexican decent having diabetes versus 10.2 percent for Hispanics of South American decent. But since lifestyle and prevalence of conditions like diabetes varies within the Hispanic population, it’s important for health plans and providers to understand these differences and nuances in order to effectively engage them and their families.
Beyond language and economic constraints, there can also be cultural barriers for Hispanics using the US health care system. Our recent 2016 Consumer Priorities in Health Care Survey found that surveyed Hispanics valued two key interactions relative to non-Hispanic whites:
1. A health care provider who gives helpful updates on their condition or status to family during and after a procedure and
2. A doctor or health care provider who helps them and their family create a care plan or wellness plan that fits with their lifestyle.
Health plans should consider these types of cultural differences to better understand ways to engage with Hispanics around their health care.
Additionally, as we dug into the data from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions 2016 Survey of US Health Care Consumers, we found several insights that health plans should consider in meeting the needs of their Hispanics members or attracting new members from this growing group. For example, surveyed Hispanics are more likely to use alternative care settings and providers:
• Hispanics are 40 percent more likely than non-Hispanic whites (45 percent versus 32 percent) to use a retail clinic for a non-emergency health issue if their physician was not available, and
• Hispanics are twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites (12 percent versus 6 percent) to see a pharmacist for treatment information.
Not only do Hispanics often use the system differently, they also reported trusting certain sources of information more than other groups; notably their friends and family and information found through social media.
** From the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions 2016 Survey of US Health Care Consumers
Hispanics also use available tools for navigating health care more often.Seventy one percent of Hispanics own a smartphone (compared with 61 percent of whites), and they tend to be much more likely to use technology for health care purposes.
** From the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions 2016 Survey of US Health Care Consumers
As we transition from a fee-for-service health care system to a value-based care environment, these issues of cultural differences, health literacy, information sources, and technological engagement are increasingly important. Value-based care and population health strategies sometimes revolve around self-care, wellness and better adherence, so figuring out the most effective strategies to engage different populations makes sense.
Moreover, expansion of health insurance coverage has brought many Hispanics to the private insurance market for the first time. They are still figuring out how to shop for, use, and evaluate plans. According to our survey, thirty two percent of Hispanics reported switching plans in the past 12 months (versus 21 percent of non-Hispanic whites). If health care companies don’t consider the unique needs and expectations of this population, they likely risk cutting themselves out of a real opportunity for growth over the next decade.
To get started, health plans should begin with these basics:
1. Capture ethnicity and/or language preference in your member data;
2. Understand how different segments and sub-segments (e.g., Cuban versus Mexican) typically use the health care system, respond to different channels and messaging, and have different needs;
3. Hire staff and writers that can engage Hispanics in person, on the phone, and in writing; and
4. Embrace digital solutions for providing and capturing information.
As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, consider evaluating your current market share, share of wallet, and strategies to reach this growing demographic.
July 18, 2020 0 Comments
For those of you that still subscribe here or that look here, I’m sharing links to the four latest things:
May 3, 2019 0 Comments
With the future of rebates being such a hot topic, I’ve published a few articles on the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions site and just presented earlier this week at Asembia on the topic.
September 4, 2018 0 Comments
For those of you that have followed me for years, I wanted to share my latest pieces with Deloitte which focused on the opioid crisis:
I also spoke this year at AHIP (twice), sPCMA, and PBMI.
April 12, 2017 0 Comments
For those of you that still subscribe to this blog, I’m sharing my latest blog post on the Center for Health Solutions blog by Deloitte on digitization in the pharmacy industry.
April 12, 2017 0 Comments
My posts now appear on the Center for Health Solutions blog by Deloitte. I posted on the rapidly growing Hispanic market several months ago.
February 15, 2016 0 Comments
I had the chance to share two new posts through other channels. For those of you that have followed me here, I wanted to share those with you.
I just posted a new blog about The Specialty Pharmacy Elephant on The Center for Health Solutions blog by Deloitte – http://blogs.deloitte.com/centerforhealthsolutions/the-specialty-pharmacy-elephant/.
I also used LinkedIn to share a post about The Pharmacy Marketplace in 2016.
February 17, 2015 0 Comments
For those of you that have followed me here, I thought I would share three things with you:
December 26, 2014 1 Comment
As those that have followed the blog for a while know, I generally posted an average of one blog per day and did so for almost 8 years. With the new job, I’ve decided to look for ways to create content under the Deloitte brand either through white papers or on their blogs.
I will continue to share information through Twitter and on LinkedIn, but I’m going to keep this blog on hiatus for now.
It’s been a great outlet for me over the years. It’s helped me think through numerous ideas. I’ve used it to connect with people. I’ve used it to open doors and get press and speaking opportunities. And, within the start-up world, the ability to blog on my own has been widely accepted and embraced. As many of you know, that’s harder to do within a corporate environment.
For those of you that have followed the blog and read it continuously, I really appreciate it. I hope you will follow me on Twitter or connect with me so I can share new things as I create them in my new job.
Happy Holidays!!
September 2, 2014 0 Comments
In the September 8-15 edition of Time Magazine, they have a whole article about data and numbers. One of the pages is on which companies have the most cash. Apple is number one and the one you always hear about. As we’ve all seen, there are lots of rumors about Apple, Google, and Amazon and what they’re doing that is health related.
At the same time, I was intrigued to see all the health related companies on the list:
You have several other non-healthcare companies which are doing things in healthcare that are also on the list:
If you look at the Rock Health recent report, you can imagine how these companies could leverage all this money to really change healthcare. They could fund companies. They could buy companies. They could invest in orphan drugs. They could create new technology standards. They could educate consumers. They could push technologies like the Internet of Things.
September 1, 2014 0 Comments
I’ve talked several times about what P2P (peer-to-peer) healthcare is. We have examples of PatientsLikeMe and CureTogether. This is something that Pew has talked about several times over the years. Additionally, here’s a blog post by Susannah Fox on this. The point is that people turn to Dr. Google and social media often before they talk to a healthcare professional. That’s critical to understand.
Interestingly, as I was reading the IMS whitepaper on Journey Mapping, it really got me thinking about how all this social listening and patient content can influence and shape the Patient Journey (see example). We’ve already heard about the influence this channel is having on clinical trials. And, we know that Big Data trends are driving lots of new data sources for analysis and insights. I think this JAMA list is a good starting point. But, as Jane Sarasohn-Kahn points out, we can’t forget about the Open Notes initiative and the power that it will bring with it.
The question of course is how this will all be reflected in the way we think about the consumer in all the “patient experience” and “consumer engagement” hype in healthcare. For example, this image from a Deloitte whitepaper shows some of the ways a health plan can influence the consumer experience.
We all know this is tricky, and it’s critical to establish trust between the consumer and the entity influencing the journey. Health plans and pharmaceutical companies are usually not high on the trust scale.
That being said, the IMS whitepaper does a good job of pointing out the need to expand beyond the traditional effort of focusing on key influencers. It’s important to understand the payer view and the patient view in new ways. It’s also important to understand what matters to each group. While adherence may seem like the right metric, I would argue that it’s simply the easy metric. It’s important to really understand the overall health of the patient. They care about their experience. They care about their quality of life. These all need to be factored into the patient journey.
August 31, 2014 2 Comments
“A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running.” Groucho Marx
While I was flying last week, I had the chance to read My Healthcare Is Killing Me. I could probably think of a few other titles for the book like:
Those should give you a hint about the topic of the book. It’s written by Chris Parks, Katrina Welty, and Robert Hendrick who are all part of the founding team at Change Healthcare. If you’re not familiar with Change Healthcare, you should look at them and others in the transparency space. (You can look at Jane Sarasohn-Kahn’s series on cost transparency for more information.)
Here’s a few of my notes from the book:
The book has an interesting analogy from Patsy Kelly comparing healthcare to a restaurant:
“In healthcare, the patient does not order the service or have the primary responsibility for payment. Additionally, the person who pays for the service does not order it or consume it, and the person who orders it does not pay for it or consume it.”
Another quote from Unity Stoakes was:
“We must arm ourselves with knowledge, wisdom and information. Demand transparency in pricing by researching alternatives. Negotiate! Take control of your own healthcare now. The more you know, the more power you have.”
The authors do a good job of simplifying down some of the complexities of the healthcare payment system. Some things have changed with health reform, but the fundamentals are the same. For someone taking on a large, complex condition which is likely to result in lots of costs, its worth reading. For someone trying to change healthcare and understand the fundamentals, it’s also a great quick read which you can then follow-up on to see how this became the foundation for Change Healthcare.
August 22, 2014 0 Comments
I think many of are familiar with Google’s use of the term “Moon Shots” and to a lesser degree their Google X projects. I was inspired to see who in healthcare is using the term and think about a few moon shot ideas myself.
I didn’t find much else out there (although I’m sure there is).
So, here’s some of my thoughts:
I’ll leave the list open…what would you add? I know there are some big stretch thinkers out there.
August 12, 2014 1 Comment
I finally had some time to read Dr. Bertalan Mesko’s book called Social Media in Clinical Practice. I’m a big fan of his blog and a lot of the information he puts out. I was intrigued to see what he thought was important for clinicians and then to compare that to what I know as someone active in the space.
Overall, I thought it was a good, quick read for someone who knows very little about social media and all the options out there. He quickly hits a lot of information:
He provided some reinforcing references and laid out some key reasons for physicians to get involved such as:
I was glad that he brought up the concept of “Information Therapy” which is a term I use a lot, and I think is really important for how providers can direct patients to quality content.
While he spent a lot of time on Facebook and Google+, I personally would have expected more on Sermo or other physician specific networks.
I thought the section on e-patients was really important for physicians to understand how to engage and work with them and creating a difference between a “Googler” and an e-patient.
I knew it was possible, but it was good to see him provide the proper way of citing medical blogs and tweets in medical papers.
I was surprised to see a whole chapter on Second Life. I never hear anyone talk about that anymore. At the same time, there wasn’t any focus on LinkedIn or talk about tools like SlideShare. I think there’s also a need for much more on mobile applications and use of SMS with patients along with a discussion on connected devices ranging from FitBit to more sophisticated tools with feedback and integration into the clinical systems.
He did have some good suggestions on presentations such as looking at the Lessing Method, PechaKucha, and Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule.
My overall summary would be that:
Of course, with technology and social media, things change really fast so it’s going to need to be come a more interactive version to keep up with the changes.
August 7, 2014 0 Comments
I’m a big believer in trying to capture and learn from everything you do. When you work in the start-up and turnaround space, not everything will be a clear success.
After looking back on my time at my last turnaround, there are several clear takeaways:
The past few years have been really interesting as I learned more about case management, disease management, utilization management, oncology, kidney care, and many other parts of our healthcare system. The key is leveraging all of this as I move forward in my new role.
I think another related topic to think about here is some of the lessons around MVPs (minimum viable products).
I always use the Apple 1 as my case study for an MVP.
August 6, 2014 1 Comment
Cancer costs are expected to reach $174B in the US by 2020. Right now, it’s about 10-11% of total healthcare spend which makes it a big area of focus within the healthcare industry.
The question is how to manage this spend:
One of the challenges is the survival of the community oncology practice (see ASCO report) that is an issue that physicians have struggled with in other specialties. Over the past few years, we’ve seen continued consolidation of practices with many of them being acquired by hospitals and hospital systems.
In some cases, oncologists have seen a reduction in their income tied to a reduction in buy-and-bill and are looking to be employed in order to continue to maintain their incomes. They are one of the few medical professions that have seen a reduction in income recently. At the same time, this trend is also driven by hospitals taking advantage of the 340B pricing which allows them to generate approximately $1M in profit for every oncologist they employ. And, the complexity of oncology treatment also is prompting the need for a more comprehensive care model which requires a broad set of services which is sometimes difficult for a small practice to provide.
Of course, this shift in care from community oncology to hospitals is driving up costs without a demonstrated improvement in outcomes. This is driving a lot of payer focus and driving discussions of payment reform whether that’s in the form of ACOs, PCMHs, or bundled payments. United Healthcare recently released some data from one of their pilots.
This seems like another classic example of misalignment across the industry. Hospitals clearly see an opportunity to buy up more oncology practices while payers and others are going to push for reform around 340B and payment differences. Oncologists are struggling to continue providing care but replace the income they were making of buy-and-bill of specialty medications.
I’ve talked to a lot of people about this struggle. It doesn’t seem clear whether community oncologists are destined for extinction or will payers will find a way to enable them to survive. The other question is how things like teleoncology, tumor boards, big data, and the focus on prevention and survivorship will ultimately change the care delivery approach to oncology which may impact the role of the community oncologist in the future.
July 24, 2014 1 Comment
In case you haven’t been tracking specialty drug costs for the past decade, the recent news with Gilead’s Sovaldi ($GILD) is finally making this topic a front page issue for everyone to be aware of. I think Dr. Brennan and Dr. Shrank’s viewpoint in JAMA this week did a good job of pointing that issue out. They make several points:
If you haven’t paid attention, here’s a few articles on Sovaldi which did $5.7B in sales in the first half of 2014 and which Gilead claims has CURED 9,000 Hep C patients.
But, don’t think of this as an isolated incident. Vertex has Kalydeco which is a $300,000 drug for a subset of Cystic Fibrosis patients. In general, I think this is where many people expected the large drug costs to be which is in orphan conditions or massively personalized drugs where there was a companion diagnostic or some other genetic marker to be used in prescribing the drug.
The rising costs of specialty medications has been a focus but has become the focus in the PBM and pharmacy world over the past few years. This has led to groups like the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing. Here’s a few articles on the topic:
Of course, the one voice lost in all of this is that of the patient and the value of a cure to them. Many people don’t know they have Hepatitis C (HCV), but it can progress and lead to a liver transplant or even ESRD (end state renal disease) which are expensive. 15,000 people die each year in the US due to Hep C (see top reasons for death in the US). So, drugs like this can be literally and figuratively life savers. These can change the course of their life by actually curing a lifetime condition.
This topic of specialty drug pricing isn’t going away.
At the end of the day, I’m still left with several questions:
And, a few questions that won’t get answered soon, but that this issue highlights are:
July 22, 2014 0 Comments
The fact that there are 5,500 new users of prescription painkillers every day for non-medical purposes is a scary statistic, but the data gets even worse.
I could go on and on. The reality is that we have a huge problem here in the US where we have 4.6% of the world’s population but we use 80% of the world’s opioids. This isn’t a new problem. We’ve been watching this get worse for the past decade. I feel like it’s finally getting some attention among all our other issues. The White House is focused on it. The CDC has put out several pieces on it.
One solution has been the creation of the PMP (prescription monitoring program) which all states except Missouri have. A good source for information on the PMPs or the PDMPs (prescription drug monitoring programs) is the Brandeis COE (center of excellence). But, there are challenges here. It requires physicians and pharmacists to register and access it, but it’s not part of their workflow. It’s typically not required.
Separately, you have some scary data that says physicians may actually prescribe certain drugs including “vicodin goody bags” to improve patient satisfaction scores.
I could list out dozens of great reports and sources, but here’s a few:
(Source: Graphic is from the CDC website – http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/rxbrief/)
July 21, 2014 7 Comments
Several of you have read between my not so subtle hints on the blog. Several of you have helped me in my search. But, after 8 years of chasing that elusive start-up and turnaround bug, I’ve decided that going back into the corporate world is going to allow me to better contribute to transformation in healthcare.
I began my career in healthcare in 1999 when I was a manager at Ernst & Young and my mentor was running the managed care practice. I got to play an exciting initial role which was convincing health plans why the Internet was going to change their business model and why they should have a website focused on members.
That member focused role changed my career path in an exciting way. I went to a CRM start-up focused on helping health plans with product configuration. I then ended up going to Express Scripts which at the time acted more like an $8B start-up driving changes in the marketplace. There I worked on lots of consumer facing solutions. But, as the business grew and I enjoyed the thrill of new challenges, I left to work on my own idea – pharmacy kiosks. That was 2006.
Since then, I’ve worked on kiosks. I’ve worked on Business Process Management technology. I’ve worked on healthcare communications, and I’ve worked on a care management platform. They’ve all been great learning experiences. But, as the private equity guys decided to exit my last business, I decided it was time to do something different and stop having to worry about raising money every year. I actually want to focus on driving change in this very exciting time in the marketplace. While I went back and forth between line management and consulting, I’ve decided that consulting offers me more of what I want right now. I get to work across the industry. I get to work on really complex problems. I get opportunities to publish thought leadership. I get to be part of a constant learning environment. I get to work with great teams both internally and externally. In short, it feeds my need for constant, new challenges. And, it allows me to move the family back to St. Louis.
So, starting in August, I’m joining Deloitte Consulting where I’ll be part of their Strategy & Operations practice focused on payers and PBMs. I’m really excited about it. I’ve been excited by the people that I’ve met, the references I called about their work, and their approaches towards work-life balance and being part of the community.
I’ve always loved consulting and working with clients. I think this time rather than being the fresh-faced MBA graduate (that I was at E&Y) that I’m looking forward to bringing a broad set of experiences to the table to help think through the challenges. I’ll have to capture some of my lessons learned from this past role and share them in another post. They can build on the prior lessons learned that I’ve shared.
July 15, 2014 0 Comments
Forbes magazine, which has become a great source for healthcare articles, has a story about urgent care clinics in the July 21, 2014 issue called “McHealthcare”. It’s an interesting read saying that fast food is the model on which to reinvent the doctor’s office.
Let me layout a few key points:
The article gives some facts about the industry and talks about two structures being used in the urgent care growth – franchising and private equity consolidation.
Some of the facts from the article include:
I also really liked the example they used of American Family Care simply following Walmart and Target to figure out locations. As we know, location is king.
The questions of course are:
Some of the companies they list in this space include:
If you think about The Triple Aim, clinics should be one of the first to really appeal to the consumer experience. Cost should be able to follow. It’s the third leg of the stool (clinical outcomes) that I think is still TBD.
Clinics as a proxy to fast food may work if you think about franchising, but I’m not sure about customer service. (And the term “McHealthcare” can’t help but make me think about the movie Super Size Me.) We don’t want the disconnected, unengaged worker treating us. We want more of a Nordstroms model where they know us and engage us. Can that happen in a clinic setting? Perhaps.
The idea of no appointments (see wait times), longer hours, weekend hours, technology savvy, comfortable wait rooms, free WiFi, and one-stop healthcare is appealing. This is just one of the macro trends which will help lead the transformation and change within healthcare.
July 10, 2014 1 Comment
On the surface, the “Holy Grail” of sophisticated wellness and incentives programs are based on outcomes. This means that the individual gets rewarded for achieving a goal. For example, you can structure your incentives different ways. You could have a reward for enrollment (i.e., I register for a program). You could have a reward for activity (i.e., I talk to a nurse or watch a video online). You could have a reward for an outcome (i.e., I lose 10 pounds).
But, those have different implications in terms of structure. [Note: I’m not a lawyer or an accountant so don’t take this as legal advice.] I think Andrea Davis at Employee Benefit News did a good job of touching on this in her article “No Good Deed“.
I did have a chance to implement a large outcomes-based rewards program for 1/1/14 where we had to address a lot of these changes from the ACA. One of the key terms that she hits on is this idea of “Reasonable Alternative Standards”. This basically means that if you implement an outcomes based incentive program that people have to be able to get the same incentive without achieving the outcome. This seems to defeat the purpose in my mind.
I always used to say that it was like having a guard dog with no teeth. We implemented a very interesting program with lots of expectations, but there was a huge gapping loop hole. Everyone could apply for a Reasonable Alternative Standard and achieve the same payout without really doing much. Of course, most people don’t realize this, but this is why I would argue that people that aren’t healthy or engaged with their health programs at work would rather have these outcomes based programs.
July 9, 2014 1 Comment
Do you ever hear someone talk about how great our healthcare system is because survival rates for a particular condition have gone up? Of course you have. Here’s one that says that cancer survival rates have doubled over the past 30 years.
This sounds great. We all get excited about this.
BUT…the key question that I have to ask is whether this is tied to better identification of cancer and early screening. If you screen more people and identify them earlier, you will have more survivors that live longer. That’s just a reality. For some people, the disease never will have progressed which is what leads us to this screening dilemma.
You don’t have to believe me. You can read it from H. Gilbert Welch in the NY Times. You can read about this in JAMA.
I got started on this topic based on two things – (1) my reading of Otis Brawley’s book and (2) an article about paleo-oncology.
In the second article, they were looking for evidences of cancer in ancient societies to see what that might teach us about cancer. What I found most interesting was the comment about people believing that cancer was a modern disease attributed to our environment so that it didn’t exist long ago. I can see how all the articles about things leading to cancer could create that perception, but it seems like a big jump to me.
So, for those of you that are in healthcare, this is a great lesson about understanding the measures you use and how they drive actions. For those of you as consumers, this is a good reminder to understand the metrics that are thrown around and question them.
July 8, 2014 0 Comments
Ideally, we’d all get individualized or personalized healthcare, but we’re still years away from that happening. But, there are several basics about segmenting individuals which are relevant. One of them is that men and women are different in how they experience healthcare. Another one is that different plan designs drive different behaviors.
With those in mind, I found an article in the June 2014 Money magazine interesting. It pointed out that while both men and women reduce their use of the emergency room with high-deductible plans that it varies. As you can see from the table below, this is especially relevant for high-severity issues where men dramatically reduce their use of the ER which can lead to significant issues.
You can see a few studies on this topic here:
July 4, 2014 0 Comments
This is a great question…once you know what VUCA means?
VUCA = Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity
In the April 7, 2014 issue of Fortune magazine, they have an article by General George W. Casey Jr (retired) who talks about giving a presentation at UNC about this. From his article, he mentions a few key things:
I think it’s a great framework for start-ups and healthcare in general. We’re in a time of massive change in healthcare. It can lead to people being paralyzed by a lack of a clear future. Leaders need to help their team understand a future vision and give them a clear problem statement to solve. This will help drive action which is critical.
HBR had an article about VUCA also earlier this year with the following graphic:
July 2, 2014 0 Comments
If you’ve never watched a video about Parkour running (aka free running), take a look at this video.
As a runner, I find this very interesting. On the flipside as someone who can’t do a cartwheel, is afraid of heights, and has passed 40, this seems like a great way for me to hurt myself.
But, I find it really interesting that a TV show based on an obstacle course in Japan has really shined a light on this. American Ninja Warrior is a very interesting show about athletes. It’s like the Voice for sports. They share the backstory and then have people compete on very difficult obstacles. You see NFL players, Olympic athletes, trainers, stuntmen, and people from all walks of live. I personally find it a great show to run on the treadmill with. I feel very motivated.
I thought I’d share as this looks like a great type of program for kids to get them into obstacle course running and making exercise fun. I know a lot of gyms around the country have started to offer these programs.
June 29, 2014 1 Comment
Let me start by saying…DON’T read this book if you enjoy having your physician up on a pedestal. It will change your perceptions and skepticism of the system.
DO read this book if you’re frustrated by our US health care system and wonder why we spend so much money without necessarily seeing differences in mortality and outcomes compared to other developed countries.
“Proponents of science as a foundation for health care have not come together to form a grassroots movement, and until this happens, all of us will have to live with a system built on pseudoscience, greed, myths, lies, fraud, and looking the other way. Patients need to learn that more care is not better care, that doctors are not necessarily right, and that some doctors are not even truthful.”
(Quote from the book pg. 27)
Let me start with an abbreviated bio on Dr. Otis Brawley from the American Cancer Society’s website:
Otis W. Brawley, M.D., F.A.C.P., chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, is responsible for promoting the goals of cancer prevention, early detection, and quality treatment through cancer research and education.
Dr. Brawley currently serves as professor of hematology, oncology, medicine and epidemiology at Emory University. From April of 2001 to November of 2007, he was medical director of the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, and deputy director for cancer control at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University. He has also previously served as a member of the Society’s Prostate Cancer Committee, co-chaired the U.S. Surgeon General’s Task Force on Cancer Health Disparities, and filled a variety of capacities at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), most recently serving as assistant director.
Dr. Brawley is a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women. He was formerly a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection and Control Advisory Committee. He served as a member of the Food and Drug Administration Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee and chaired the National Institute of Health Consensus Panel on the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease.
Dr. Brawley is a graduate of University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. He completed his internship at University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case-Western Reserve University, his residency at University Hospital of Cleveland, and his fellowship at the National Cancer Institute.
I would put this book on my must read list for anyone working in healthcare. I have two other books there:
Here are some things I highlighted as I read the book:
“You don’t deviate from the science. You don’t make it up as you are going along. You have to have a reason to give the drugs you are giving. You have to be able to quote literature that supports what you are doing. You have to tell patients the truth.”
“When cure is possible, is it necessary, and when cure is necessary, is it possible?”
“There is the kind of prostate cancer that can be cured, but does not need to be cured; there is the kind of prostate cancer that needs to be cured and cannot be. We all hope there is a kind of prostate cancer that needs to be cured and can be cured.”
Hopefully, you get the point. It’s a quick read with a good mix of studies, patient stories, and the history of cancer with a focus on both historical and current issues that face us in this time of transformation in health care.
Here’s a few more articles about Dr. Brawley and his book:
As a random point of interest, Dr. Brawley uses several references to teachers and his Jesuit education at The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy in Detroit which is where I also went to school and had some of the same teachers. Our school was featured a few years ago as the last Catholic college prep school still in the city.
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Contact me at gvanantwerp @ mac.com.
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