Enabling Healthy Decisions

“Twight” (Twitter Fight) Between $ESRX and $WAG

January 13, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

This is either a massive validation of the perceived value of Twitter or a crazy distraction, but either way, it’s interesting to those of us who study the industry and/or study marketing and communications.

As part of the ongoing dispute between Walgreens and Express Scripts, Twitter has become one of the latest tools. (see June post and September post) In an effort to sway public opinion and thereby pressure Express Scripts and its clients, Walgreens turned to bloggers and Twitter to push their messaging…but these were in some case paid comments which was surprising. They already have strong messaging in their IChooseWalgreens website and whitepapers on the Value of Walgreens. I also thought they were demonstrating some success in converting people to their discount program which was part of their overall growth strategy shared at their shareholders meeting.

After Walgreens (with almost 84,000 followers) created a promoted hashtag of #ILoveWalgreens, Express Scripts (with 1,645 followers) countered back with several Tweets about the dispute (see below). I guess the question is whether with millions affected and decisions made by the businesses and not consumers…does this forum matter? But, journalists and analysts follow them so it’s important to keep the messaging up. (Other articles on this are here, here, and here.)

Conveniently, I found this infographic on how Twitter is changing healthcare. At the same time, this is an interesting fight because it’s a blend of B2C and B2B crossing paths. More to come since I’m sure this fight is long from over.

Books / Articles, Consumerism, Healthcare, Infographic, Leadership, Marketing / Communications, PBM / Pharmacy, Politics, Social Media, Value Propositions

Does Duration Of Team Matter In Business As In Sports?

January 1, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 2 Comments

One thing that I often think about is the amount of change in the teams within rapidly growing companies (e.g., many PBMs). Does this have an effect on internal knowledge, productivity, and therefore success? It’s a great question. With that in mind, I found the infographic below very interesting.

At the same time, I looked back a few years to see how much change there has been in the management teams at each of the largest PBMs (Medco, Express Scripts, and CVS Caremark). [Honestly, it was less change than I had expected, and I didn’t look at average age since I’m not sure that’s a great proxy in business while it may be in sports.]

At Express Scripts, 7 of the 10 people listed on the website have been there that entire time. Most of them in their current roles.
At CVS Caremark, 6 of the 10 people listed on the website have been there that entire time althought there has been more movement across roles.
At Medco, 14 of the 16 people listed on the website have been with Medco that entire time and the two others might have also but their start date wasn’t listed in their bio.

So maybe more change is needed? Certainly with the changes in the market dynamics, there is always a need for bringing in a fresh perspective…at the same time, the PBM industry is complex and continuity given long-term contracts is important.

by visually via

Books / Articles, General Thoughts, Healthcare, Infographic, Leadership, PBM / Pharmacy

Infographic: New Year’s Resolutions

January 1, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

I’m not a big New Year’s Eve fan. I much rather start the new year refreshed and beginning to think about my goals for the next year. While I used to do a very rigorous 1, 3, 5, and 10-year plan every New Year’s Day, I’ve been a little slack lately. I’m going to try to be better this week and at least get some 1 and 5-year personal and professional goals captured.

With that being said, I liked this infographic from visual.ly. It’s relevant if you think in terms of prescription adherence.

exercise, Healthcare, Infographic, Marketing / Communications, Research

Infographic: The State Of Customer Service

December 23, 2011 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

Source: ClickSoftware Field Service Management

Healthcare, Infographic, Methodology

State By State Rankings – Key Healthcare Metrics

December 6, 2011 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

United Health Foundation published their Health Rankings today which offers some great statistics and interactive graphics to see how states compare on things like high cholesterol and diabetes. I pulled a few examples here, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

Books / Articles, Healthcare, Infographic, Managed Care, Marketing / Communications, Methodology, Research

Infographic: Are Pets Good For Your Health?

November 18, 2011 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

As a pet owner, I definitely agree that pets are good for your health. I’ve often wondered why their not “prescribed” more often by physicians.

Infographic was created by eBay Classifieds.

Healthcare, Infographic, Research

Infographic: The United States of Drug Addicts

November 8, 2011 by George Van Antwerp 1 Comment

I’m sure some people will disagree about including alcohol or smoking on here (or maybe even medical marijuana), but I think this provides some interesting statistics especially around the abuse of prescription drugs which is an ongoing problem.

Via: Guide to Criminal Justice Careers

Healthcare, Infographic, PBM / Pharmacy, Research

Infographic: Allergy Myths

October 23, 2011 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

Healthcare, Infographic, Research

Infographic: Word Of Mouth Advertising

October 22, 2011 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

As healthcare moves toward a more retail model, word of mouth advertising becomes more important. This is already true in terms of physician’s influence on prescription use or in some cases distribution location. It’s also important from a Medicare perspective. But, this will continue to increase in importance in the future with health reform.

I also believe that clients will require satisfaction scores as part of their SLAs (service level agreements) in many cases in the future and/or tie bonus dollars to this. Will you be prepared? Do you understand your customers’ satisfaction with you? Do you know how to impact it?

Books / Articles, Consumerism, Healthcare, Infographic, Marketing / Communications, Methodology, Research, Silverlink, Social Media

Infographic: Patient Education

October 9, 2011 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

This is a topic I often bring up in discussing adherence with clients. We have to partner with MDs as a pharmacy community to address this. There are fundamental gaps at the beginning of the process where patients don’t understand their disease or their drug. Without that, it’s hard to believe that taking your medication will make you better or to understand that this is a lifelong process in some cases.