Information Solutions to Provide New Impact on Clinical and Financial Goals Dale Danilewitz, Chief Information Officer Our need for immediate information is met at every turn. Stock tickers and news crawlers bring us the latest updates as they happen. Resources such as Google and Wikipedia return results and answers to our every inquiry within seconds. Smart phones and handheld devices deliver anytime, anywhere access to a virtual world of entertainment, commerce, expert commentary — even turn-by-turn directions. We demand the right data in every facet of our lives. And we demand it now. So why should it be any different in the pharmaceutical industry? Why shouldn’t all involved parties across the pharmaceutical supply chain and throughout the pharmaceutical product life cycle have access to information that can improve company performance and — most importantly — patient care? Richer, Faster, and More Flexible Reporting The benefits to such a reality seem obvious. Using solutions that compile and analyze real-time data about how pharmaceutical products are sold, distributed, administered, and reimbursed, pharmaceutical manufacturers could gain unprecedented market insight. Pharmaceutical companies could learn more about who uses their products, when their products are used, and why their products are selected over competing products. For benchmarking purposes, information like this would vastly help to confirm or refute the feedback a manufacturer receives from its field teams. For regulatory purposes, information in the form of aggregated electronic medical record data would offer updated and verifiable evidence of how a product is being used. On-demand product reporting would allow a manufacturer to make key decisions that impact its product’s success days, or even weeks, earlier than it would have been able to under today’s more traditional system of information gathering and analysis. With manufacturers vying for any differentiator they can find, a solution that offers richer, faster, and more flexible reporting represents a substantial competitive advantage. Downstream Financial Benefits Similar advantages could be realized at hospitals and other healthcare organizations, as well as at physician practices that administer medications on site, such as oncology practices. Information solutions that accurately track inventory against patient treatment data would allow these organizations to gain a greater understanding of their finances in relation to the medications they administer. For example, an oncology practice could compare two clinically equivalent chemotherapy regimens and factor cost of therapy administration into the treatment decision-making process. Especially in smaller physician practices where a sophisticated technology infrastructure may not be present, such information holds the potential to save thousands of dollars without creating any negative impact on patient care. And it’s not only manufacturers and providers that benefit from enhanced access to information. It’s payers. It’s group purchasing organizations. It’s wholesalers and pharmacies. It’s any organization that has a vested interest in how pharmaceutical products are used. The key is creating information solutions that gather enough of the right data and package that data as actionable information. Vendors on the outer edges of the pharmaceutical supply chain simply do not have access to the distribution data to develop solutions that give comprehensive pictures of product movement in a timely manner. At the same time, companies focused solely on product distribution do not have access at the provider level to gather vital data about how products are actually used. The ideal solutions will come from companies that operate at the core of the supply chain, and that have access to all points — from manufacturers all the way to patients. As of today, these solutions only exist in pieces and parts, but more complete offerings will arrive within the next 12 months to 16 months. When they do, it’s all but guaranteed that pharmaceutical manufacturers, physicians, and other key stakeholders will be ready to take advantage of them — immediately. AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group, Frisco, Texas, provides the comprehensive resources needed to effectively launch, market, support, and deliver specialty pharmaceuticals to providers and patients. For more information, visit absg.com. October 2007 VIEW on E-Solutions

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