2017 U.S. Trends in Aggregate Spend, Disclosure and Transparency

IQVIA White Paper

Results from our 8th annual survey

In our eighth year of publishing these survey results, which identifies trends in the compliance landscape, we have learned how life sciences companies continue to evolve their compliance programs to adapt to increased regulatory requirements and toward a proactive approach to compliance risk management. When we began our survey in 2009, there were only a handful of U.S. states that required disclosure of certain healthcare professional and organization (HCP/O) transfers of value. Today, the disclosure requirements by law and industry code have expanded across the globe with new countries being added to the growing list each year. In addition, the need for companies to protect against anti-bribery and corruption risks continues to increase.

With this year’s survey, we have continued to expand the questions to gain deeper insight into trends and evolving approaches being taken by companies as they implement new processes and systems as part of their compliance and transparency programs.

The survey results, comprised of answers from 89 respondents, touch upon several key trends. First, respondents have indicated increased confidence in their respective company’s ability to report accurately and completely; accordingly, companies have begun dedicating additional time and resources to leveraging the transparency data for business and compliance insights. Second, with the focus shifting away from end reporting, companies have continued to invest in systems and processes that manage “upstream” relationships with healthcare providers and consultants, recognizing that the greater compliance risks center around these relationships than on the reported spend itself. Third, in order to offset increasing investments to comply with emerging transparency requirements outside of the U.S., companies have continued the trend of outsourcing some or all of their existing transparency operations as a way to reduce costs internally.

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