Sensitive to charges that prices are too high, drugmakers offer patient assistance programs to help folks gain access to needed meds. But the paperwork can be a pain for docs, which is an issue for drugmakers that want good relations, particularly with high prescribers.
To gauge who's doing a decent job, Market Strategies earlier this year surveyed 500 primary care physicians who evaluated 14 big drugmakers and found that a favorable image can pay dividends - higher prescribing; greater willingness to try new products; interest in making time to read literature or attend programs; and readiness to make time for sales reps or medical liaisons. (Here is an excerpt).
Which drugmaker keeps a doc's time to a minimum? Merck. Which drugmaker's PAP eats up the most time? Schering-Plough. As for flexbility, Merck finished first again, while Sanofi-Aventis pulled up the rear. But when it comes to trust, Pfizer was the winner. The loser? Roche.
2 Comments
Interesting post. I wonder how these results have evolved over the years as PAPs have become more prevalent among consumers. Getting an idea of the true ROI, compared with the costs of the PAPs, would also be helpful. Perhaps that research isn't available yet.
This is great information. There are so many patient assistance programs available, it can be confusing trying to figure out which one will work the best. I found the non-profit patient assistance website (http://patientassistance.com/) to be helpful for the consumer side. I didn't give a lot of thought to how they work on the back end, though.