The new consumer health advocate: the Pharmacist
90% of people seek help identifying over-the-counter medications (OTCs) that suit their conditions. 80% of people ask pharmacists for counsel regarding which OTCs would best fit with their prescription medications. The pharmacist plays a central, pivotal role in the American health ecosystem, based on these data points from the American Pharmacist Association’s (APhA) Pharmacy Today Over-the-Counter Product survey. In the Today’s perspective introducing the survey details, Dr. Stefanie Ferrari of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy writes, “As more prescription products become available OTC, we need to think about the special populations we see every day and determine if the new
Flipping cancer the bird: can pop culture cure cancer?
70,000 young Americans between 15 and 39 years of age are diagnosed with cancer every year. This population falls in a gap between pediatric and adult cancer. Newly-diagnosed young adults often find themselves in a no-patients’-land, confronting a lack of targeted clinical trials and knowledgeable clinicians in local health markets.The National Cancer Institute says that survival rates for this group of cancer patients haven’t improved in over 30 years.That’s definitely cause to flip cancer the bird, and that’s exactly what the young actor, Zac Efron, has done.Efron is photographed with a young cancer patient, Emily Hobson, to focus on Stupid
Personalized medicine: the consumer lens
Health care delivered in today’s model can be thought of as a mass market product. There’s not much customization, even though to each of us, our health is extremely personal to us. Welcome to the emerging era of personalized medicine: “the right treatment for the right person at the right time.” This is just-in-time, customized, measure-twice-cut-once care bespoke for the individual. Read more about this transformational market in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report, The new science of personalized medicine: Translating the promise into practice. Personalized medicine includes several segments: Personalized medical care, such as telemedicine, health information technology and disease
Americans’ demand for generic drugs is up
4 in 5 Americans would choose generic drugs over brand name drugs, according to The Harris Poll conducted among American adults in December 2008. In Substantial Increase in Public Preference for Generic over Brand Name Drugs, Harris found that the proportion of people who would more often pick branded drugs fell by nearly one-half, from 32% in October 2006 to 19% in December 2008. The 93% of Americans who bought prescription drugs in 2008 increased purchases at discount stores like Wal-Mart, Target and Sam’s Club (owned by Wal-Mart). In October 2006, 13% of Americans bought drugs at these kinds of
Very slow growth forcast for pharma in U.S. in 2009
The U.S. pharmaceutical market is slow-growth for 2009, according to IMS Health. The company forecasts a tiny 1-2% growth rate for the next year. The data point comes from IMS’s annual Global Pharmaceutical and Therapy Forecast. The U.S. market for pharmaceuticals will be worth about $300 bn in 2009. What’s slowing growth prospects for the U.S. are the overall declining macroeconomy, and its impact on visits to physicians and, ultimately, drug sales. Other factors slowing down drug sales in the U.S. are loss of patent protection on former big-name drugs and the influence of payers in drug coverage
Moving up the health care value chain: J&J in health services
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has acquired the online health coaching company, HealthMedia. This will move the health supply company up the health care value chain further into the provision of health services. Nine years ago, I teamed with a Big Pharma on a scenario planning exercise about consumers and health care. One of our scenarios told the future-story of the consolidation/integration of information technology, pharma/life sciences, and health services to benefit consumer health. We now meet up with this future-story, and it’s J&J’s to tell. I’ve written here in Health Populi about Walmart’s move toward pharmacy benefits management and
As prescription drug sales decline, mail order grows
Globally, prescription drug sales grew 6.1% between 2006 and 2007. In the U.S., Rx sales grew 3.8% in the same period. This is the weakest U.S. sales rate for prescription drugs since 1996. These stats come to you from IMSHealth, whose annual U.S. Pharmaceutical Market Performance Review found over a 50% drop in Rx sales growth from the 8% rate reached in 2006. The backstory to what’s slowing drug sales is a good-news/bad-news mix. The flood of many popular blockbuster drugs going off-patent means that generics spending is up. Now, 2 in every 3 prescribed drugs is a
Corporate reputation: pharma, gas and finance tie for the penultimate position
The reputation of the pharma industry continues to lag behind other consumer-facing businesses, based on Harris Interactive’s latest survey into corporate reputations. The 9th annual Reputation Quotient survey is out. Technology is king; other industries, like airlines, consumer products, insurance/financial services, pharmaceutical and retail – have plummeted over the past two years, according to Harris Interactive. Harris points out in its press release that it’s more than profits that consumers rate highly for corporate reputation. It’s a combination of social responsibility, vision, and how employees are treated. This combo can generate trust between a company and its consumers. The Top
Happy Birthday, Viagra
It’s the drug that raised the profile of medicine in popular culture. It’s been hawked by a prominent politician and has been the butt of jokes on late-night TV. It’s Viagra, and it’s turning 10 today. The FDA approved the drug on March 27, 1998. Here is the FDA’s approval page for it. Pfizer‘s Viagra reshaped pharmaceutical marketing in several ways. The company used direct-to-consumer advertising to great effect, and changed the game of DTC by advertising the drug not only in late at night broadcast outlets. More broadly, the marketing of Viagra bolstered the trend of medicalization of
The golden era of generic drugs
This is how IMS recently referred to 2008 and the next phase of the pharmaceutical drug market. I recently posted here a pharma market update on drug prices (up), DTC (working), and generics (“the un-detail”). Here’s the PS for that post, brought to you from IMS, the prominent market research firm focused on pharma. In their latest report on the industry released on March 12, IMS has found that last year’s 3.8% growth rate was the slowest since 1961. Generics are now more prominent in the U.S. health scene than branded pharmaceutical drugs. The total U.S. market for
Wal-Mart’s leading role in health care — now, as PBM
When the health care Oscars are announced in 2010 for top roles, the health care academy won’t know whether to cast Wal-Mart as the lead, supporting, director, or producer in health care. Wal-Mart is the third largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. As #1 on the Fortune 500 list, the retailer’s role as a jumbo employer means it has clout in health care negotiations and in the entire American health system. According to the company’s CEO, the company may enter the pharmacy benefits management business. During the company’s annual “Year Beginning Meeting” last week, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott talked about
A new and improved FDA – for 3 cents more
A strong FDA is crucial for the health of our country. The benefits of a robust, progressive Agency are enormous; the risks of a debilitated, under-performing organizaiton are incalculable. These are the findings of the latest critical analysis of the Subcommittee on Science and Technology prepared for the FDA Science Board, FDA Science and Mission at Risk. FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach requested a hard look at the FDA one year ago, and this report is the sobering culmination of that effort. The Subcommittee included leading members of the scientific community familiar with emerging science, the external marketplace, and the
Colds, kids and labels
Over-the-counter medicines (OTC meds) don’t cure colds in kids. The FDA has spoken, and said that the kinds of kid-targeted medicines photographed on the right aren’t only useless — they can be dangerous. The offending incredients are dextromethorphan, used in cough suppressants; pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine, used in decongestants; guaifenesin, an expectorant; and, brompheniramine, chlorpheniramine maleate, or diphenhydramine, used in OTC meds labelled as antihistamines. If ever there was a time for a parent to get into label-reading, it’s now. The good news is that more of us are reading labels, according to the Hartman Group, the food and wellness research
I was invited to be a Judge for the upcoming CES 2025 Innovation Awards in the category of digital health and connected fitness. So grateful to be part of this annual effort to identify the best in consumer-facing health solutions for self-care, condition management, and family well-being. Thank you, CTA!
Thank you Team Roche for inviting me to brainstorm patients as health citizens, consumers, payers, and voters in the Healthcare Transformers series.
For the past 15 years, the annual CES conference in Las Vegas has been my go-to meeting for updating my research and network in digital health and consumer-facing electronics that people find meaningful for their well-being, families, and home lives. I'll be back in Vegas in January for a full week of Media Days, one-on-one meetings, and speaking about my perspectives on health consumers.