SymmetryRx to lead the “Perfecting the Drug Sample Supply Chain” session at the 2023 Sharing Alliance
Drug sampling, from request to patient dispense, is highly regulated, especially to promote patient safety. Visibility into the full supply chain empowers regulatory performance for pharma and health system enterprise executive teams to achieve the highest standards of compliance.
Hal Walsh, CEO of SymmetryRx, will be joined by HCA’s Angela Dyer, PharmD, BCACP (AVP, Pharmacy) discuss opportunities to perfect the drug sample supply chain, including compliance and accountability in the request, dispense, and management processes. By adopting best practices, health systems enable measurability and ensure compliance with state pharmacy boards and Joint Commission accreditation requirements for their owned practices. Technology plays a key role in promoting oversight and superior risk management for executives at the health system enterprise level.
Walsh stated, “I am honored to return to the Sharing ConferenceTM to discuss the role of accountability and compliance in optimizing the drug sample management process. Removing the barriers and risks from the drug sampling process – and improving supply chain efficiency and compliance – is where government, providers, and pharma align because it’s about the patient.”
The Sharing ConferenceTM convenes pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotech compliance professionals annually. Attendees expand their knowledge and gain new perspectives on complying with the federal and state laws that affect their company's commercial operations. Conference topics include, but are not limited to, sample accountability and compliance, commercial operations, and compliance, transparency reporting, fraud and abuse, and data governance. With a specific mission of securing a safe and effective drug supply, the Sharing Conference educates leaders and promotes best practices within the industry.
To attend the session, register for The Sharing ConferenceTM at https://sharingalliance.org/. To learn more about SymmetryRx, visit https://www.symmetryrx.com/.
Recognized by pharma, practitioners, and health systems as the leader in drug sample management technology, SymmetryRx’s platforms enable the key elements of the drug sampling lifecycle, empowering superior patient care. With more than two decades of experience, a solid track record of growth, and partnerships with the largest and most influential players in the market, using 100% digital transactions, SymmetryRx is uniquely positioned at the forefront of the market to develop and deliver transformational technology across the industry.
| Pharma contact |
|---|
| Kimberly Middleton |
| SymmetryRx | Kimberly.middleton@symmetryRx.com |
| (815) 343-0864 |
| Health Systems contact |
|---|
| Dan Barton |
| SymmetryRx | dan.barton@symmetryRx.com |
| (978) 933-1230 |
Live Presentation of Perfecting the Drug Sample Supply Chain at the 2022 Digital Pharma East Conference
Hal Walsh’s live presentation at the 2022 Digital Pharma East conference continues his discussion of Perfecting the Drug Sample Supply Chain from the 2022 Digital Pharma Innovation Week conference.
Perfecting the Drug Sample Supply Chain
Hal Walsh’s Perfecting the Drug Sample Supply Chain presentation from the 2022 Digital Pharma Innovation Week conference.
Remaking the Trial Medication Adherence Space
IQVIA informs us, new prescriptions for chronic therapies were 20% below what they were before 2020 and telemedicine patient encounters have settled at 10%. Accenture informs us, the low point of in-person pharma rep sales calls over the last year was 35%. These three facts point to lower access to trial medication and give strong impetus for remaking the trial medication adherence space. The CDC informs us that medication non-adherence causes up to 125,000 preventable deaths and $100 billion to 300 billion in preventable medical costs each year. Trial medication is a key solution to medication adherence. Pharmaceutical Commerce asked Hal Walsh, CEO of SymmetryRx, to tell us about the latest digital solutions that truly streamline the route from the manufacturer to the hands of patients in today’s high-tech, low-touch world.
Our Dedicated Dialogue podcast on Remaking the Trial Medication Adherence Space for Pharmaceutical Commerce magazine.
IQVIA informs us, new prescriptions for chronic therapies were 20% below what they were before 2020 and telemedicine patient encounters have settled at 10%. Accenture informs us, the low point of in-person pharma rep sales calls over the last year was 35%. These three facts point to lower access to trial medication and give strong impetus for remaking the trial medication adherence space. The CDC informs us that medication non-adherence causes up to 125,000 preventable deaths and $100 billion to 300 billion in preventable medical costs each year. Trial medication is a key solution to medication adherence. Pharmaceutical Commerce asked Hal Walsh, CEO of SymmetryRx, to tell us about the latest digital solutions that truly streamline the route from the manufacturer to the hands of patients in today’s high-tech, low-touch world.
SymmetryRx, the leader in drug sample demand generation for pharmaceutical manufacturers, is launching its next-generation patient trial medication and adherence services solution in Q4 2021. The solution, ActuateRx, is uniquely positioned to enable patient participation in all 50 states. As with its sample demand generation platforms, SymmetryRx has created utilities that benefit all manufacturers, are terrifically economical, and leverage existing contractual and physical infrastructure to accelerate market adoption. ActuateRx is in the pharma manufacturer contracting phase—now.
The program is designed end-to-end to help patients begin and successfully stay on therapy by leveraging technology, integrating services, and delivering proven adherence resources. SymmetryRx’s goal is to help patients remain on prescribed treatments so they can realize the full benefit of the medicine and lead healthier lives.
What you will learn:
How SymmetryRx’s platforms and utilities to support patients receiving trial medication.
The innovative ways SymmetryRx is remaking the trial medication adherence space.
SymmetryRx’s imperative to serve patients and pharmaceutical clients with utilities built to leverage existing digital marketing and logistics infrastructure
The NRx Crisis
Drug sampling is a key driver for familiarizing prescribers with drugs, beginning patient trials and starting patient adherence. Pharma manufacturers have traditionally relied on field representatives to drive the distribution of drug samples to prescribers. Though this tactic is very successful, there has been a shift in prescriber willingness or ability to meet with field reps.
Our thought leadership piece for Pharmaceutical Commerce magazine.
According to IQVIA, new prescriptions for chronic therapies are at 80% of the pre-Covid-19 normal, only recovering with the start of 2021. We are further informed by these statistics:
IQVIA: Approximately 10% of visits to prescribers are telehealth visits.1
SymmetryRx: 39% of telemedicine patients are appropriate to receive drug samples.
Accenture: Pharma reps experienced a low of 35% in-person prescriber meetings during the pandemic.2
Datamonitor: 30% of patients only fill their prescription when they get a drug sample, regardless of age, income, or gender.3
New Sampling Channels Are Needed
Drug sampling is a key driver for familiarizing prescribers with drugs, beginning patient trials and starting patient adherence. Pharma manufacturers have traditionally relied on field representatives to drive the distribution of drug samples to prescribers. Though this tactic is very successful, there has been a shift in prescriber willingness or ability to meet with field reps.
Untangling the Problem
Pharma reps provide critical services to prescribers, including:
Education on proper use, risks, and benefits of medications.
Access to patient resources (educational & financial support).
In-practice drug samples
The pharma representative’s efforts, supported by brand marketing programs, create demand and interest in the brand. Prescribers who use drug samples in their practice of medicine rely on a consistent supply of samples to serve their patients.
The problem is one of reach. Decreased prescriber reach by pharma reps and the increase in patient telemedicine encounters is reducing patient access to drug samples.
Maximizing Prescriber and Patient Reach
SymmetryRx’s prescriber self-serve SampleCenter™ eSample® request platform allows Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA)-compliant sample requests for ship-to-practice and direct-ship-to-patient from the manufacturer’s authorized distributor of record (ADR). The 4th-generation SampleCenter™ offers critical features that enable health systems and large group practices to easily manage sample requests in a PDMA-compliant, fully digital user experience that decreases practice inventory outages and inventory waste at the practice level. Of high importance, SampleCenter™ enables telemedicine patient access to drug samples. Additionally, practices that do not maintain sample inventory can serve all patients through the SampleCenter™ direct-ship-to-patient capability. Learn more.
Medication Adherence: It’s a Big Problem
Prescription medicines are known to be safe and effective when prescribed as indicated and taken as prescribed. As has been well documented, the factors contributing to poor medication adherence include cost, logistics, forgetfulness, patient concordance, and medication side effects. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), these challenges result in approximately 50% of chronic illness patients not taking medications as prescribed.1 The US patient and financial impact is staggering; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites 125,000 preventable deaths and $100 billion to 300 billion in preventable medical costs each year due to non-adherence.2
Our thought leadership piece on medication adherence for Pharmaceutical Executive magazine.
Prescription medicines are known to be safe and effective when prescribed as indicated and taken as prescribed. As has been well documented, the factors contributing to poor medication adherence include cost, logistics, forgetfulness, patient concordance, and medication side effects. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), these challenges result in approximately 50% of chronic illness patients not taking medications as prescribed.1 The US patient and financial impact is staggering; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites 125,000 preventable deaths and $100 billion to 300 billion in preventable medical costs each year due to non-adherence.2
ActuateRx tackles the most persistent problems of patient medication adherence.
ACTUATERX: NEXT GENERATION TRIAL MEDICATION SOLUTION
ActuateRx is a patient-centric, patient-consented trial medication and adherence program. It incorporates the best medication adherence tactics into one robust solution. ActuateRx begins in the ePrescribe workflow after the physician writes the prescription. This begins the patient journey with 30 days of free trial medication. The journey continues by implementing adherence tactics known to work. Ultimately, the patient’s ActuateRx experience culminates with the prescription being transferred to the patient’s pharmacy of choice. By engaging prescribers and patients with this next-generation service, ActuateRx can bend the medication adherence curve closer to the prescriber’s treatment plan.
ABOUT SYMMETRYRX
SymmetryRx, the leader in drug sample demand generation for pharmaceutical manufacturers, is launching its next-generation patient trial medication and adherence services solution in Q4 2021. The solution, ActuateRx, is uniquely positioned to enable patient participation in all 50 states. As with its sample demand generation platforms, SymmetryRx has created utilities that benefit all manufacturers, are terrifically economical, and leverage existing contractual and physical infrastructure to accelerate market adoption. ActuateRx is in the pharma manufacturer contracting phase—now.
The program is designed end-to-end to help patients begin and successfully stay on therapy by leveraging technology, integrating services, and delivering proven adherence resources. SymmetryRx’s goal is to help patients remain on prescribed treatments so they can realize the full benefit of the medicine and lead healthier lives. Learn more.
Direct-Ship-to-Patient Drug Sampling and Telemedicine
The dramatic shift of the care setting to online telemedicine requires a change in how drug samples are delivered: DSTP. SymmetryRx has the answers to get drug samples where needed through a secure and HIPAA-compliant process.
Our thought leadership piece from Pharmaceutical Executive magazine.
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting and fast-tracking advancements in our healthcare system. One notable area of interest is the rise of telemedicine, which has dramatically shifted the perception of care delivery. This increasingly useful way to manage patient encounters also brings to light the possibility of direct-ship-to-patient (DSTP) drug sampling.
If physicians can now prescribe medication via a telemedicine visit, it also makes sense to streamline the care process even further by allowing patients to receive drug samples directly to their door. The FDA is allowing this level of service to patients for a limited time as we continue to face the pandemic. DSTP drug sampling opens the door for streamlining the drug sample supply chain and automating regulatory compliance while supporting higher levels of patient medication adherence.
Once the benefit of DSTP drug sampling is seen during this initial phase, the demand and need for it will continue to grow, creating the real possibility for it to become a permanent offering for patients. Our research shows that before COVID-19, 27% of healthcare providers (HCPs) had some level of daily telemedicine patient encounters. During the pandemic, that number has grown to 85% of HCPs and is expected to be 74% post-COVID-19.
The importance of drug sampling has not changed. Drug samples are widely understood to:
Provide valuable information about patient response to a new therapy.
Increase patient compliance; 30% of patients only fill a new Rx (NRx) when provided a sample, regardless of their age, income, or gender.
Enable patients to initiate treatment sooner.
Increase patient satisfaction with the “care” experience.
Starting treatment sooner and saving patients money were the top benefits of drug sampling reported by 197 prescribers in a recent survey of SymmetryRx’s SampleCenterTM users. That is easy to understand with 40% of Americans reporting prescription cost issues and the understandable patient anxiety that can come with addressing a previously undiagnosed or untreated condition. Learn more.
Prescriber Access to Drug Samples in Virtual Environments
Pharma manufacturers have traditionally relied on field representatives to drive the distribution of drug samples to prescribers. Though this tactic is very successful, there has been a shift in prescriber willingness or ability to meet with field reps. Between seeing patients and meeting modern documentation requirements, doctors are becoming less accessible to pharma reps.
SymmetryRx’s thought leadership piece from Pharmaceutical Commerce magazine.
Pharma manufacturers have traditionally relied on field representatives to drive the distribution of drug samples to prescribers. Though this tactic is very successful, there has been a shift in prescriber willingness or ability to meet with field reps. Between seeing patients and meeting modern documentation requirements, doctors are becoming less accessible to pharma reps.
Covid-19 exacerbates these accessibility issues even more. Prescriber engagement strategies and relationship management tools are among the investments made by pharma to address this crisis. Field sales teams, while a productive part of the marketing strategy, now operate with reduced numbers while focusing on accessible high prescribers. Non-personal access points such as brand and enterprise websites have replaced in-person pharma rep visits for many prescribers. This strategy offers pharma companies a convenient and economically efficient solution for reaching prescribers.
Going to many different websites is a non-starter for prescribers, however, and it shows in the numbers. SymmetryRx has operated drug sample request websites at brand and enterprise levels for many manufacturers while simultaneously giving prescribers sample request access through SampleCenterTM, the only scalable multi-tenant, one-stop sample request site designed for prescribers. SampleCenterTM is a force multiplier and has demonstrated delivering 3x to 28x more sample requests than pharma websites alone. The business rules to achieve the 28x multiplier are well understood by SymmetryRx.
SampleCenterTM is positioned as an “indirect extension of the pharma rep’s reach,” allowing pharma field reps the ability to focus more on their highest skillset as a brand education and patient resource expert. It allows for the natural handoff of managing the sample request transactions for tens of thousands of eligible prescribers to SymmetryRx’s hybrid personal/non-personal sample eligibility promotion model.
This model delivers value in balancing prescriber needs for pharma representative educational services and day-to-day sample request transaction management. It offers quantitative value in the terms you use to make business decisions (i.e., cost reduction, ROI, NPV, IRR, BE, expense-to-revenue). Learn more.