April 27, 2011 ·
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Industry Insights from Paul Meade, M.Sc., MPH
By now, just about everyone involved in healthcare has heard about the Sunshine Provision (also known as the Sunshine Act). Starting January 1, 2012, any U.S. drug or device manufacturer that provides compensation to a physician or medical institution for any kind of services rendered will have to report it to the government.
The reporting benchmark is any amount over $10 for any single event. This means that if a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company buys a sandwich for a physician’s lunch and it costs $9.95, it doesn’t have to be reported, but if the physician adds a bottle of water to the sandwich, bringing the total to $11.95, it will need to be reported. Is it really to report sandwiches? Of course not, but it will! It’s really for some of the “big ticket” items, like compensation for conducting clinical studies, consulting on the development of new products, speaking at small meetings to colleagues that are sponsored by a company, etc.
So who pays for collecting, capturing, analyzing, and reporting all this information, and what will all of this monitoring activity cost? Let’s start by determining the number of active physicians in the United States. Well, there’s a problem right off the bat! According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are ... read more »
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$10 American Association of Family Physicians biotechnology Census Bureu compensation consulting cost drug government government database healthcare information JAMA Journal of American Medical ASsociation manage manufacturer medical device medical institution monitoring Paul Meade pay pharmaceutical company physician report reporting sales representative Sunshine Act Sunshine Provision thougth leader WHO World Health Organization
March 30, 2011 ·
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Industry Insights from Paul Meade, M.Sc., MPH
Should doctors be paid by drug companies? Well, I guess that depends on the reason for the payment. If a physician, known for her expertise in a given area, is asked by a pharmaceutical company to determine if a newly discovered drug compound would meet a medical need in healthcare, then the answer is clearly yes. Likewise, if a patient consults with an orthopedic specialist on whether to undergo a surgical procedure to repair a damaged cartilage, that consultation is paid for by the person’s health insurance.
In any profession based on an individual’s expertise—think lawyers, management consultants–a person’s informed opinion usually commands some form of payment. Also, the level of expertise generally dictates the level of compensation. So why is it that when a physician gives advice to a patient, or even a group of patients during a patient advocacy lecture, we all feel compensation is fair and just, but when that same person provides his or her expertise to a pharmaceutical company seeking to make a decision on whether to continue the development of a new drug, many people cry foul? Should pharmaceutical companies be forbidden to seek out and pay for the expertise and knowledge of physicians?
In order for a new medicine to become available to the general population, regulatory authorities demand ... read more »
TAGS: balance Bias clinical studies compensation doctors drug companies effective expertise healthcare Industry insight influence informed opinion Paul Meade perspective pharmaceutical company physician
March 17, 2010 ·
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New press release out today from the offices of Thought Leader Select!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2010 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) —Thought Leader Select, a company dedicated to delivering solutions for better engagement and more sophisticated deployment of key opinion leaders (KOLs) for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, is proud to announce the commencement of a new project for a top-20 global pharmaceutical company.
Deep profiling has proven to be up to three times more effective than other more traditional methods, such as influence mapping, in matching pharmaceutical companies with the key opinion leaders who exhibit the skills and experiences needed to develop tomorrow’s drug therapies (source: Thought Leader Select internal comparative research).
Upon project delivery, the client company will be able to utilize Thought Leader Select’s customized engagement recommendations, research reporting and a web-based profiling tool to develop world-class clinical investigation teams and high-synergy advisory boards. As the client builds its investigative teams and advisory boards, the skills and experiences of the global KOLs will drive key applications.
In addition to Thought Leader Select’s deep profiling, the firm will provide qualitative research of the key opinion leaders selected by the pharmaceutical company to aid in the development of their neurology product. This study will assess KOL preferences for treating certain neurological symptoms, in ... read more »
TAGS: advisory boards deep-profiling influence mapping clinical trials key opinion leaders medical conferences neurology pharmaceutical company physicians product information qualitative research Thought Leader Select
