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"Had WebMD not parlayed its market position by acquiring all these old-style companies, WebMD would be exactly where Drkoop.com is today."
- Eric Brown, Forrester Research, quoted in CNET.
Join us at Healthcare Unbound: A Conference & Exhibition on the Convergence of Consumer and Healthcare Technologies. This two-day event will feature Liz Boehm's new forecast for the Healthcare Unbound market.
We look forward to meeting you July 8-9, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Cambridge, Mass.
Drug companies will lose an estimated $3.9 billion in revenue in the US statin market in 2004 due to noncompliance among just those patients who start therapy this year.
In the past year, seniors were a third more likely than the nonelderly to have used a mail service pharmacy to fill prescriptions.
Oxford's members are 24% more likely than United's current membership to earn more than $75,000.
Eric Brown will be speaking at GigaWorld 2004 in Orlando, Fla., May 17-20.
Liz Boehm will deliver a keynote speech at TCBI's Healthcare Unbound conference on July 8, 2004, in Cambridge, Mass.
Medicare Must Overhaul Rx Card Support by Liz Boehm
Justifying Rx Compliance Marketing by Liz Boehm
Medicare Drug Cards' Tough Customers by Lynne Bishop
Oxford Gives United Attractive Consumers by Brad Holmes
X Internet Boosts Medical Device Profits by Navi Radjou
Three Tools For Direct HIPAA Connections by Eric Brown
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CMS Drug Card Comparison Tool Hides Real Value
The Medicare.gov drug card comparison tool will significantly affect the market, as card providers scramble to win Medicare market share and use the site's data to drive down retail prices. But until usability flaws are fixed, seniors will find pricing the best card an onerous task. To prove that seniors can generate meaningful data with this tool, Forrester calculated a senior's total annual cost for a basket of prescriptions associated with elder ailments, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We ranked each card program from lowest to highest total annual cost -- the card fee plus 12 months of meds -- for each of the three conditions. The difference in total annual cost between different drug cards is staggering -- the eighth-ranked card would cost seniors nearly $600 more than the first-ranked card for elder ailment prescriptions.
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Seniors Are Tough Rx Consumers
Seniors are increasingly knowledgeable about and involved in shopping for the lowest price on their prescription medications. Today's seniors are cost-conscious, favor generic alternatives, and know that there are cheaper alternatives to retail pharmacies. To market drug discount cards to these savvy seniors, card vendors should utilize the Net, specifically address the savings they offer, and demonstrate their legitimacy and credibility through partnerships with provider groups and organizations like the AARP.
Statin Noncompliance Will Cost Pharma An Estimated $3.9 Billion This Year
Because Rx noncompliance encompasses a variety of lapses -- from failing to fill the first script to inappropriately taking pills on an empty stomach -- it is difficult to make a financial argument for compliance marketing. But with compliance rates estimated as low as 10%-20% for some conditions, pharma can achieve significant financial gains by keeping existing patients on therapy longer. Even conservative estimates posit that billions of dollars worth of prescribed drugs are never purchased: Statin noncompliance in new patient starts for one year alone cost drug firms $3.9 billion. To make the case for compliance marketing programs, marketing managers should employ break-even analysis at the pilot proposal stage and reserve ROI calculations for choosing a pilot for full-scale deployment.
Oxford Brings Educated And Affluent Members To United
UnitedHealth Group's purchase of Oxford Health Plans will give the healthcare holding company an ideal test market for direct-to-member appeals because Oxford's members are more affluent and better educated -- just the demographic that is most discerning when it comes to Web site improvements, consumer-directed products, and HSA debit cards. For United's new members, plan loyalty will hinge on site usability and strong customer service.
Is your organization a player in the Healthcare Unbound market? We want to hear from you. Drop me a line at bradholmes@forrester.com so we can connect.
Brad Holmes
VP and Research Director, Healthcare & Life Sciences
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