The Dish on Decision Makers - Pharmaceutical Executive

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The Dish on Decision Makers
Dec 1, 2001
By: Sibyl Shalo
Pharmaceutical Executive

Who calls the shots within pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committees? A recent survey of P&T committee members published in the September issue of Formulary, shows that only a few key players do.

Eighty percent of respondents said that pharmacy/formulary directors in hospital and managed care settings have the most influence in the decision making process, followed by staff/participating physicians, medical directors, and clinical pharmacy specialists, in varying order, depending on the setting.

Although 23 percent of those surveyed deny that nurses on the committee exert any meaningful influence, nurses who were not members were judged to have a moderate impact on decisions because of presentations they make to, and research they conduct for, the committee.

Despite the rise in corporate belt-tightening and employee cost-sharing, more than 90 percent of respondents said employers and benefits managers have virtually no influence on the decision making process. Patients, or, enrollees, were deemed more influential in the managed care setting than they were in hospital and health system settings.


Given those results, how amenable are those key players to visits from pharma sales reps? According to researchers at Scott-Levin, managed care pharmacy executives-defined as the formulary and pharmacy directors or other individuals responsible for drug decision making-are relatively open to pharma detailing. In their study, 52 of 71 HMO, PBM, and PPO executives said they welcome quarterly face-to-face contact from sales reps for routine matters. In fact, 35 percent said they prefer that to any other method of communication. Thirty percent touted the convenience of e-mail, 27 percent liked phone calls, and 4 percent preferred fax and mail.

Pharma companies have taken the data seriously-14 out of the 38 responding to Scott-Levin's survey plan to expand their managed care sales forces.

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About the Author

Sibyl Shalo

Senior Editor

Sibyl Shalo, senior editor, manages the editorial direction and content of Media Mix, Pharmaceutical Executive's marketing and media section. Sibyl's extensive healthcare experience includes writing, editing, media and government relations, medical education, and marketing communications. Her career has taken her from Washington, DC, where she wore many hats at the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, to her hometown of New York, where she worked as a freelance medical writer and media liaison for leading public relations agencies. She held positions at New York University Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center before freelancing with Reuters Health. She made the full-time switch to journalism with Pharmaceutical Executive in September 2000. Articles by Sibyl Shalo

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