Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - (Page 18)

18 Marketing and Healthcare Policy: Germany March 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe Share of Voice to Share of Care Peter Albiez and Thomas Hennlich look at how changes to German healthcare regulation have created a need for effective go-to-market sales models. lobal pharmaceutical market trends and country-specific changes to healthcare policies are forcing the pharmaceutical industry to reconsider their go-to-market models across Europe. In Germany, a number of specific changes to healthcare related laws on the subject of “cost effectiveness of medicines provision” (AVWG and GKV–WSG) are influencing pricing and prescription decisions by supporting: • the possibility for more flexible pricing contracts and a strengthened position of health insurers for contract negotiations • the implementation of cost-benefit assessments, second opinion requirements and limited reimbursement amounts for medicines • a stronger development and implementation focus for integrated care solutions/structures. The practical implications of these changes range from the general practitioner’s (GP) constrained freedom to prescribe and the increased control of the health insurer on the one side, to new forms of partnerships, such as risk-sharing contracts between insurers and pharmaceutical companies, on the other side.1 These policy changes have a direct impact on the pharmaceutical market environment and the way we, the pharma companies, engage with our customers. In this respect, three key developments concerning our traditional prescriber customer base need to be recognised. 1. We are experiencing continuously rising expectations on the part of the doctors to receive additional value-add from the interaction with our sales representatives, going beyond the pure productbased information and transfer of medical knowledge. 2. We are facing a generally more complicated and restricted level of access, driven by the increased competitiveness amongst pharmaceutical representatives for customer-facing time. Once in front of the customer, we must differentiate ourselves from the competition. 3. There is a growing relevance of other influencing stakeholders for the practice-based doctor’s therapeutic decision process, which requires an increased amount of interaction, collaboration and coordination between all stakeholders for varying professional purposes. G Adding value in the future The management of pharmaceutical sales forces in Germany has to some extent responded to the above challenges. A number of companies are searching for better go-to-market models while developing new product related services. However, the necessary transformation effort is significant, with the key limiting factor lying within the classical sales and marketing approach. We still have very large sales forces focusing on the pure distribution of product related messages and specific product or indication know-how. This approach is governed by our industry’s widely accepted interpretation of the ‘Share of Voice’ key performance indicator (KPI). This indicator ultimately drives the main part of our sales activities to be product details. This only addresses a http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEHealth/ResearchNetworks/EHPGAPRIAL2007/paper3%20Lisac.pdf http://www.ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/pdf/nrp/DE_nrp_en.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008

Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008
Contents
From the Editor
News and Analysis
Brussels Report
Calendar
The Next Wave of Pharma Talent
The New World Order
Share of Voice to Share of Care
Notes on a Meeting
The Malta Story
Motivation Across Borders
The Mix
No GUTs, No Global
Green is Good
Last Word

Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008