August 2008

Medicare Part D: A Resounding Success?
Or Abysmal Failure?
By Sue Ramspacher, Senior Vice President, and Lisa Fox, Associate Vice President, GfK Market Measures

We've been living now for almost three full years with the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D). More than 50 percent of the 44 million eligible beneficiaries are currently covered by Part D and each year more seniors elect to participate in the plan. Even before Part D's inception, there was great debate about whether seniors would be advantaged or disadvantaged by its design and the extent of the economic burden that the government would bear. That debate has not subsided and continues - even intensifies - today.

In one camp, there are those who side with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, whose quote appeared in a January 2008 CMS press release: "As we enter the third year, Medicare's prescription drug benefit is proving a resounding success. Enrollment continues to rise, customer satisfaction remains very high, and costs for beneficiaries and taxpayers are considerably lower than original projections." The opposing camp, however, aligns more closely with the Public Citizen Group. That camp would claim that Part D is wrought with confusion, is penalizing those it is intended to help and that beneficiaries and the government are bearing a greater financial burden than if a single payer, VA-type model had been adopted. In sum, they would say Part D is "an abysmal failure."

SAMM-E: The Little Algorithm That Can
By Shiv Raman, M.A., M.B.A., Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Scientist, GfK V2

Meet SAMM-E. No relation to a lonely robot or a little blue engine, the acronym stands for Simplified Assessment of Multiple Market Events. SAMM-E is a synthesis of advanced experimental design and modeling techniques that addresses a growing need to investigate increasingly complex market scenarios. Theoretically, these complex scenarios may be modeled using traditional choice/conjoint designs but only at great cost, both financial and cognitive: large, complex designs require large samples and place an enormous cognitive load on the respondent.

Setting aside financial considerations for the moment, few researchers would argue that increased task complexity does not negatively impact the reliability of data thus collected. At the same time, complexity is an enduring feature of modern markets and wishing it away in the research setting is not a reasonable option. The trick is to simplify the respondent task as much as possible with minimal loss in functionality and analytic rigor. SAMM-E represents one such "trick."


Conducting Revolutionary Marketing Research
in Preparation for Evolutionary Marketing
As recently discussed by Richard Vanderveer, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of the GfK U.S. Healthcare Companies, in a presentation given at the European Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Association's (EphMRA) Annual General Meeting, this month's published document for The Orange Pages encourages marketing researchers to take a more proactive and creative role in the pharmaceutical marketing process - starting now - to prepare for the evolutionary changes that will occur in the industry. According to Dr. Vanderveer, there are several ways practitioners can be more efficient in their work and begin the transition from conducting reactive marketing research to revolutionary marketing research.


Did You Miss the July Issue of Topline?
Click here to read the issue, which includes:

  • Tackling the greatest unsolved problem in marketing research
  • Creatively using patient chart audit data
  • Doctor decision making
  • Data Download research highlights: neurology and rheumatology

    • Topline archive now available. Skim the directory and select articles you missed. Access subscriber opt-in/comment form.

    Physician Gifts, Regulations and
    Common Sense

    It's that time again. Every so often, a new set of guidelines, rules, regulations or commentary appears on the topic of the legality and ethics of our (i.e., the health care industry's) interactions with our health care provider stakeholders, and most especially our interactions with physicians. The most recent entry into this stream is a set of guidelines issued by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) that is scheduled to take effect in January.

    These guidelines are meant to serve as updates to and clarifications of guidelines issued by PhRMA in 2002. This was pointed out to me by a reader who was kind enough to forward the guidelines to me and ask for my commentary on their impact on pharmaceutical marketing and marketing research. I would like to thank this contributor for taking the time and interest to alert/sensitize me to this issuance, and I encourage each of you to forward topics, articles, etc., on which you would like me to hold forth in one of my monthly publications.

    That being said, let me note that there is little doubt someone needs to maintain order in the pharmaceutical industry's interactions with medical professionals, and arguably it is far better for us to police ourselves with voluntary guidelines than to be policed by the federal government, a medical association, etc. I fully applaud the efforts of PhRMA. In this spirit, I truly hope the field these guidelines are designed to regulate will comply with them, and I believe it likely will...


    Richard B. Vanderveer, Ph.D.
    Group Chief Executive Officer
    GfK U.S. Healthcare Companies



    Research Highlights: Antibiotics, Neurology and Dermatology

    Data Download provides highlights of recently released data from GfK Market Measures' Therapeutic Class Studies (TCS). Based on primary market research, TCS provide in-depth analysis of market trends, physician practice patterns and competitive brand positioning.

    This month's selections cover research from studies conducted in the areas of MRSA, fibromyalgia and psoriasis.