MANAGED CARE 101 PRIMER

Managed care is not what it was meant to be. Even 20 years ago one of the structural engineers of managed care acknowledged a significant discrepancy between the real managed care world and the quality-driven, low cost health care system its inventors had envisioned. However despite its questionable track record, managed care appears to be here to stay, evolving to meet the growing demands of patient advocacy and consolidated provider stakeholders.

From its inception following the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 to today, managed care has transformed healthcare from a not-for-profit service industry to a market-driven competitive landscape in the name of quality and cost management. Now the status quo across all channels, managed care is as much blamed for the uniquely expensive cost of care in the U.S. as it is criticized for its creation of utilization management techniques that could lead to withholding of necessary care. Meanwhile these techniques such as prior authorizations and specialty tiers led to the rapid growth of patient advocacy groups, a new and important stakeholder to consider in any healthcare strategy.

How do you wrap your head around something so entrenched in our healthcare system that even the industry-shaking Affordable Care Act left it largely intact? How do you segment–and leverage–the aspects of managed care that are designed to drive cost, quality, and outcomes? How do you understand–and leverage–the choices patients have regarding seeing specialists or access to treatments?

To understand managed care requires a deep understanding of politics, economics, and social welfare. Luckily we have taken our deep understanding and created research to support your working knowledge of managed care. Our Managed Care 101 Primer will walk you through the critical components of managed care and current examples of where and how it is (and is not) working to drive cost, quality, and outcomes.

To view the full listing of The Brooks Group Primers, go here.

This blog was originally posted at https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2017/06/managed-care-101-primer/

EVOLVING LANDSCAPES: HEALTH PLANS & PBMS

Once seen as allies, more and more health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are in tough PR and even legal battles with each other, as described in our recent blog. It seems every week one is on the tough side of antitrust laws as the other is hurling price gouging accusations.

The industry-wide impact of this and other battles could be seismic.

For starters, there is a strong trend toward value-based contracts as well as both vertical integration and horizontal consolidation. Additionally, some insurers are being left out of prescription coverage altogether by these innovative PBMs that are working with manufacturers to sell to consumers directly. This is a new market-based solution to the problems of high deductible health plans and lack of access to medication.

Understanding these market drivers for change, the structure and distribution of insurance enrollment, and the evolving competitive structure of the drug market are essential for your client facing teams to pivot their strategy with the changing tides of the healthcare industry.

The Brooks Group Primer: Health Plans and Pharmacy Benefit Managers

To gain deep knowledge on these trends and more, access the Brooks Group Primer on Health Plans and PBMs. This resource offers a review of the healthcare structure, the role of each key player, the trends and the market drivers that anyone in strategic roles in the healthcare sector can benefit from.

Learn more at http://thebrooksgrouponline.com/healthcare-primers/ or contact Peter Haines at peter.haines@thebrooksgrouponline.com for more.

This blog was originally posted at https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2017/05/evolving-landscapes-health-plans-pbms/

HOW TODAY’S COMPANIES ARE INVESTING IN LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

By: Peter Haines, Manager, Client Media Marketing

In today’s fast-paced world, top-performing companies are seeking new and alternative ways to facilitate learning and development in the workplace.

With increased pressure to produce high quality work and retain employees, it’s imperative that companies engage employees so that they become critical team members. Investing in your people has short- and long-term advantages for both your organization and your employees.

By offering your employees the ability to learn and grow within the company, they can more effectively do their job. They also can move forward with the confidence that their company values them enough to invest in their future and enhance their skillset.

Similarly, when an organization takes the time to nurture its workforce, it ultimately realizes a competitive advantage, both via employees who are well-trained and knowledgeable, but also via improved performance, increased productivity, and less turnover.

An Effective Learning & Development Program

The key to an effective learning and development program is finding the right provider, who can adapt to your environment and align with your goals to produce the results you need.

As millennials rise up through the workforce, online learning is expected. A younger generation needs training options that appeal to their culture and methods for retaining information. And, as budgets tighten, online learning allows your team to benefit from the material without added travel expenses. At The Brooks Group, we offer industry-leading training programs for client-facing employees across all industries. For today’s busy professionals, we provide on-demand, online training.

We also understand that no two companies are alike, which sounds like an obvious statement, but is an important point when it comes to learning. Actionable information needs to be relevant to your team’s situation – industry, size, clients, etc. While we do offer pre-packaged solutions for companies who don’t require a tailored program, we can also work with you to develop a customized solution that meets your organization’s needs.

And, for those organizations whose company culture necessitates in-person training, we’ve got that covered too. Our Open Enrollment programs are ideal for individuals or small groups and are held at our corporate facility in downtown West Chester, PA. Any of our Open Enrollment offerings can be customized to meet your team’s needs. For groups larger than 12, we also offer customized, off-site training programs.

The easiest way to maintain a productive workforce is by leveraging the #1 resource you have – your team. Empower your employees with the tools and knowledge they need to effectively produce high quality work that has a measurable impact on your organization and implement a learning and development program today.

This blog was originally posted at https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2016/10/how-todays-companies-are-investing-in-learning-development/

HOW TO HANDLE “MORTAL ENEMIES” WHEN PRESENTING

 By: Matt Toresco

Imagine: You are presenting to one of your largest clients or prospects. In attendance is the chief decision maker and his or her associates. It’s going fantastic. You’re addressing all of their needs and pain points, heads are shaking in agreement with what you’re saying, and you feel like you’re winning over the room … except for that one person over in the corner – ladies and gentlemen, meet the “Mortal Enemy.”

The Mortal Enemy is the person who disagrees with everything you propose or discuss, and it can be one of the most frustrating times in the life of any sales person or account manager.

Most people respond to this situation according to Newton’s Law, providing equal but opposite reaction to the Mortal Enemy. If they disagree with you, you wholeheartedly begin battling the Mortal Enemy, hoping to win them over. However, their agenda is to ensure that that does not happen. Ultimately it’s a futile task that leads nowhere.

So then how do we deal with the Mortal Enemy?

At The Brooks Group, we believe in following the LAER Model. The LAER Model – Listen / Acknowledge / Explore / Respond. Here’s how it works in execution:

1. When the Mortal Enemy attempts to throw a roadblock, listen to what they are saying (instead of ignoring them and crafting a comeback).
2. Acknowledge. Show that you understand what has been stated by the Mortal Enemy – but that you do not agree with what has been said.
3. At this point, utilize the rest of the room. As you have been speaking with the audience, you have been reading the room and identifying supporters. Explore the opinions of these supporters with regards to the Mortal Enemy’s roadblock.
4. Once you have elicited feedback from a number of supporters, Respond. Your response is not directly to the Mortal Enemy, but rather a recap of all the supporting statements that have been shared. This ensures that the decision maker has heard their fair share of support for you and you can move on. Again, do not re-engage the Mortal Enemy.

Sounds easy, right? That’s because it is – and that makes it the ideal method for successfully combating Mortal Enemies time and time again.

Intrigued by this approach? In our industry-leading Executive Engagement programs, attendees run through simulations on how to read an audience, and then they practice responding to the Mortal Enemy. Practice makes perfect, and by the time you encounter this situation in an upcoming meeting, you’ll be prepared to respond appropriately.

Learn more about our programs on our website, or reach out to Peter Haines to discuss how our programs can work for you.

This blog was originally posted at https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2016/09/how-to-handle-mortal-enemies-when-presenting/

LEVERAGING PHARMACEUTICAL ECONOMIC OUTCOME DATA

By: Ed Roberts

Currently, pharmaceutical companies must complete four phases to bring a drug to market:

1. Pre-clinical testing (drug discovery)-Non humans
2. Phase 1-Determine safety & dosage on human volunteers
3. Phase 2-Evaluate effectiveness and side effects on human
4. Phase 3-Verify effectiveness & monitor adverse long term use

The third step is critical in the process. Clinical trials determine whether a drug is safe and effective in treating certain illnesses. If not, the FDA will not approve its production. But clinical trials aren’t only of use to the pharmaceutical companies manufacturing the drugs, insurance companies also evaluate the data to determine which drugs to offer on their formularies. In comparing the trial data of competing drugs targeting the same illnesses, they make decisions about which are the most cost-effective, while also providing the most effective form of treatment.

While this data is necessary and useful, what’s missing from this evaluation is a comparison of the value of a drug, which is different than the cost. This type of data requires an economic study that analyzes monetary acquisition cost, the drug’s efficacy, and the direct and indirect health interventions eliminated or required when the drug is administered.

This type of data focuses on humanistic outcomes that save the health system time and money in the long term, such as the number of years added to a patient’s life as a result of the drug, or details on how the drug improved a patient’s overall quality of life and productivity.

In recent years, fueled by the ACA, there has been a push for pharmaceutical economic outcomes data by insurance companies, providers, and patients. Rather than waiting for health insurance providers or consumers to ask for such data, some pharmaceutical companies have begun promoting economic studies via their account management and Health Economics Outcomes teams earlier in the lifecycle of a product. We see these proactive studies taking place especially for drugs that are joining a category with one or more entrenched competitor. The resulting data is invaluable in formulary decision-making and price negotiations with insurance companies.

Leveraging economic data

Of course, once you launch a study and have the data, what do you do with it? That’s where we come in. The fact of the matter is that pharmaceutical account managers need a specific skillset to ensure that they are using this data appropriately and effectively in meeting their objectives.

The Brooks Group specializes in making measurable improvements in the communication skills of those in the healthcare field. We can help you position and understand the customer value of your economic outcome data and:

• Drive Account Management (AM) skills for internal business case creation and presentation to internal teams, as the AM advocates on behalf of their customers to get studies funded and completed.
• Master value-based negotiation for conversations with insurance companies
• Understand and explain relevant financial information to key stakeholders
• Manage stakeholder financial and patient outcome expectations
• Craft messaging around the results of the study

To ensure that these skills are fully developed, we recommend attending one of our training classes. All of these classes are available by request, though we offer many of them on an on-going basis via our public training calendar.

Pharmaceutical Value-Based Negotiating

Participants of this course will learn to apply negotiation skills throughout company and customer interactions as a way to drive business results. Learning objectives include discussing the planning and preparation necessary for negotiations, understanding what motivates people and how that impacts negotiations, considering options/alternatives for negotiations, and determining how to build a value base.

Matrix Team Management and Selling

By the end of this course, participants will be able to identify customers’ business needs in order to effectively sell as a highly integrated team. Throughout the program, we will facilitate team gapping meetings with customers, conduct team solutions presentations with customers, and describe the critical points involved in managing without direct authority.

Executive Level Presence

This program will teach participants how to communicate clearly and concisely while in any situation. This one-day skill enhancement program enables business executives to develop and deliver high-impact presentations that drive their business agenda.

To learn more, contact Peter Haines. Put the work in now to reap the return on investment for your drug.

This blog was originally posted at https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2016/08/leveraging-pharmaceutical-economic-outcome-data/

THE LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT HOLY GRAIL: ATTENTION

 

Authored by: Matt Toresco, VP of Account Management & Business Process Training

Let’s take this into the world of Learning & Development (L&D), where we as L&D professionals are trying to reach Account Managers in their daily interactions with customers. How do we do that in such a crowded content marketplace? Learning & Development is already a constant fight for the attention of our learners, but there are several tips you can keep in mind to ensure that you capture (and keep) the attention of your learners.

Here’s what you need to consider when creating content that will stand out:

WIIFM: “What’s in it for me?” is the question learners are asking, so we have to make sure we make the answer very obvious as early as possible. In today’s busy world, if the value isn’t clear, then no one will stick around for the message. Hook your learners early and help them understand why what you’re providing is vital to their success by answering questions such as:

• Why should I take the time out of my busy day to take this training module?
• How will this training affect my relationships with my key accounts?
• Will this training help to speed up my close cycle?
• Will this training offer me ways to manage my tasks better, freeing up additional time that I can put to good use?

Micro-Learning: I previously wrote about the micro-learning concept here. Micro-learning is paramount in a world where our learners are flooded with content from a variety of sources. If we expect the learner to digest what we need them to know, it must be snackable and take up just 8-10 minutes at a time.

Focused: This relates to both of the previous points. When content is focused, it easily answers WIIFM and maintains brevity. Only focus on what the learner needs to know at that very moment. Whether it’s a new product rollout, new talking points, or a new competitor – only share what they NEED to learn NOW.

Mini-Assessments: Schedule small check-in assessments with your learners. Not only will you feel more informed about your impact on your learners, but your learners will have a better understanding of what they’ve learned and how it benefits them. This will also allow sales management to facilitate follow-up coaching activities to pull through the knowledge and offer any additional assistance.

It’s important to remember that it’s not just about the actual content you’re providing, you also have to consider how you structure and share that content. Ultimately, a learner wants direct value. Make it obvious why your content is valuable, and then structure the content for easier digestion and retention. With this in mind, you’ll have satisfied learners who will walk away with an understanding of exactly what they’ve gained from your training.

The Brooks Group offers customized Learning & Development programs for professionals at all stages of their careers, as well as consulting on e-learning. Our programs can be completed in person or via an online course. You can learn more on our website or contact me directly at matt.toresco@brooksgroupinc.biz.

This blog was originally posted at https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2016/07/the-learning-development-holy-grail-attention/