Drug Channels Recommends: “Uncontrolled Spread” by Scott Gottlieb

Looking for a thoughtful and timely stocking stuffer?

I suggest Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic, by Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (Amazon link)

This book provides a comprehensive, well-written chronicle of the COVID-19 pandemic (as of mid-2021). Dr. Gottlieb documents—with great specificity—how and why our government’s public health infrastructure failed us during the pandemic. He also offers valuable recommendations for better planning.

Read on for my review of this fascinating and important book, along with notable highlights from the text.

Please join me for my upcoming live video webinar, Drug Channels Outlook 2022, on December 17, 2021, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET. Click here to learn more and register for this event.

U.S. Prescription Trends: 2020 Review and 2021 Outlook (video)

Below is a brief excerpt from my recent Drug Channels Outlook 2021 video webinar. I discuss:

• How COVID-19 affected the retail and mail prescription market during 2020

• What’s ahead for prescription market

This five minute video provides you with a quick and engaging review of a year that many of us would like to forget. You can purchase a replay of the full 75-minute event, which covered many other topics.

You can also sign up for my new Drug Channels 2021 Quarterly Video Webinar Series, which includes four video webinars during 2021 (including my Outlook 2022 webinar on December 17, 2021). Let's hope this year kicks off the roaring '20s!

Six Crucial Trends Facing U.S. Drug Wholesalers

During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every aspect of the pharmaceutical channel—and our lives. Pharmacy and healthcare provider markets experienced unprecedented volatility. If all goes well, 2021 will begin our return to normalcy, as vaccines roll out across the country.

This year has demonstrated the underlying resilience of U.S. distribution channels for prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical wholesalers have maintained shipments and operational capacity. They are now poised to play a vital role in distributing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics as they become available. However, there are substantial uncertainties about the timing and level of financial impact on wholesalers’ economics.

Below, I highlight six trends that will affect the U.S. drug wholesaling industry. I hope you enjoy this summary as we look toward the new year.

Drug Channels News Roundup, September 2020: FQHCs and 340B, Drug Prices, CVS Health’s Zinc, Telehealth, All-Time Greatest Songs, and 10K on Twitter

Autumn is here! We’ve been squirrelling away these acorns from the mighty Drug Channels oaks:

• I agree. FQHCs are not the problem in 340B.

• Brand-name drug prices keep on dropping

• It’s official: CVS Health’s Zinc GPO actually exists!

• Telehealth takes a dive

Plus, vote for your 10 favorite songs of all time!

P.S. This month, @DrugChannels exceeded 10,000 followers on Twitter. Thank you to everyone who follows my curated links to neat stuff! Click here to join the crowd.

You can also join my 12.3K followers on LinkedIn.

Five Surprising Facts About COVID-19 Prescription Trends for Retail and Mail Pharmacies

Somehow, we are nearly two-thirds of the way through 2020. It’s time to explore what’s been happening within the U.S. prescription market and its dispensing channels.

Below, I highlight five data-based observations about the prescription trends we’ve seen so far this year. Our findings span the unexpected resilience of retail pharmacies and a troubling drop in new prescription activity.

I also offer a fresh perspective on recent mail controversies and the abundance of nonsensical statistics in recent news stories. Links to sources appear at the bottom of this article.

While reviewing the data below, please recall our Drug Channels philosophy, courtesy of the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan: "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

Four Unexpected Ways that the COVID-19 Medicaid Boom Will Affect PBM and Pharmacy Profits (rerun)

This week (Monday through Thursday), I’m rerunning some popular posts. Click here to see the original post and comments from April 2020.

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The U.S. economy is in a medically-induced coma. Unemployment is soaring. Companies are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. It is unclear when our lives will return to their pre-pandemic state.

One thing seems apparent: As people lose jobs and health insurance, Medicaid enrollment will jump, perhaps by as much as 20% to 30%. This will have profound implications for the drug channel.

Today, I focus on how this increase will affect retail pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Below, I review Medicaid enrollment trends, how states manage prescriptions, and the factors driving the coming boom in Medicaid enrollment.

As I explain, many (but not all) retail pharmacies will benefit from Medicaid growth. PBMs, however, will not fare as well. Read on and see if you agree.

Drug Channels News Roundup, May 2020: COVID-19 and Formularies, Retail-to-Mail Trends, ABC on Biosimilars, and Social Distancing the CVS Way

FWIW: Summer is finally here. Before you venture outside for your lockdown barbeque, check out these noteworthy items off the Drug Channels grill:

• Payers predict how COVID-19 will affect formularies

• Our analysis of the 2020 retail-to-mail shift

• AmerisourceBergen profiles biosimilars

Plus, CVS pharmacy offers a clever way to measure appropriate social distancing.

P.S. Join the nearly 9,400 followers of my curated links to neat stuff at @DrugChannels on Twitter. My recent tweets have highlighted: hospital profits, drug spending, prior authorization at specialty pharmacies, legal issues for drug importation, private equity funding for a start-up PBM, physicians vs. PBMs, trends in Google Trends, and more. I continue to tweet under-the-radar stories about how the coronavirus is affecting drug channels and healthcare spending.

Drug Channels News Roundup, April 2020: Drug Pricing Outlook, COVID-19 Data Tracker, Community Oncology Clinics, and My Favorite Chart of 2020

Rumor has it that Spring has finally reached our worldwide headquarters here in beautiful downtown Philadelphia. (See photo at right.) While we wait to go outside, please enjoy this month’s selection of noteworthy news:

• The outlook for drug prices

• A outstanding (and free!) resource for tracking COVID-19 daily data

• What’s up with community oncology practices?

Plus, I share my favorite chart of 2020 (so far).

P.S. Join the more than 9,200 followers of my curated links to neat stuff at @DrugChannels on Twitter. My recent tweets have highlighted: Prime Therapeutics new gene therapy offering, AmerisourceBergen’s laudable deal with the Justice Department, the Costco/Instacart deal, Rite Aid’s new CEO, clinical trial trends, vaccine pricing, and much more! I have also been tweeting under-the-radar stories about how the coronavirus is affecting drug channels.

Three Early Signs That COVID-19 Could Disrupt the Buy-and-Bill Channel

Will home infusion growth be a long-overdue correction for the buy -and-bill channel or a temporary blip that will soon vanish?

For some time, I have been tracking the evolution of the buy-and-bill system for provider-administered drugs. The data have shown that hospital outpatient departments have been displacing physician offices. Amid this shift, home infusion providers have accounted for a minority of commercial medical benefit spending and a tiny share of Medicare Part B spending.

However, the coronavirus pandemic is triggering new growth in home infusion for buy-and-bill products. Below, I highlight the early signs of a marketplace change. I believe that some of these short-term shifts in the buy-and-bill market will persist even after we have recovered from COVID-19. They may even slow the runaway growth of the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

If not, then I suppose we'll just keep living in a world with limited home infusion over and over.

Four Unexpected Ways that the COVID-19 Medicaid Boom Will Affect PBM and Pharmacy Profits

The U.S. economy is in a medically-induced coma. Unemployment is soaring. Companies are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. It is unclear when our lives will return to their pre-pandemic state.

One thing seems apparent: As people lose jobs and health insurance, Medicaid enrollment will jump, perhaps by as much as 20% to 30%. This will have profound implications for the drug channel.

Today, I focus on how this increase will affect retail pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Below, I review Medicaid enrollment trends, how states manage prescriptions, and the factors driving the coming boom in Medicaid enrollment.

As I explain, many (but not all) retail pharmacies will benefit from Medicaid growth. PBMs, however, will not fare as well. Read on and see if you agree.

The Latest CMS Outlook for Drug Spending—And How COVID-19 Will Change It

ICYMI, the boffins at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released their new projections for U.S. National Health Expenditures (NHE). Unfortunately, the coronavirus almost immediately made these predictions obsolete.

It’s still useful to analyze these forecasts for a pre-pandemic examination of U.S. healthcare spending. A few highlights of the 2024 outlook:

• Total U.S. spending on healthcare was projected to grow, from $3.6 trillion in 2018 to $5.0 trillion in 2024.

• Spending on hospitals and professional services was expected to grow by a combined $800 billion—more than 60% of CMS’s projected $1.4 trillion increase in U.S. healthcare spending. That’s consistent with historical trends.

• Net spending on outpatient prescription drugs in 2024 was projected to shrink to less than 9% of total U.S. spending. That would be its lowest level since 2000.

As usual, the actual facts run counter to the popular narrative that drug spending is skyrocketing relative to any other aspect of U.S. healthcare. Of course, the coronavirus will alter these projections. Below, I speculate how COVID-19 and its aftermath will affect healthcare and prescription drug spending.

Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future. Feel free to add your own outlook in the comment section below.

Coronavirus Industry Impact Survey: Winners and Losers (Part 3)

Today is the final installment of our three-part investigation into the coronavirus’ ultimate impact on the drug channel.

Below, I examine expectations about how the coronavirus will affect the public’s perception of various industry participants. We explore what our survey respondents said about:

• Pharmacies
• Pharmaceutical manufacturers
• Hospitals
• Wholesalers
• Pharmacy benefit managers and plan sponsors
• Insurance companies.

In these early stages of this crisis, my crystal ball is as cloudy as yours. Let’s hope that the country will stabilize within a few months. I may then rerun the survey to determine how (if at all) everyone’s perspective has changed.

Coronavirus Industry Impact: Manufacturers, Public Policy, and Payers (Part 2)

Today’s post is the second in our three-part investigation of the ultimate impact of the coronavirus on the drug channel. Here is a link to the first part of our survey analysis: Coronavirus Industry Impact: Patients, Pharmacies, and Wholesalers (Part 1). That article includes details about the methodology and respondents.

Today, I review how people in the industry think coronavirus will affect:

• Federal drug pricing legislation

• FDA new drug approvals

• Public support for single-payer health insurance

• Third-party payment for prescription drugs

I also highlight survey respondents’ comments on whether the current situation will bring overseas pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the United States.

Tomorrow, I’ll examine survey responses that address how the coronavirus may affect the public’s perception of the industry’s participants. In the meantime, remember that every day is no pants day when you work from home.

Coronavirus Industry Impact: Patients, Pharmacies, and Wholesalers (Part 1)

I hope you are staying healthy and are managing to navigate your work-at-home mandates.

Last week, I tapped the collective insights of the Drug Channels’ audience. Nearly 700 readers shared their perspectives and projections for how the coronavirus pandemic could ultimately affect behavior, policy, and industry structure. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond.

I will share the results over three articles this week:

• Today, in Part 1, I will review the responses relating to patient behavior, pharmacies, and wholesalers. 
• In Part 2 (tomorrow), I’ll focus on expectations for pharmaceutical manufacturers and third-party payment. 
• In Part 3 (Thursday), I’ll examine how the coronavirus may affect the public perception of the industry’s participants.

P.S. A special shout out to the respondent who hoped that the coronavirus would not impact the quality of Drug Channels memes. Never fear, dear readers: Drug Channels will remain the internet’s top destination for pharmaceutical-related humor!