CBI Scene Blog

A stop watch starts the second a patient receives their diagnosis, counting away until the appropriate therapy has been provided to the patient. In today’s healthcare environment, that stop watch would continue for 1,209,600 seconds, or roughly 14 days.

As the industry continues to dig into the Department of Justice (DOJ)/Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) FCPA guidance, A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, released this past November, Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Medical Device are met with the confirmation that they operate in a high-risk environment. Unfortunately, this means that professionals in compliance, internal audit and legal functions are left to comb through the guidance in detail and reassess their anti-bribery and anti-corruption (ABAC) practices.

In April 2013, senior-level executives from bio/pharmaceutical and medical device companies across the globe gathered in Brussels to discuss the latest regulations and processes for transparency reporting of HCP spend. Compliance and business professionals shared experiences, strategies and knowledge on how the landscape has evolved and in turn, how the industry is reacting. As information spreads and the industry becomes more informed about the regulations, focus turns to process implementation and business leverage. While the compliance function has been the driver behind these conversations, teams are becoming increasingly cross-functional as entire organizations begin to see the necessity for and the value of transparent financial industry relationships. Here are some of the key takeaways from the 3rd Global Transparency Reporting Congress:

A recall event is an opportunity to strengthen or irreparably harm your brand reputation. It's a high stakes situation that when handled effectively, not only ensures the safety and wellbeing of customers, but also highlights a company’s commitment to high safety standards and efficient recall practices. Many recall events are voluntary when evidence of a safety issue or product defect is detected. Companies are tasked with recalling all affected or potentially affected products, which to the unprepared company can be a daunting task. What many companies don't understand is that it's not “if” a recall event will occur, but “when.” With this understanding, it becomes apparent how critical it is for companies to have a recall plan in place. Prevention is key, but in the event of a recall, a company that puts forth its full effort can avoid the irreparable reputation damage that follows a poorly handled recall.

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with Steven Moore, Senior Director of Business Development, GP Geek Expert at Compliance Implementation Services (CIS). Not only did he share his insights on the current Medicaid environment but also his journey as a road warrior. Here's what he had to say…

The EMA recently announced one of the biggest developments around public disclosure and sharing of clinical trials data; the regulatory body set a mandate that companies must publish their clinical trials raw data for public access starting January 1, 2014. Journals will no longer publish the results of clinical trials unless drug companies agree to provide raw study data (not just summary data) on request to third party researchers/investigators.

LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter--People the world over have been bitten by the social media bug. No matter where you go, it's a guarantee that you'll run into someone who has their head down typing away on their smart phone, and more times than not that person is checking updates on one of the many networking sites currently taking over cyberspace.

Purchasing a mobile app can be a new and intimidating move for any organization. Whether you outsource or build your app in-house, you know the endless benefits it will not only bring you with respect to savings and organization, but your attendees as well. Getting them to adopt the event app and interact can be more challenging if you’re unprepared. Depending on what type of app you’ve chosen you can design various strategies into your mobile management plan to ensure you are taking every step possible to make the most of your investment. You also want to confirm that your app will have analytics (Tip #1) to measure not only the engagement rates, demographics, devices, etc. but with the most detailed reporting you can further improve future events. Learn what you could do better, what was most popular, who to target, and much more.

Is revolutionary change on the horizon for the pharmaceutical distribution supply chain?  With the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), pharmaceutical distributors may seek out new supply chain partnerships to alleviate elevated costs incurred by daunting taxes and increased regulations while simultaneously expanding their international reach.