OREANDA-NEWS. September 15, 2016. McKesson has been named a 2016 Trailblazer Initiative finalist in the Persistence/Adherence Program Category by PM360. McKesson is receiving this recognition for its work with Allergan’s “At Your Service” Glaucoma Support Program.

Since 2009, the PM360 Trailblazer awards recognize outstanding achievement and innovation in healthcare marketing. Each year, nominations are judged by the PM360 Editorial Advisory Board, a distinguished cross-section of industry experts. Winning initiatives are selected for their ability to stand out in the complex, ever-changing healthcare environment, and are judged on their ability to overcome challenges; the skill, innovation and quality of planning and execution; and the effectiveness of the work.

“We received a tremendous amount of entries in each of our Initiative categories, which made the path to be named a finalist more challenging than ever,” says Anna Stashower, CEO and Publisher of PM360. “That just means each of this year’s finalists truly deserve to be recognized for their innovative thinking and outstanding work.”

“At Your Service” Glaucoma Support Program

Allergan, a global eye care leader, wanted to provide its glaucoma patients with a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive adherence support platform, offering a high-touch brand experience with a multi-channel support system. Allergan chose McKesson to help alleviate many of the adherence challenges glaucoma patients face while managing this complex, chronic disease and to help address the increasing administrative burden physicians carry as a result of a growing number of patient challenges.

“We are very proud that the “At Your Service” Glaucoma Patient Support Program demonstrated a significant impact on primary and secondary adherence among glaucoma patients,” said Amanda Rhodes, Director, Client Strategy and Solutions at McKesson. “In addition to leveraging McKesson’s Behavioral Coaching expertise to overcome financial, operational and behavioral challenges, our contact agents were able to help Allergan identify key barriers to adherence via live conversations. Understanding the challenges allowed the brand to optimize the program benefit to be more intuitive to patients. These live conversations are invaluable for brands who want to learn more about their patient population and arm patients with the support they need, when they need it.” 

The “At Your Service” Glaucoma Patient Support Program features an exclusive contact center and incorporates McKesson’s Behavioral Coaching expertise to help impact adherence through “coaching” glaucoma patients taking any of the three Allergan brands. The program leverages two award winning channels:

  • Pharmacy Intervention Program leverages pharmacists’ strong patient relationships to provide at the counter coaching for Allergan’s glaucoma patients at both their first and second fills—sharing approved behavioral messages reinforcing the importance of therapy.
  • Behavioral Call Campaign supports Allergan’s glaucoma patients who have enrolled into Allergan’s co-pay savings program, also administered by McKesson, but who have not yet used the card at the pharmacy. McKesson’s Patient Support Representatives call these patients to offer support and to uncover the barriers to taking their medication as prescribed. Patients also receive a follow-up email if McKesson was unable to contact them via phone.

The “At Your Service” Program is highly successful in supporting patients in filling their first prescription, as well as persistency, providing Allergan with a strong return on its investment.

  • Thirty-eight percent of patients successfully reached through the Behavioral Call Campaign filled their first prescription, compared with only 18% of patients who were not reached.
  • The Pharmacy Intervention Program also showed strong results with a 33% increase in adherence between patients who received coaching by network pharmacists, and the propensity-matched control group who did not receive coaching.

About PM360

PM360 is the premier source for information that product managers and pharma marketing professionals need to succeed in the complex, ever-changing healthcare environment. PM360 offers invaluable perspective on important industry issues through a full-circle combination of how-to information and thoughtful career insights. The PM360 Trailblazer Awards span six categories, including Company of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Marketer of the Year, Marketing Team, Brand Champion Awards, and Initiative Awards.

About McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 5th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. McKesson’s patient solutions are located within the McKesson Specialty Health division. At McKesson Specialty Health, the patient is at the center of everything we do. From clinical trials to channel access to commercialization strategies, we offer pharmaceutical manufacturers the support and expertise necessary to successfully deliver the right drug to the right patient at the right time. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com/manufacturers/commercial-services.