Understanding IDNs and What They Mean to the Pharmaceutical Industry–Q&A with Greg Skalicky

Integrated Delivery Networks have impacted everything from drug launches to sales approaches.

Integrated Delivery Networks have changed the healthcare landscape over the past decade. Greg Skalicky, President at EVERSANA, spoke with Pharmaceutical Executive about the ways that commercialization teams are working with these networks to bring drugs to markets.

Pharmaceutical Executive: How are IDNs being utilized by the pharmaceutical industry?
Greg Skalicky: Integrated Delivery Networks, or IDNs, have risen in popularity across the healthcare landscape in recent years. According to data, 70% of all physicians in the US are employed by an IDN – meaning a hospital, a system or other corporate entity. This wasn’t the case a decade ago, when less than half of clinicians had the same employment agreements. The growth of IDNs means pharmaceutical companies must have strategies to reach physicians in these groups to encourage them to know about and prescribe their medications while also having strong knowledge of the buyers and other influencers.

Ten years ago, if you were bringing a new drug to market, you could have a sales rep visit a physician, educate he or she on the benefit of the drug, and the doctor could then decide to prescribe the therapy. That’s all changed with IDNs. Clinicians have fewer available hours in a day. They also, in many instances, may not have the buying power.

That said, if a sales representative, for example, has strong relationships with a clinician inside an IDN and that clinician has influence, the representative may have the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the clinician to encourage his or her IDN to add the new therapy to formulary recommendations. This could dramatically increase access and help patients and is why a customized, IDN engagement strategy is critical for pharma to understand.

Read more of this article from PharmaExec.com

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