McKesson and Physicians Interactive expand their e-coupon partnership

Service connects McKesson industry clients to PI's network of e-prescribing and EHRs

Building on what they call a successful partnership that begin in 2012, McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions (MPRS; Scottsdale, AZ) and Physicians Interactive (Reading, MA) are adding "Coupons on Demand," a proprietary service, to their existing e-coupon relationship. The action expands the types and capabilities of e-coupons to be delivered to prescribers--sometimes at the point of prescribing--in the electronic health-record (EHR) systems now in growing use in doctors' offices. "We are excited to expand our partnership with MPRS to include the Coupons on Demand solution," said Donato Tramuto, CEO and Chairman of PI

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EHR market begins to sort itself out

Pharma industry is invited into some EHRs, excluded from others

Electronic health-record (EHR) systems are becoming a central part of the physicians' everyday work, especially those that are employed by integrated health systems. As such, they become a potentially valuable communications channel for the pharma industry, especially those that are cloud-based and accepting of pharma industry input. But one of the problems (there are others) is the diversity of vendors: estimates range from the mid-400s to over 700 distinct vendors.

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Rumblings about the quality of India-sourced generics get louder

Will American consumers eventually look for a 'Not Made in India' label on their drugs?

A not-too-quiet campaign over the business practices of Indian generics manufacturers and the Indian government's stance on intellectual property is getting louder. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a Washington-based think tank, held a meeting at the Capitol on Feb. 26, showcasing physicians who are

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Deloitte opens ConvergeHealth, an outcomes and analytics service for payers, providers and pharma

Business unit will mine databases from partners to provide value-based pricing consulting, among other services

At this week's HIMSS meeting, a gathering of tens of thousands of healthcare information-technology (HIT) advocates, Deloitte Consulting will take the wraps off the newly activated ConvergeHealth business unit. Deloitte says that is investing $150-200 million in the unit, which already employs 200 data analysts and healthcare experts. Clients will include payers, health systems and healthcare suppliers, including most parts of the life sciences industry. "The explosion of health data from electronic health-record (EHR)

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New PDR Network business unit consolidates pharma spending in EHR communications

4th Channel brings pharma messaging to hundreds of electronic health-record systems

The portion of prescribers now doing work through installed electronic health-record (EHR) systems is now approaching 70%, driven by federal funding (and future penalty) incentives; and they spend the bulk of their working day in the systems. That creates an attractive channel for pharma companies to communicate with them. While some EHR vendors (or their health-system clients) restrict such communications, others depend on it as a way to make the systems more affordable. For several years now, PDR Network has been circling

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Actavis-Forest Labs merger will have a ripple effect among generic manufacturers

$25-billion merger creates a specialty company with a large generic base, and could presage more merger realignments

The No. 1 topic of conversation at this week's Generic Pharmaceutical Assn.'s annual meeting has to be the Actavis-Forest Labs merger, announced on Feb. 18. The $25-billion, cash-and-stock deal will create a Big Pharma force with a market cap over $50 billion and annual revenues of $15 billion, according to press reports. Enthusiasm for the deal was widespread; the stock price of both companies rose after the announcement. And the involvement of activist shareholder Carl Icahn--who stands to

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