Dewey D. Garner

Use of pharmaceutical manufacturers' value-added services to build customer loyalty

Abstract Maximum difference conjoint analysis is used to determine which value-added services offered by pharmaceutical manufacturers are liked the best (worst) as perceived by hospital pharmacy directors. When pharmacy directors are presented with opportunities to switch biotechnological products, it is possible to assess the relative value of value-added services in maintaining customer loyalty. A manufacturers resources, such as educational programs, product services, and other specialized skills, are valued by hospital pharmacy directors as revealed by their reluctance to switch to a competitors product. Differential effects of hospital size and managerial implications are also discussed.

Effects of a Medicaid program on prescription drug availability and acquisition.

A study was conducted comparing prescription drug utilization by a sample of patients in similar three-month periods before and after enactment of a Medicaid drug program. Prescription audits and personal interviews were used. After necessary adjustments, total utilization was shown to increase from 5.43 prescriptions per patient pre-Medicaid to 9.48 prescriptions post-Medicaid. The number of different drugs used per patient also increased. The average quantity prescribed increased slightly as did the average cost per dose dispensed. Some changes in prescribing habits might be indicated since the nature of program economics make old habits more costly.

Government Regulation and the Believability of Prescription Drug Advertising: An Application of Attribution Theory and Test of Symbolic Impact

An experimental study was undertaken to assess the impact of governmental regulation on the believability of prescription drug advertising. The specific variables investigated were symbolic impact and fair balance. Mock advertisements were developed for four tricyclic antidepressant drugs. Symbolic impact was operationalized by portraying the advertisements as originating from U.S. medical journals (i.e., regulated) or Mexican medical journals (i.e., unregulated). Fair balance was operationally defined as the inclusion of a brief summary in the advertisement. A nonrandom sample of twenty-four physicians saw four advertisements representing the four treatment combinations. On a self-administered questionnaire, they indicated their confidence in the information contained in the advertisement. A two-factor, repeated measures randomized block factorial design was employed in the analysis. The results indicated that the presence of fair balance was significantly associated with higher levels of believability; the symbolic impact factor was non-significantly associated with believability.

The Effects of Acquisition Cost and Budget-Based Compensation on the Attitudes of Pharmacy Directors Toward the Adoption of a Cost-Effective New Drug

SummaryTo test the effect of differences in acquisition cost and budget-based monetary compensation systems on the intent to support the adoption of a cost-effective new drug, over 350 hospital pharmacy directors were asked to indicate their intentions as to the adoption of a cost-effective new thrombolytic agent, presented at 3 different prices.Although the economic savings for the hypothetical product were constant across all price points tested, respondents exposed to the highest price were more likely to resist the adoption of the new agent than those exposed to lower prices (p < 0.001). Respondents whose compensation was contingent on their control of the drug budget indicated a higher likelihood to resist the adoption of the new agent than did those whose salary was not so determined. These findings indicate that significant hurdles, psychological and organisational, still exist for the acceptance and use of pharmacoeconomic information in the hospital setting.

Designing new substance abuse treatment services for a competitive environment

A multivariate analysis of the relationships between service attributes and physician perceptions was conducted as an approach to marketing substance abuse treatment services. The results of this attribute-perception-preference study indicate: the physician(s) on staff attribute makes the greatest contribution to perceived quality and efficiency; easy referralladmission makes the largest contribution to accessibility perceptions; and providing feedback produces the greatest contribution to perceived continuity. The JCAH attribute neither adds to nor subtracts from the perceptions of any of the four perceptual attributes. Other findings indicate that perceived efficiency produces the greatest contribution to overall consumer preference. Quality perceptions make the second largest contribution to overall preference, followed by continuity and accessibility perceptions.