1. The online pharmacy as a mediator
between consumer, pharma and payer
Klaus Gritschneder
2. Company profile Europa Apotheek Venlo
2
• Founded in 2001
• 2009: more than 225 member of staff, thereof more than 50
pharmaceutical employees
• 5.000 patients per day
• Recognized partner of health insurances
• Full product range
• Thereof approx. 10.000 products in stock
• Just-in-time supply every 2 hours
• Approx. 300.000 unit packages per month
• Aside from ordering via internet, phone, fax or mail it is
possible to order from one of the 1.000 PharmaPunkte at the
dm-chemist´s shops
INSEAD Healthcare Alumni Summit 2009 - 08 October 2009, Basel, Switzerland
3. Company profile Medco Health Solutions
3
• One of the largest health care companies
in the US
• US leading pharmacy benefit manager (PBM)
• own clinical research institute
• world‘s largest mail-order pharmacy
• 20.000 employees, among them more than 2.400 pharmacist
and more than 500 nurses
• 60 millionen patients
• Turnover in 2008: approx. 50 billion US$
• More than 100 millionen prescriptions are supplied from the
mail-order pharmacies p.a.
INSEAD Healthcare Alumni Summit 2009 - 08 October 2009, Basel, Switzerland
4. Old pharmacy – New pharmacy
Structural change after 800 years? 4
Reality today:
• Large mail-order pharmacies serve the German market
• Development of new concept (co-operations)
• New players enter the market (chemist‘s shops, retailer)
Do these developments imply a paradigm shift?
Did the market change already?
INSEAD Healthcare Alumni Summit 2009 - 08 October 2009, Basel, Switzerland
5. Market research by Rheingold institute
Conclusion 5
In respect to common/ simple illness‘ the view of the pharmacist
is often seen to be an additional source to the physicians opinion
But:
• The patients liberate themselves from
physicians and pharmacists
• Liberation from dependency and paternalism
• Lack of discretion and the missing of a retreat possibility in the
pharmacies are critizised by patients (especially in rural areas)
• The pricing policy of pharmacies is subject to severe criticism
INSEAD Healthcare Alumni Summit 2009 - 08 October 2009, Basel, Switzerland
6. Market research by Rheingold institute
Conclusion 6
Paradigm shift from the „traditional pharmacy“ to a modern
distribution scheme
• Customer experience with the new system is missing –
therefore partly insecurity at the client‘s end
• Alteration is generally acclaimed and perceived as past due
• Most important: customer/ patient feels being taken seriously
and wants to benefit from the price advantages
INSEAD Healthcare Alumni Summit 2009 - 08 October 2009, Basel, Switzerland
7. Mediator mail order pharmacy
7
mail order pharmacy offers
• more service to patients
patient
- saving money
- secure & convenient delivery
- drug safety & specialty services
• feedback to pharma
pharma pharmacy payer
- in case of recalls for drugs
- requests from patients
• cost reduction to payers
- additional rebates
politics
- over all cost reduction
• a guarantee about areawide,
full assorted supply to politics
INSEAD Healthcare Alumni Summit 2009 - 08 October 2009, Basel, Switzerland