Certain healthcare industry middlemen including pharmacy benefit managers, drug wholesalers and insurers will get squeezed out if they don’t adapt and reaffirm their value, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Intermediaries like PBMs that work for payers to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies on the price of their products have been targeted for their role in huge price hikes that have plagued the industry.
These middlemen should increase price transparency, deliver better pharmaceutical and clinical data to boost patient care, and diversify their business lines to secure their place in the industry, PwC’s Health Research Institute said in its annual report issued Tuesday.
Providers must expand beyond their sector or get left behind. They will need to form cross-sector relationships to share data and deliver more integrated care models to survive, the report said.
“Most PBMs and distributors don’t play a specific role in the healthcare ecosystem—some share infrastructure and have an interest in data they could use,” he said. “Unless they use (their role) toward driving wellness through care delivery, finance care or provide new diagnostic tools, they will get squeezed out.”
Tyrone’s comment: Excellent advice for all PBMs to heed including TransparentRx.
