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Laura Joszt, Managing Editor at The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

The British take enormous pride in their National Health Service…Get sick in Britain and you can see a doctor, get a scan or even have surgery for free...Unfortunately the system also depends on tax money that can’t keep pace with an ageing population who need greater care than ever. Its deficit is estimated to be closing in on £1 billion ($1.3 billion)...Many believe technology can make the NHS more efficient, and so it has partnered with private companies...to serve NHS patients at a lower cost, by connecting them with doctors on a video call or even an automated symptom checker...Some worry that such deals spell the slow-and-steady privatization of the NHS and a move (God forbid) towards a system that looks more like that of the United States. But Hancock (Matt Hancock - health secretary) believes these partnerships are necessary if the NHS is going to survive.

Pfizer will raise prices on 41 of its prescription drugs in January after initially putting off those plans this summer amid pressure from President Trump...The drug giant will increase the list price of about 10 percent of its drugs...Most of the increases will be 5 percent…"We believe the best means to address affordability of medicines is to reduce the growing out-of-pocket costs that consumers are facing due to high deductibles and co-insurance, and ensure that patients receive the benefit of rebates at the pharmacy counter," Pfizer's outgoing CEO Ian Read said in a statement...

...UK Government and the European Commission published a draft Brexit withdrawal agreement. Like with every industry, the document has implications for the pharmaceutical industry, including clarification about the lack of disruption to supplies during the transition period and sharing of marketing authorisation information between the UK and EU member states...A key area of debate during the negotiation process was the impact of Brexit on the pharmaceutical industry, particularly the disruption in supply of medicines...The draft agreement stipulates that the transition period will last from 29 March 2019 until 31 December 2020. During this time the UK will continue to abide by all EU rules and remain under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice...The aim of the transition is to provide time for the UK to negotiate its relationship with the EU, particularly in terms of trade deals...the UK will share the “marketing authorisation dossier of a medicinal product” authorised by its Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency with EU member states or the European Medicines Authority...

Nicole Grassano, PTNN, Pharmacy Week in Review, this weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.

The Food and Drug Administration is seeking public comment on a proposed framework for regulating software applications developed by drugmakers for use in conjunction with their prescription drug products...The new approach would treat most prescription drug apps, including dose calculators, symptom trackers and medication reminders, as promotional labeling...drugmakers would need only to submit to the agency copies of the content of what the apps display to consumers, following existing reporting requirements for promotional materials...In other cases, such as when a drugmaker wants to show that software has an effect on a clinical outcome and wants to include information about the software in the FDA-required drug labeling, prior FDA approval would be required...

Amazon is now the third-largest digital ad platform, but pharma marketers are mostly shut out. That’s because most of Amazon’s ads are for products sold by retailers, and of course, prescription drugs can't be purchased that way...as Amazon looks for an Rx entry, it's already launched its own Basic Care OTC medicine lineup. Pharma marketers with OTC brands should be figuring out their own strategies for Amazon...Over-the-counter remedies, which are part of many of Big Pharma's consumer divisions, are burgeoning on Amazon, so much so that Amazon quietly launched its own Basic Care brand line of OTC products last year…There are two typical Amazon advertising choices: sponsored brand ads or sponsored product ads...It's not really an advertising game OTC makers can sit out. Amazon is approaching a 50% market share in U.S. e-commerce sales...

Just as hospital pharmacists moved out of the basement and into direct patient care in the 1980s and 1990s, outpatient pharmacists are moving out from behind the counter and into medical practices...There is a demand for pharmacists from the physician side in ambulatory care...Allegheny Health Network...is putting pharmacists into about 250 different practices that are part of its accountable care organization, a payment model in which the health system receives higher reimbursement if it improves quality and reduces costs…The present model, which is physician-centric, is not getting us to that quadruple aim of better outcomes, lower costs, better patient satisfaction, and improving the work life of our healthcare providers. We are moving to a patient-focused model using team-based care...The pharmacist is not able to bring in direct revenue, but you can see a decrease in 30-day readmissions, a decrease in morbidity, a decrease in ER admissions because you have a pharmacist doing medication management and reconciliation. It is a matter of recognizing that the costs you are saving are different from direct billing...

...Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and health insurer Humana Inc are in preliminary discussions to take equity stakes in each other...Humana said it would partner with Walgreens, with its unit operating senior-focused primary care clinics inside two Walgreens stores in Kansas...The companies are discussing the possibility of expanding that venture, among other options...

Laura Joszt, Managing Editor at The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network..