AMCP eDossier system helps evaluate product value and aids in formulary decision making

Key Points

Since announcing the launch of the first centralized electronic dossier system for formulary decision makers in October, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) and software partner Dymaxium Healthcare Innovations, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, say that the AMCP eDossier System is catching on among decision makers and drug companies alike.

Commenting on the e-tool, AMCP's Executive Director, Judith Cahill, told Formulary, "We believe the AMCP e Dossier System is the next evolutionary step in the formulary decision-making process.

"For healthcare decision makers, it provides the opportunity to more efficiently evaluate critical information needed to determine product value," she said.

Formulary Clinical Editor David Calabrese, RPh, MHP, who is chief clinical officer of MedMetrics Health Partners, Worcester, Mass., added that the system "offers the potential to vastly streamline the clinical review work for our pharmacists involved in P&T [pharmacy and therapeutics] drug monograph development."

INDUSTRY LOGGING ON

Since starting the pilot program in January, more than 250 users have subscribed to the system, representing a wide swath of healthcare plans across the United States, said Bridget Olson, PharmD, MS, who is a Dymaxium vice president.

While the majority of registered users are currently from managed care organizations, AMCP and Dymaxium continue to reach out to decision makers from other clinical settings, including hospitals, according to Dr Olson.

In addition, 60 product dossiers from a variety of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have signed on to the pilot program, which is said to conclude at the end of this month.

FROM BINDERS TO HYPERLINKS

The AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions is a guidance tool that was originally developed in 2000 to standardize the way data is presented by manufacturers to formulary and health plan decision makers, Dr Olson said.

She noted that "prior to the availability of the eDossier, product dossiers were provided in a binder or in a PDF format, so formulary decision makers often had to sift through several hundred pages of data to find the information they were looking for."

Now, decision makers can locate the information by using an interactive table of contents, and hyperlinks to critical data such as peer review articles and adverse events.

"Formulary decision makers can also pull out information and copy it on to an electronic notepad, so they can present information to their pharmacy and therapeutics committees in a fraction of the time it used to take," Dr Olson told Formulary.

Another feature, called the eRequest Tool, lets decision makers generate a detailed request letter to a manufacturer for a drug they're interested in receiving information about.

"Manufacturers need only provide an e-mail address for their medical information to be included in the system's eRequest Tool," Dr Olson said.

DISCOUNTS THROUGH YEAR-END

Starting next year, manufacturers will have to pay a subscription fee of $20,000 annually per product. Until December 31, those who sign on will receive a 25% discount. Healthcare decision makers register at no cost.

Drug makers using the system must adhere to FDA rules, which forbid them from soliciting potential buyers, so that formulary decision makers initiate all requests for e-dossiers.

To see a demonstration of the system, visit http://www.amcp.edossiers.com/ and either view the Virtual Presentation or request access to a live demo.