Easing Access to Information

Q: Last year, IMS Health merged with Quintiles to become QuintilesIMS. What are the resulting benefits and what new services have been integrated into your portfolio?

A: We inherited clinical research services from Quintiles and today we can offer its clinical studies portfolio for phases II and III and our own for phase IV on observational studies. Thanks to the merger, we have a stronger capacity to offer follow-up services when launching a product. Of course, we are still in the process of completing the merger.

Q: What role does Mexico play in QuintilesIMS’ global strategy?

A: The country has the potential to become a pioneer for clinical research and for launching new products. The world invests around US$162 billion, Latin America captures US$6-8 billion in clinical research and Mexico could attract a bigger slice of that pie. The goal is to make this innovation available to the medical community by integrating it into institutional purchasing.

Q: Which of your areas of operation attract the most focus: information, technology or consulting?

A: Before QuintilesIMS, IMS Health participated in the information segment and later it developed additional businesses, with a consultancy department, technology and design. With all the recent possibilities in information management, the next step is to take advantage of the technology tools that allow us to do analysis and answer more questions about the effectiveness of treatments, disease management and the efficiency of sales force resources.

Q: How does QuintilesIMS approach its solutions to offer added value for its clients?

A: Almost all our projects are tailor-made. We analyze the efficacy and efficiency of the products each laboratory manufactures and the benefit and cost to the customer. We also analyze the product portfolio strategy to understand where the laboratory should filter its resources to achieve a better market result. In addition, we customize research to understand why doctors prescribe a specific drug.

Q: What new product launches is the company planning for 2017?

A: We are launching the Prescription Based Service (PBS), a database of over 45 million prescriptions built by pharmacy chains, our commercial partners. With this system, our laboratory clients can see how they are positioned with doctors, based on the prescriptions those doctors write. They can also see what a doctor prescribes and what each doctor uses for certain diseases. We are also interested in developing a platform to provide doctors with information and we want to do observational studies to see what happens with patients after drugs go to market.

IMS Health also bought a company that provides certifications for clinical and patient services in hospitals. The company uses a series of indicators to evaluate the different services a hospital offers and the institution receives feedback showing where it must improve. We are planning to extend the operations of this new company to Mexico and offer the certification. It will help patients rate hospitals, allow insurance companies to be aware of who they are working with and give hospitals information on areas for improvement. We are also working with COFEPRIS to develop a platform where doctors can receive embargoed news releases.

Q: Digital health trends include digital interventions, data integration and analytics and behavioral health. What are the key innovations in Mexico?

A: In Mexico, we are talking a lot about Big Data. However, we are still in the early stages because to make Big Data work we need solid information, visualization and capture systems. In Mexico, some hospitals should have a system to manage information on chronic diseases that can feed indicators that track the evolution of these conditions. It is important to establish the foundation that will keep the system fed. If we do not have that ready, we could fall behind other countries.