The results suggest a strategy for improving market share: educating pharmacists to help them better understand what sets a brand apart. And because ease-of-use is a key concern, there is a good chance that marketers for a particular brand can improve its position by teaching pharmacists how to use the glucometer—and how to teach patients to use it.

For glucometers, the key issue is driving share. But it is clear that companies can drive compliance by using similar strategies with pharmacists, especially for drugs that involve delivery systems such as inhalables or injectables.

Pharmacists as Marketers

An example: Mystery shoppers have reported that some pharmacy personnel respond to complaints about the price of medications by agreeing—or even by criticizing the manufacturer. To combat behavior like this, companies must ramp up educational efforts not only about the value of the medication, but also about company access programs available to those in need. With this information, the pharmacist—acting as a brand representative—can build good will and possibly help remove one barrier—cost—to improving patient compliance.

At one time, identifying specific patients for additional one-on-one counsel would have been cumbersome. However, new tools are opening untapped avenues for efficient and effective pharma–pharmacist partnerships focused on persistence and compliance.

For example, Web-based, HIPAA-compliant, secure communication tools are becoming more integrated into pharmacists' workday. These electronic means provide one way for pharmaceutical companies and pharmacists to enhance compliance.

Say a specific medication has particularly severe side effects. The pharma company can work with the pharmacist, using Web-based tools or computer software, to automatically flag every new patient filling a prescription for this particular drug. The pharmacists can then implement a call program to encourage patients to continue correct administration, despite the side effects. The same HIPAA-compliant process can work for refills or a multitude of other scenarios to leverage the trust between pharmacists and patients in a way that's beneficial for all parties. A variety of pharmacological studies have found that when pharmacists work with patients in their community, adherence to medication regimens improve.

Health-risk assessments, whether conducted jointly with the pharmacy or sponsored by the pharma company, present another chance for pharmacists to reinforce the importance of consistently taking preventive medications.

Pharmacy-based clinics also offer additional opportunities to leverage the patient–pharmacist relationship. In some cases, the clinics are seasonal, with pharmacists providing flu or pneumonia vaccinations. Other clinics range from asthma screenings to basic primary care services. And many pharmacists are now offering medication therapy management (MTM) to qualifying patients who are enrolled in Medicare Part D. All of these venues facilitate conversations between pharmacists and their patients, providing repeated occasions to reinforce the compliance message.

Enhancing the Conversation

Patients get the most benefit from medications that are taken as directed. Patient compliance increases store traffic and prescription revenue for pharmacies, especially for maintenance and long-term prescription therapies, and it also increases sales for the pharmaceutical companies.

Of course, responsibility to take medications ultimately rests on the patient. But because of the level of respect and trust pharmacists have earned, their interactions and counsel can have a positive effect on an individual's compliance. Savvy pharma marketers will look for opportunities to further enhance the patient–pharmacist conversation.

Mike Mallett is CEO of Corporate Research International. He can be reached at mmallett@corpri.co