OBJECTIVES: To compare medical and pharmacy directors’ perceptions of the impact of proactive healthcare economic information (HCEI) and preapproval information exchange (PIE) on their formulary decision making, as well as on what kinds of HCEI and PIE are most important to them.

METHODS: Thirty-nine payers (N = 11 medical directors and 28 pharmacy directors) covering 235,000,000 lives completed a 28-item online survey inquiring about their experiences with proactive communication of HCEI for approved products and PIE.

RESULTS: Compared to medical directors, pharmacy directors reported a greater importance of HCEI and PIE on their formulary decision making (46% vs. 18%), more unmet PIE needs for formulary decision making (46% vs. 27%), and wanted PIE earlier before anticipated FDA approval (6 months vs. 4 months). The only use of HCEI that medical directors endorsed at similar rates as pharmacy directors was to differentiate utilization management criteria between competing therapies (72% vs. 64%). Medical directors clearly preferred medical science liaisons to share manufacturer PIE (80%), whereas pharmacy directors had no strong preference between medical science liaisons and account managers (39% each). However, compared to pharmacy directors, fewer medical directors considered HCEI shared by manufacturer representatives to be very credible (7% vs. 39%).

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that decision makers with different roles vary on their attitudes towards proactive HCEI and PIE. Understanding different stakeholder perspectives relevant to HCEI and PIE may have direct impact on product access and communication strategies, and is extremely important for pharmaceutical companies to consider when proactively communicating product information. Further research may directly explore the reasons why medical directors and pharmacy directors differ on their attitudes towards proactive HCEI and PIE.