Semester Reflection
This semester we have touched base on many topics that relate broadly to the different aspects of the industry that all of us, as Pharm. B students, would be interested in for our future endeavors. The topics we have touched on are the pharmaceutical economy basics, health care professions, the drug discovery process, FDA regulation and approval of drugs and medical devices, drug utilization, physician & pharmacist relationships, and pharmacoeconomics. The sections that most prevailed to me were pharamcoeconomics, drug discovery and its regulation process, and then health care professions and their relations with one another. When it comes to the industry, this class has taught me the essentials of how decisions are made and the factors that go behind it. Much of these decisions are based on "time, cost, and scope" according to what Roland Ortegon said during his lecture. Decisions must be made in a quick manner in order to get products to market for patient consumption as soon as possible but this also must be in terms of cost effectiveness as well as the ability to benefit the largest amount of individuals. When Roland spoke of this, it put much into perspective that connected the clinical and business side. When you look at the industry at a glance or hear of the industry your mind automatically shifts to clinical assumptions, which can be daunting. Having these speakers has proven that there is an equal amount of business decisions and operations that go into this industry then thought.
Pharmacoeconomics was one of the more recent lectures that we have been given but I felt that it resonated most in terms of cost efficiency and how vital it is to the progression of the industry. When it comes to pharamcoeconomics, quality and quantity are very important when you are looking to compare and do cost analyses. When you have a drug or a medical device on the table the you need to ultimately decide if it is going to make it to market, you need to look at the qualitative and quantitative characteristics. This goes back to sophomore year quantitative reasoning class where you begin to learn how to analyze a set of data from a birds eye view. You need to look at how effective the product is compared to what is on the market today. You need to ask questions like is this going to manage a condition, is it going to cure a condition, or is this going to make no effect on the patients life. Then you have to look at the numerical aspect of it, how many potential consumers are there, what is the market share of current competitors, what is the cost consumers are willing to pay, and is this actually going to pay off in the end? When I first thought of this process I assumed that in the stage of the cycle, it was just a matter of checking off a series of boxes and then the drug or device was sent to market on a whim. I was not aware that there is much market and consumer research that has to come into play in order to even start thinking about putting these products to market. This brought up the fact that healthcare resources are extremely scarce so everything must be properly allocated and funded in order to even take the first preliminary step of moving to market. All of this information helped the transition of better understand the drug discovery process.
When I took a drug development course two years ago, I was just barely introduced to clinical trials and there entirety. It was a crash course in order to implant the seed of what the phases mean and the steps taken in order to get a drug approved. Through a multitude of speakers I was able to further understand the quality control that goes into each little step of the process. Every word spoken, number written, measurement taken, has to be documented properly and accounted for. There are different regulatory boards that have to be notified of any mishap or change of mind. I knew there was severity in these areas because there are medical aids that could potential make a patients life better or worse. With this there is overlap between business manufacturing and project management decisions. In both industries there is much attention paid to the consumers wants and needs. In the healthcare field you have to look at the problem from their point of view and figure out what is the end goal of the product an what you have to do to get there. This could mean in terms of packaging, adherence, costs, or ease of administration. A patient is going to want a drug that is easy to take, does not taste bad, acts quick, is not too expensive, and lasts the perfect window of time. This is as if you were looking at an consumer in the business world, you want to design the product so that in every aspect it will appeal to every need of the consumer. On top of this you have to take into account the demographics and geographics of the consumers you are reaching. Patients and consumers in different countries want different products and treatments. This does not mean that the market is too niche, it just means that the drawing board has to take into account all consumers that could reap benefits from the product. I think a lot of what we learned about clinical trials over lapped with the manufacturing and product pitches that occur in any other business. There are always protocol, regulations, and analyses that have to occur but the decisions made to get there are all under the same umbrella.
The last topic that I found as one that will stick is the inter connection of healthcare professions. Each profession has hoops they have to go through in order to get to their ultimate goal. Each profession has their own distinct jobs and assignments that they must be able to perform in order to meet the requirements of their jobs. I think what I learned was how important every person is during a patients journey which relates much to how important each person is during the average consumers journey. Each touch point that they both encounter shapes their journey just a little bit. In the end when they reach their goal of satisfaction or failure they will be able to come back to each other their touch points to quantify how their journey was. I think in a patients journey this is extremely vital. Each nurse, physicians assistant, physician, pharmacist, or surgical doctor made an impact on their life in a good or bad way. They will be able to remember exactly what that change was ans pinpoint it to a specific time. I think this is what brought up the concept of inter-professionalism because the way the healthcare system has been seen in the past has tarnished much of its reputation. Patients complain about the lack of consistency with care throughout all of their providers which ends up hurting the profits of the profession and the industry. This idea of making sure that everyone gets compensated as a team based on the patients outcome, is what drives the industry to pay more attention to detail. This connects to our talk of creating a stronger relationship between pharmacists and physician in order to cut back on medical errors and increase the quality of life of patients. This all brings the idea of leveling the playing field among all that are involved in the drug or business process. Each idea matters and each action has an outcome.
This half of the semester had opened my eyes to a lot of the behind the scenes work that goes on in the industry that I could potentially be a part of. The healthcare industry is so solidified and has made its mark on the world. Without it the system will crumble but without it properly ran than there are detrimental factors that can occur. Learning about all of these factors that must change in order to succeed has given me a stronger knowledge of the game.
Pharmacoeconomics was one of the more recent lectures that we have been given but I felt that it resonated most in terms of cost efficiency and how vital it is to the progression of the industry. When it comes to pharamcoeconomics, quality and quantity are very important when you are looking to compare and do cost analyses. When you have a drug or a medical device on the table the you need to ultimately decide if it is going to make it to market, you need to look at the qualitative and quantitative characteristics. This goes back to sophomore year quantitative reasoning class where you begin to learn how to analyze a set of data from a birds eye view. You need to look at how effective the product is compared to what is on the market today. You need to ask questions like is this going to manage a condition, is it going to cure a condition, or is this going to make no effect on the patients life. Then you have to look at the numerical aspect of it, how many potential consumers are there, what is the market share of current competitors, what is the cost consumers are willing to pay, and is this actually going to pay off in the end? When I first thought of this process I assumed that in the stage of the cycle, it was just a matter of checking off a series of boxes and then the drug or device was sent to market on a whim. I was not aware that there is much market and consumer research that has to come into play in order to even start thinking about putting these products to market. This brought up the fact that healthcare resources are extremely scarce so everything must be properly allocated and funded in order to even take the first preliminary step of moving to market. All of this information helped the transition of better understand the drug discovery process.
When I took a drug development course two years ago, I was just barely introduced to clinical trials and there entirety. It was a crash course in order to implant the seed of what the phases mean and the steps taken in order to get a drug approved. Through a multitude of speakers I was able to further understand the quality control that goes into each little step of the process. Every word spoken, number written, measurement taken, has to be documented properly and accounted for. There are different regulatory boards that have to be notified of any mishap or change of mind. I knew there was severity in these areas because there are medical aids that could potential make a patients life better or worse. With this there is overlap between business manufacturing and project management decisions. In both industries there is much attention paid to the consumers wants and needs. In the healthcare field you have to look at the problem from their point of view and figure out what is the end goal of the product an what you have to do to get there. This could mean in terms of packaging, adherence, costs, or ease of administration. A patient is going to want a drug that is easy to take, does not taste bad, acts quick, is not too expensive, and lasts the perfect window of time. This is as if you were looking at an consumer in the business world, you want to design the product so that in every aspect it will appeal to every need of the consumer. On top of this you have to take into account the demographics and geographics of the consumers you are reaching. Patients and consumers in different countries want different products and treatments. This does not mean that the market is too niche, it just means that the drawing board has to take into account all consumers that could reap benefits from the product. I think a lot of what we learned about clinical trials over lapped with the manufacturing and product pitches that occur in any other business. There are always protocol, regulations, and analyses that have to occur but the decisions made to get there are all under the same umbrella.
The last topic that I found as one that will stick is the inter connection of healthcare professions. Each profession has hoops they have to go through in order to get to their ultimate goal. Each profession has their own distinct jobs and assignments that they must be able to perform in order to meet the requirements of their jobs. I think what I learned was how important every person is during a patients journey which relates much to how important each person is during the average consumers journey. Each touch point that they both encounter shapes their journey just a little bit. In the end when they reach their goal of satisfaction or failure they will be able to come back to each other their touch points to quantify how their journey was. I think in a patients journey this is extremely vital. Each nurse, physicians assistant, physician, pharmacist, or surgical doctor made an impact on their life in a good or bad way. They will be able to remember exactly what that change was ans pinpoint it to a specific time. I think this is what brought up the concept of inter-professionalism because the way the healthcare system has been seen in the past has tarnished much of its reputation. Patients complain about the lack of consistency with care throughout all of their providers which ends up hurting the profits of the profession and the industry. This idea of making sure that everyone gets compensated as a team based on the patients outcome, is what drives the industry to pay more attention to detail. This connects to our talk of creating a stronger relationship between pharmacists and physician in order to cut back on medical errors and increase the quality of life of patients. This all brings the idea of leveling the playing field among all that are involved in the drug or business process. Each idea matters and each action has an outcome.
This half of the semester had opened my eyes to a lot of the behind the scenes work that goes on in the industry that I could potentially be a part of. The healthcare industry is so solidified and has made its mark on the world. Without it the system will crumble but without it properly ran than there are detrimental factors that can occur. Learning about all of these factors that must change in order to succeed has given me a stronger knowledge of the game.
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