PhD Graduate Dr. Narayanan Publishes In Future Medicine Journal
Monarch is happy to announce that recent PhD graduate Dr. Siva Narayanan has been published in the “Future Medicine” Journal on January 5th, 2023. The article is a direct outcome of his PhD thesis work defended in 2022.
This article talks about how payers could connect with patients with rare illnesses and ask for information. This may help payers choose which medicines to pay. We checked published articles to learn how payers look for information about medicines. We also checked how payers decide to pay for medicines. We mixed this information with information collected from payer and patient interviews. This helped us create an approach for payers and patients to connect. The published articles showed that payers use many ways to learn about how medicines help patients. The way payers decide on which medicines to choose and pay for, is complicated. Payers also think about the cost of medicines. Payers rarely collect or consider patient input about how medicines help patients. In the interviews, payers/patients mentioned how to collect patient input about how medicines help them. They also mentioned how to use patient input. We used all the information to create an approach for payers and patients to connect. We call it as “Payer–Patient Engagement Framework”. This approach will help payers to make right decisions to help patients with rare illnesses. This approach will help patients get much needed medicines to improve their health.
Research Abstract
Aim: Develop a Payer–Patient Engagement Framework (PPEF) in rare disease (RD) to incorporate patient preferences/input into payer formulary decisions in the USA.
Materials & methods: Targeted literature reviews related to drug value assessment, ethical decision-making and corporate social performance theories were conducted, and integrated with results from 24 payer and patient stakeholder interviews in the USA to construct PPEF.
Results: Published literature revealed scant use of patient preferences/input by payers, and the potential relationship between payer’s ethical formulary decisions and payer’s moral intent/behavior/actions, and their external credibility and reputation. Payer/patient interviews identified formal and informal ways to solicit patient input and incorporate them in drug formulary review materials. PPEF was formulated to engage patients, assess, and act on evidence and perform transparent external communication.
Conclusion: PPEF could enable payers to formally solicit and utilize patient input to strengthen RD formulary decisions and enhance orphan drug access and RD patient outcomes.
About The Researcher
Dr. Narayanan serves as the CEO of Avant Health, a management consulting firm focused on supporting strategy formulation for public sector, Bio-pharmaceutical and healthcare clients globally. His work centers around being a catalyst to globally enable healthcare entities to achieve their organizational objectives, maintaining their customer/patient focus. To do this, Dr. Narayanan pulls on his experience of launching assets in more than two dozen countries, as well as decades of creating and driving strategy across the product lifecycle to meet external stakeholder needs. He also reaches out to his network of relationships with payers (U.S & Ex-U.S), HTA stakeholders, international/national societies, KOLs and Patient Advocacy Groups and continue to publish insights relevant to them.
Dr. Narayanan has built a strong career and leadership in commercial/medical strategies, market access, value/evidence and health policy within Pharma/Biotech industry through tenures at PTC Therapeutics (globally leading Market Access and Value Creation functions, with a focus on orphan diseases), Human Genome Sciences/GSK (globally leading HEOR, Epidemiology and Access functions, with a focus on orphan disease & immunology franchises), BMS (leading U.S HEOR and Health Services with a focus on oncology & immunology franchises) and Merck & Co. (supporting ORM and U.S MEDSA with a focus on CNS, ID & respiratory franchises) covering US & Ex-US market segments.
In the strategy consulting arena, Dr. Narayanan served as the President and Global Head of Pointe Health/Pointe Advisory, and has held SVP roles at Decision Resources Group, TNS Healthcare/Kantar Health and Ipsos Healthcare leading relevant divisions and client strategies to help clients create commercial and scientific strategies and patient access solutions, articulate product value propositions and achieve optimal access in the U.S and Ex-U.S. Within healthcare provider sector, Dr. Narayanan led clinical and strategic evaluations across a spectrum of Long-term care services at Beverly Enterprises, where he also served in their Pharmacy Quality council (a P&T Committee), supporting patient management across the service lines encompassing Skilled Nursing Facilities, Assisted Living Centers,
Dr. Narayanan’s academic background include a PhD in Business Research from Monarch Business School Switzerland, Master’s in Health Policy and Management from Johns Hopkins University in the USA, and Master of Science in Bioengineering from University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom. He holds further specialization certificate in Executive Leadership from Cornell University in the USA. Dr. Narayanan is a beneficiary of various awards including the Overseas Development Award from British Commonwealth at University of Strathclyde (U.K), and merit awards from executive leadership within PTC Therapeutics, Ipsos, and Beverly Enterprises for performance excellence and exhibition of organization leadership.
Dr. Narayanan’s academic interest lies in understanding the organizational dynamics surrounding payer, healthcare provider and patient stakeholder decision-making that directly impacts population health outcomes. Further, he conducts extensive research to highlight disease/patient burden and the impact of various healthcare interventions in alleviating such burden. This is reflected in over two hundred and fifty scientific publications and presentations that Dr. Narayanan has led over the past two decades of his career.