Understanding the Pharmacy Health Benefit with Sharon Phares, PhD, MPH at PSG

In this episode our guest is Sharon Phares, PhD, MPH who is Senior Vice President of Research and Data Innovation with PSG.

As the Senior Vice President of Research and Data Innovation, she oversees the strategy and execution of research and educational initiatives. These include primary and sponsored research as well as client projects for PBMs and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Sharon also serves as Assistant Adjunct Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Assistant Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine with Washington University in St. Louis.

Sharon’s expertise is at the intersection of best-in-class research and marketing—educating the market with scientifically valid yet understandable and actionable insights. Sample projects include:

Creating a market analysis and report for a pharma manufacturer bringing an opioid addiction recovery drug to market

Conducting a national survey on customer satisfaction for PBMs

Discovering the impact of a drug manufacturer’s specialty patient support program through statistical analysis

Sharon earned a doctorate in Sociology from North Carolina State University and an MPH from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Sharon was named as one of the Top 100 Women Leaders in STEM in 2012. Her areas of expertise include survey design, prescription drug benefit design, health outcomes research, health and wellness program development and outcomes, developing epidemiologic and population-based models of healthcare costs and utilization, behavioral economics, statistics, research methods, predictive modeling, and program evaluation. Sharon has authored or coauthored over 100 peer-reviewed publications as well as book chapters and white papers on healthcare, research methods, and human behavior.

Main points:

Pharmacy is the most highly used employee health benefit by members/patients, who deserve a great pharmacy benefit experience

Selecting a PBM is a high-pressure decision driven by numerous factors

Well-designed research provides insights on what plan sponsors, and by extension, their members, expect out of their PBM – this can help PBMs improve and plan sponsors clarify what is most important to them in their pharmacy benefit decisions

Interview 2021

Guest - SHARON PHARES, PHD, MPH

Company page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/psgconsults

Sharon’s page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonphares

Website psgconsults.com

Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA

www.hillaryblackburn.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/

@talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook

@HillBlackburn Twitter