Success story: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.With encouragement from the Detroit Regional Chamber, Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. of Michigan launched a major campaign in 2001 to increase the use of generic drugs. The campaign--called "Generic Drugs--The Unadvertised un·ad·ver·tised adj. Not having been advertised to the public: unadvertised sale merchandise. Brand"--seeks to raise awareness among consumers about the safety and efficacy of generics as well as the cost savings. Generics are usually priced from 30 to 75 percent less than their brand-name counterparts. William Elwell, director of communications Director of Communications is a position in the private and public sectors. The Director of Communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization's internal and external communications. and advertising for BCBSM BCBSM Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan , says the long-term goals Long-term goals Financial goals expected to be accomplished in five years or longer. of the campaign are to elevate: * The image of generics from "inferior" products to simply an unadvertised alternative to advertised brands. * General awareness of the availability of unadvertised brands, especially as more brand-name drugs come off patent. * Understanding that the FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. reviews unadvertised brand drugs. * Awareness of the Blues' generic dispensing rate incentive program among pharmacists. A cross-disciplinary team of experts at the Blues was assembled to develop an ongoing, integrated communications campaign and a statewide pharmacy competition that ran in 2001.Because there was no designated budget for the campaign, the team was challenged to use existing communication tools and resources to complete the task. Initial results of the campaign are positive. Various elements of the campaign helped boost the Michigan Blues' generic dispensing rate by nearly 2 percentage points to date, resulting in annualized annualized Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on this basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. savings of about $30 million for Michigan Blues' customers. The latest component is a new, interactive consumer Web site at www.theunadvertisedbrand.com. The site features a Value Calculator that gives consumers cost comparisons on frequently used brand-name drugs and their generic counterparts, based on the average wholesale price for brands and what the Michigan Blues pay for generics. The Michigan plan brought 50 health plans from across the nation to the Detroit area in September to share information on promoting generic drags and to begin a national movement. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is a Gold-level member of the Detroit Regional Chamber. |
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