VirSci Corporation specializes in best practice consulting at the nexus of pharmaceutical marketing, privacy, and HIPAA. Our goal is to help pharmaceutical marketers achieve a competitive edge through compliance with self-regulatory standards promulgated by industry, government, and independent organizations. We Put the Pieces Together! Marketing | Privacy Best Practices | HIPAA Compliance Privacy Best Practices We offer privacy consulting to pharmaceutical companies and their vendors. including: Privacy case studies for pharma companies. Educate your legal team and product managers regarding your company's privacy policies through real world case studies. Outsource your privacy and security assessment of vendors handling consumer personal information on your behalf (see below). Got Privacy? Are You Prepared for a Privacy Assessment from Your Pharma Clients? A marketing agency is ready to pitch a proposal to a major pharmaceutical company on a new project. But, at the last minute, the account manager gets a 20-page "Privacy Assessment" questionnaire from the Chief Privacy Officer of the pharma company. The assessment asks about the agency's privacy and security practices for handling consumer data and training personnel. It also wants to know about the agency's written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The problem is, the agency doesn't have any written SOPs! DON'T WAIT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN TO YOU! PREPARE NOW! LEARN WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO CERTIFY THAT YOU ARE COMPLIANT WITH PRIVACY AND SECURITY STANDARDS DEMANDED BY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES. Privacy Assessment Services for Pharma Vendors By now, every pharmaceutical marketer should know about the inadvertent e-mail message that led to Eli Lilly becoming the first major pharmaceutical company to settle an online consumer privacy complaint with the FTC. (See "Eli Lilly Settles FTC Charges Concerning Security Breach" ) The consent decree, which remains effective until 2022, requires that Lilly and its "agents…acting within the scope of their authority on behalf of, or in active concert or participation with, Eli Lilly and Company" abide by a four-part information security program (for more information, see The FTC-Lilly Consent Decree: What it Means for PHARMA Vendors and Partners. Such agents could include interactive agencies that build and maintain Web sites, direct marketing agencies, fulfillment centers, market researchers, etc. Whether or not your pharma clients currently require you to go through a privacy certification process, it behooves you to carefully upgrade your own privacy and security practices in order to maintain a competitive advantage as well as pass muster with pharmaceutical companies that are likely to invoke "privacy due diligence" when selecting providers. VirSci's Privacy Assessment Services for Pharma Vendors includes the following services: Help in answering self-assessment questionnaires from pharma companies. Upgrading your standard operating procedures (SOPs) to comply with privacy best practices Gap analysis of your current privacy and security procedures to determine changes necessary to comply with SOPs Training personnel in privacy awareness and SOPs For more information, contact John Mack at johnmack@virsci.com, 215-504-4164. Return to top... Pharmaceutical Marketing Best Practices VirSci publishes Pharma Marketing News, which is the monthly e-newsletter of the Pharma Marketing Network. This newsletter is distributed FREE to registered subscribers via email and the Web. Each issue of Pharma Marketing News is packed with facts, opinions, and case studies based upon interviews with experts in the field of pharmaceutical marketing. Although all marketing channels are covered, there is a special emphasis on use of new technologies--e.g., Internet, Wireless, etc.--for marketing. Highlights of presentations from industry conferences, contact lists for experts consulted, and links to references help subscribers keep up to date on best practices and network with their peers. See the current issue of Pharma Marketing News. Other Marketing Best Practice Services eHealth Best Practice Compliance Program - A comprehensive analysis of your marketing health Web site, including usability, privacy policy review, and compliance with emarketing best practices such as the FTC's Fair Information Practice Principles, the eHealth Code of Ethics, and URAC's Health Web Site Accreditation Standards. See How to Design Online Marketing that Meets the Highest eHealth Ethics Standards. Return to top... HIPAA Compliance Consulting & Training A number of pharmaceutical marketing business functions are impacted by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA (see Pharma HIPAA & Privacy Impact Study, below). These functions include inbound and outbound call centers, sample fulfillment programs, patient assistance programs, direct mail pharmacies, electronic couponing, direct mail marketing, patient compliance programs, physician-patient community development, etc. Even though your company may not be a HIPAA "covered entity," it will be affected by HIPAA because of client expectations and by being a business associate of covered entities. To remain competitive, you must develop a HIPAA "compliance" program that satisfies these needs. VirSci's HIPAA Compliance Consulting service is designed to help you achieve a level of HIPAA and/or other privacy regime compliance within an acceptable timeframe and to meet your tactical and strategic objectives. Learn more about our HIPAA Compliance Consulting Services. Pharma HIPAA & Privacy Impact Study The Pharma HIPAA & Privacy Impact Study includes in-depth interviews and a survey of privacy and compliance officials at Fortune 100 pharmaceutical and pharmacy benefit management companies regarding their HIPAA and privacy "Hot Button" issues. Questions explore the impact of HIPAA privacy and security regulations on various pharmaceutical marketing practices, clinical research, and risk management. More about this.. Overview of Interviews with Pharma and PBM Executives (PDF file) . HIPAA Educational Services Pharma Sponsored HIPAA Newsletters & Training - many health care providers are unsure how to apply HIPAA privacy and security rules in their practices and in their interactions with pharmaceutical sales representatives. Pharma-sponsored, third-party HIPAA education and training, much like sponsored CME, can help support physicians when there are no other "white knights" in sight. Examples include: HIPAA & Privacy Readiness Monitor Newsletter - this newsletter is an example of a single-sponsored, value-added resource for pharmaceutical account managers and sales reps to help them service the information needs of their covered entity clients. Sponsored Online HIPAA Training - VirSci Corporation has teamed up with a major supplier of online compliance programs to offer a unique HIPAA training solution, called Care and Attention, which is ideally suited for training both physicians and their support staffs of physician practices. HIPAA Training Plus - the HIPAA legal and regulatory requirements is an opportunity to assess and address larger organizational challenges. The HIPAA Training Plus program includes a training assets assessment, a training program using the appropriate mix of pre-packaged and custom instructional tools, and organizational change management to integrate HIPAA into the client's overall work flow. Return to top...

Real Solutions for the Virtual World

© 2003 VirSci Corporation. P.O. Box 760, Newtown, PA 18940 * P: 215-504-4164 * F: 215-504-5739 * infovirsci@virsci.com