Market access in the biopharma industry goes beyond delivering innovative therapies—it’s about ensuring patients receive timely and seamless access to those treatments. Two key metrics, fill rate and time-to-fill, have emerged as essential benchmarks for assessing operational efficiency, improving patient access, and aligning with strategic goals.
But how can biopharma professionals effectively use these metrics to gain a competitive advantage? In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of fill rate and time-to-fill, their role in shaping market access strategies, and actionable approaches to maximize their impact.
The Stakes in Market Access
Accessing timely and efficient delivery of therapies is one of the most critical success factors in biopharma. Patient health, brand reputation, and payer trust all hinge on how quickly and reliably therapies reach the patients who most need them. Delayed treatments, low prescription fulfillment rates, and inefficiencies in the supply chain can all impact patient outcomes and overall brand performance.
For biopharma market access teams, understanding benchmarks like fill rate (the percentage of prescriptions successfully fulfilled) and time-to-fill (how quickly patients receive their treatments) provides the clarity needed to tackle these challenges head-on.
Breaking Down Fill Rate and Time-to-Fill
What Is Fill Rate and Why Is It Important?
Fill rate is a crucial metric in the biopharma industry, quantifying the percentage of successfully dispensed prescriptions out of the total initiated. High fill rates imply that more patients receive their prescribed treatments, improving health outcomes and bolstering patient access to therapy. It is also a measure of operational robustness, helping brands identify and rectify gaps in inventory and distribution networks that may hinder seamless therapy delivery. Moreover, high fill rates inspire confidence among stakeholders—payers, providers, and patients view them as evidence of a brand’s reliability and efficiency.
What Is Time-To-Fill and Why Is It Important?
In biopharma, time-to-fill—the period between when a prescription is issued and when a patient receives their first dose—is a critical metric. This timeframe is not only tied to operational efficiency but, more importantly, to patient outcomes. Delays in accessing essential therapies, especially life-saving treatments in areas like oncology or rare diseases, can have dire consequences for patients.
Time-to-fill also reflects the effectiveness of a company’s processes. Our studies have shown that the longer it takes a patient to fill a prescription, the less likely they are to follow through. A streamlined, faster time-to-fill ensures timely treatment and boosts patient satisfaction by reducing unnecessary barriers.
In such a competitive industry, faster delivery times can be a significant differentiator. Companies that excel in minimizing time-to-fill gain a competitive edge, enhancing their appeal to payers and strengthening their position in crowded therapeutic markets.
Factors Impacting Fill Rate Time-to-Fill
- Prior Authorizations (PAs): Prior authorizations are often required to secure insurance coverage, but their lengthy and complex processes can result in delayed treatments or even patients abandoning their prescriptions altogether. These delays, compounded by costly and time-consuming manual appeals, can create significant barriers to timely care.
- Financial Hardship and Insurance Coverage: Non-reimbursement or high out-of-pocket costs can be barriers to patients accessing treatments.
- Patient Onboarding to assistance programs (e.g., financial aid or co-pay support).
- Specialty Pharmacy Efficiencies: Processing delays at pharmacies managing high-touch therapies impact delivery schedules.
- Supply Chain and Inventory Management impacting availability and logistics.
For a deep dive into factors impacting patient access to treatment, download our whitepaper, “Unlocking The Mystery: Patient Treatment Abandonment in Pharmaceuticals.”
The Benefits of Benchmarking Fill Rate and Time-to-Fill
Benchmarking allows biopharma organizations to assess their performance against industry and competitor standards and drive informed decisions to ensure patients gain uninterrupted access to therapies.
Identifying Gaps in the Process
Benchmarking against industry standards helps identify underperformance. For instance, a company might discover that its time-to-fill for a specialty therapy is 20% slower than competing brands. With benchmarking, companies can pinpoint inefficiencies—whether they stem from internal processes, payer systems, or pharmacy coordination.
Enhancing Data-Driven Decision Making
By analyzing fill rate and time-to-fill data, market access teams can identify patterns, make more informed decisions, and strategically refine operations. For example, trends in real-world data (RWD) might reveal that time-to-fill is consistently longer in certain regions, prompting targeted interventions.
Building Trust with Payers
Payers look to partner with pharmaceutical companies that can demonstrate operational reliability. High fill rates and short time-to-fill windows act as proof of efficiency and patient-first strategies. Strong metrics can leverage contract discussions, helping negotiate favorable terms and value-based agreements.
Improving Patient Outcomes
Every day matters to patients living with critical conditions. A shorter time-to-fill not only demonstrates operational efficiency but also ensures patients can start their therapy sooner, directly impacting patient outcomes and quality of life.
Actionable Strategies for Benchmarking Success
Define Your Benchmarks
- Tailor benchmarking metrics (fill rate vs. time-to-fill) based on therapy type, such as specialty drugs requiring additional patient support versus traditional medications.
- Account for regional and payer-specific variations that impact patient access differently.
Leverage Advanced Analytics
- Predictive tools play a critical role in identifying potential bottlenecks, such as prior authorization delays, before they escalate into widespread challenges. For instance, the Claritas Rx Ascend™ platform leverages advanced machine learning models to predict prior authorization denials with an impressive 80% accuracy.
- Real-world data (RWD) can provide critical insights into unmet patient needs, allowing for the refinement of benchmarks based on demographic or disease-specific trends.
Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration
Bringing together teams from patient services, HUBs, supply chains, and marketing ensures holistic, patient-centric improvements. This approach promotes shared accountability in achieving optimal fill rate and time-to-fill outcomes.
Invest in Technology
Digital tools that offer real-time insights on fill rates enable teams to pinpoint the key factors driving abandonment for their brand. These tools also provide valuable comparisons against competitors within the same therapeutic area, helping teams craft effective strategies to stay ahead in the market.
Real World Applications
The Claritas Rx research study, “Harnessing Insights: A Benchmarking Study in Specialty Channels and Patient Services,” emphasizes the pivotal role of benchmarking in assessing market performance and identifying brand growth opportunities. The study evaluated benchmarking effectiveness by analyzing three therapies through key performance indicators such as fill rates and time-to-fill metrics. It revealed how a comprehensive analysis of market trends could provide crucial insights into delivery times and patient accessibility, helping brands align with high-performing HUBs.
The study examined 91,500 treatment plans* to offer a detailed understanding of customer accessibility and brand positioning, delivering valuable data for comparing critical KPIs. Armed with these insights, brands can develop strategies tailored to the strengths of top-performing HUBs, enabling more precise and effective strategic planning.
Future Trends in Benchmarking
AI and Machine Learning
AI-powered predictive analytics will continue transforming fill rate time-to-fill metrics by identifying patient journey roadblocks preemptively. For instance, AI can predict PA denials and provide actionable recommendations to help patients stay on therapy.
Personalized Patient Support
Customizable support tailored to the individual needs of patients—particularly those with rare diseases—will gain priority. This includes integrating personalized patient outreach strategies to improve adherence and reduce drop-offs.
Stricter Standards Ahead
Payers’ rising focus on efficiency and outcomes will likely push for expanded benchmarking practices. Regulatory requirements will also introduce new KPIs to encourage faster and more reliable market access.
Optimize Market Access With the Right Metrics
Efficient and reliable delivery is critical to biopharma success. By consistently refining fill rate and time-to-fill benchmarks, market access teams can enhance patient outcomes, align stakeholders, and reinforce their competitive edge.
The time to act is now. Are your benchmarks industry-ready? Connect with a member of our team today to begin crafting data-driven strategies with actionable insights.
Curious about what “good” looks like for your therapeutic brand basket?
Our complimentary, comprehensive benchmarking summary compares key performance indicators, like fill rates, against industry competitors. Top-performing brands use this data to proactively identify trends, address challenges, and make smarter, data-driven decisions to optimize their operations. Want access to these invaluable insights? Simply fill out the form to receive your personalized benchmarking report straight to your inbox.
*Data as of 9/7/2021, N > 91,500 unique treatment courses
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