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Blog
Inflation Boosts Rates for HCP Engagement
John Moose, MBA, ABV - Principal at IQVIA
Jul 22, 2022

With inflation hitting multi-decade highs in many countries across the world1 , engagement managers will soon hear from healthcare professionals (“HCPs”) that their payments for speaker programs and advisory boards are too low.  Engagement managers will also likely face above average budget increases.  Because we haven’t experienced such high inflation rates in many countries for decades, it’s important to take a minute to consider how this may impact you and your team.  And for those countries where inflation is more commonplace, it’s always a good idea to review your plan for handling such high inflation.

Always keep in mind that headline inflation is not wage inflation. The rates we provide are generally based on wage data.  The inflation numbers you most often hear and read about in the news is headline inflation, which reflects inflation across a broad basket of goods and services.  This measure is focused on consumption, which can be different from wages.  Until recently, wage inflation has kept pace with headline inflation, at least in the United States2 , but that is not necessarily the case across the world and may very well change with increased inflation rates.

Keep in mind that the rates provided by your valuation provider will likely be adjusted for inflation up to the day provided to you.  Also, remember that your valuation provider is generally providing rates as of a specific date.  They will likely not consider forecasted inflation in your FMV assessment unless specifically called to do so – and since wage inflation is a very difficult metric to forecast, we do not recommend this tactic for handling inflation.

Given greater inflation rates across the world, what should engagement managers do to address high inflation rates?

First, create talking points for your broader team and consider the following when responding to HCPs about inflation:

  1. Know the headline inflation in the relevant country;
  2. Understand how headline inflation has impacted wage inflation in the relevant country.  Remind the HCP that headline inflation does not equal wage inflation;
  3. Communicate the cycle for updating your rates and updating your HCP agreements;
  4. If your company makes HCP payments in non-local currency, then remember that the exchange rate will reflect not only recent inflation differentials, but also a degree of expected inflation differentials.3

Second, review your rate refresh cycle.  Understand that a primary reason for updating your rates is inflation.  We recommend basing your refresh cycle on the degree of inflation in specific countries – lower inflation can extend the life of your rates.  High inflation can shorten the life.  Also, remember that inflation can be cyclical in many countries.

Third, plan for budget increases.  Your budget for engaging with HCPs will be impacted by inflation but predicting to what extent is difficult.  As we noted above, wage growth has kept pace with headline inflation in recent years in many countries, but it is unknown whether that will continue with the high inflation rates we are experiencing today given the actions of major central banks across the world4.

IQVIA is dedicated to providing a full suite of FMV services to the life sciences industry.  We regularly monitor inflation rates across the world and provide inflation-adjusted rates to our clients.  IQVIA also assists our clients in reviewing their FMV frameworks including reviewing and optimizing their rate refresh cycles.  IQVIA would be happy to discuss with you any of the above or any of your other FMV needs.

1A Pew Research Center analysis of data from 44 advanced economies finds that, in nearly all of them, consumer prices have risen substantially since pre-pandemic times.  Pew Research Center, “In the U.S. and around the world, inflation is high and getting higher”; June 15, 2022.

2Tight labor markets and wage growth in the current economy, Brookings, Harry J. Holzer, Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

3Making payments in a non-local currency adds another dimension to managing inflation issues that is beyond the scope of this blog post.

4 Central banks double down in fight against galloping inflation; Reuters, June 10, 2022

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