Determinant attribute analysis and market segments for multiple source pharmaceuticals

The purpose of this study was to identify determinant attributes in choices among multiple source drug products in hospitals, chains, independents, and HMOs and to compare the relative determinance of attributes across the four sites. The sample for the study was comprised of 500 hospitals, 222 chains, 500 independents, and 599 HMOs. An overall usable response rate of 44 percent was attained. Only HMOs with in-house pharmacies were included in the analysis. Other attributes in addition to price were determinant in all sites. Hospital and HMO respondents were similar in that attributes related to contract prices for non-profit organizations were more determinant in those sites than in chains and independents. Chains and independents were similar in that attributes related to price uniformity across sites and product price in relation to Medicaid reimbursement limits had higher determinance scores in those sites than in the other sites. However, there were some attributes such as availability of unit dose packaging on which perceptions of hospital and HMO respondents were different and attributes such as acceptance of products by other pharmacists on which chain and independent respondent perceptions differed. Factor analysis of determinant attributes produced six factors. Based on a measure of practical significance, two of the six factors had mean factor scores that were considered significantly different across the four sites. Hospitals and HMOs had similar mean factor scores different from chain and independent pharmacies on the two factors. These results suggest that the four sites that were considered a priori segments could actually be two segments