I’ve spent 11 years in pharma commercial ops and managed markets. I’ve sat through enough conference sessions to know the difference between a high-value strategy exchange and a glorified sales pitch. If you’re heading to an access summit, stop looking for "great networking." Start looking for hard data.
Most attendees leave these conferences with a pile of business cards and zero actionable insights. If you want to move the needle on affordability pressures and access pathway barriers, you need to stop asking polite questions and start asking specific ones. Here is how to navigate the room—whether you’re at AMCP, THMA, or an ACCC meeting—and what to ask to get real answers.
The "Networking" Trap
I keep a spreadsheet of every conference I attend. Columns are simple: Name, Title, Org, and "Who did I actually meet versus who did I need to meet?" Most people walk into a summit hoping to "meet everyone." That’s a waste of time. You need to identify the specific payers, health system decision-makers, and policy experts who dictate the market access landscape.
When you sit through a session, don't ask about "strategic alignment." That’s a buzzword. Ask about the disconnect between the P&T committee’s paper formulary and the actual drug utilization data coming out of the pharmacy. If they can’t answer, move on.
Payer Expectations and Managed Care Strategy
At AMCP-style congresses, the focus is often on high-level managed care strategy. But the real game is played in the weeds of affordability pressures. Payer expectations have evolved; they aren't just looking at acquisition cost anymore. They are looking at total cost of care.
Questions to ask payers:
- "What is your current threshold for 'value' when evaluating a new entry in a crowded therapeutic class?" "How does your internal data on adherence change the way you negotiate rebate structures?" "Which access pathway barriers are you identifying in the first 90 days of a new drug launch that manufacturers consistently fail to address?" "How are you balancing pharmacy benefit vs. medical benefit for specialty drugs in your current population?"
Health System Adoption and Formulary Execution
If you are engaging with health system Additional resources executives (like those at THMA-focused events), the conversation shifts from the insurance plan to the IDN (Integrated Delivery Network). They care about the friction of getting a drug from the pharmacy shelf to the patient’s arm.
I often see companies failing here because they don't understand the internal bureaucracy of health systems. They design patient assistance program design models that look good in a deck but are impossible for a clinic administrator to implement.
Stakeholder Primary Pain Point Ask Them This Health System CFO Margin on specialty spend "What is the biggest operational cost associated with managing patient assistance paperwork?" Chief Pharmacy Officer Formulary compliance "How much of your tech stack is currently optimized for real-time reimbursement verification?" Medical Oncologist (ACCC) Patient wait times "Does your current PA (Prior Authorization) process rely on digital automation or manual staff intervention?"The HTA and Pricing Reality
With the increasing focus on Health Technology Assessments (HTA), pricing is no longer just a "value proposition." It’s an evidence-generation challenge. If your team is presenting at an access summit, they need to address the gap between clinical trial endpoints and the real-world evidence (RWE) that payers want to see.
Stop talking about "innovation." Talk about the evidence. Use digital tools in evidence generation and reimbursement to quantify exactly why your product reduces overall system burden. If you aren't showing data on patient burden and longitudinal outcomes, you aren't talking about affordability—you’re just talking about price.
Patient Assistance Program (PAP) Design
Too many companies design a PAP and then wonder why it’s not being utilized. It’s usually because the enrollment portal is a nightmare. I’m reminded of how frustrating it is to browse a website that’s cluttered with useless UI elements, like those annoying Cookie Law Info plugin pop-ups that block the screen. If your PAP enrollment portal is just as clunky as a site with bad cookie banners, your patients will abandon it.
Refining your PAP design:
Ask your field teams: "How many of our enrollments are abandoned at the digital signature step?" Ask providers: "What is the one piece of information you hate having to find to fill out our enrollment form?" Ask patients: "How long did it take to hear back after submitting your initial paperwork?"The "Monday Morning" Test
At every summit, I force myself to answer one question: "What would I do differently on Monday?" If I can’t answer it, the conference was a failure, no matter how good the keynote speaker was.
If you attend an ACCC roundtable, walk away with a specific plan to fix one step in your oncology access pathway. If you attend an AMCP forum, walk away with a specific payer objection you need to address in your value deck. If the conference doesn't leave you with a task list for Monday, you were a tourist, not a participant.
Conclusion: Demand Substance
The days of "synergy" and "streamlined operations" as meaningful conference themes are over. We are dealing with real-world affordability pressures that require precise, data-driven solutions. When you attend your next summit, challenge the status quo.
Don't settle for vague networking. Demand the details. Ask the questions that make people slightly uncomfortable. If you don't come away with a clear understanding of the access pathway barriers and a strategy to solve them, you’ve just spent a lot of money to drink bad hotel coffee.