A benchmark of 10 life sciences organizations by BCD Travel shows progress in accountability, governance, and automation for Transfer of Value (ToV) reporting, but reliance on fragmented data and multiple systems persists. Most operate hybrid models with partial automation, and data consistency remains a challenge.
The U.S. Sunshine Act (Open Payments) expanded the definition of 'covered recipient' to include five additional provider types: physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse midwives. Starting with 2021 data collection, life sciences companies must track payments or transfers of value to these new HCPs. The CMS Final Rule requires reporting direct or indirect payments, with penalties up to $10,000 to $100,000 per line item. Companies need to update systems, data management, and training to handle a potential increase of 350,000 to 400,000 reportable individuals.
Mark Linver, Managing Director of Deloitte Life Sciences Advisory, discusses how life sciences manufacturers can use artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) to manage compliance risks. Since it is not feasible to audit all activities involving healthcare professionals (HCPs), compliance organizations use a risk-based approach. A Deloitte survey shows manufacturers want to use AI to monitor financial transactions in real time, implement automatic controls to prevent overspend, automate contract reviews, and more. AI can increase the amount of data reviewed, the frequency of audits, identify anomalies, and prioritize compliance risks. The article also covers knowledg…
A SAP Concur blog post offers four expense-compliance tips for the highly regulated life sciences industry: monitor and audit expense reports, use automated controls to catch errors and fight fraud, use accumulated data to drive policy changes, and move away from manual spend processes. It cites figures including almost 20% of travel and expense spending falling outside policy, 89% of fraud cases involving asset misappropriation, and 42% of respondents still spending about 76 hours or more per month auditing expense reports. It also notes civil monetary penalties of up to $1 million for failing to report Open Payments in a timely manner.
SAP Concur explains how its Concur Connect apps help life sciences organizations meet healthcare provider (HCP) data compliance requirements under transparency rules such as Open Payments, partnering with healthcare database specialists MedPro and IMS Health to reduce manual entry, improve data accuracy, and lower compliance costs.
This SAP Concur blog post discusses the health of life science organizations, focusing on employee engagement, compliance management, and financial visibility. It cites a Deloitte study showing only 56% of life science employees are satisfied with their work, compared to 70% in other sectors. The article suggests using automation to reduce administrative burdens and improve engagement, emphasizes the importance of tone from the top for effective compliance programs, and recommends tools like Concur Invoice to streamline accounts payable and increase financial visibility.
A SAP Concur blog post, citing the ACFE 2016 Global Fraud Study, notes that the median loss from occupational fraud is $150,000, 23.2% of cases cause losses of $1 million or more, and the typical organization loses 5% of annual revenue to fraud. It argues life sciences firms are especially vulnerable due to complex regulation and fragmented global spend data, and recommends corporate card auto-import, pre-approval, third-party audits and disciplined data entry to strengthen T&E controls.