????托伊稱：“決定銷售人員的薪酬時，我們在使用哪些數據、不使用哪些數據的問題上做出了艱難的決定，由此樹立了良好的聲譽。”

????自從20世紀80年代初開始，制藥公司就習慣使用從廠商那里獲得的醫生處方數據來決定銷售人員的薪酬。醫生開出的處方越多，銷售人員的提成就越高。因此，醫生吃回扣的現象也屢見不鮮，許多醫生都被請去吃免費的飯，拿免費球票。因此制藥公司的這種提成制度造成了一種醫生和醫療代表之間暗藏貓膩的關系，也使一些病人懷疑為什么醫生要開這種藥，而不是那種藥。

????從去年七月開始，葛蘭素史克公司廢止了這種提成模式。現在公司主要依賴對醫生和管理人員的調查，以及對產品知識和業務敏銳度的考核來決定銷售人員的獎金 。

????最高管理層的支持、透明的激勵系統，以及消費者的正面反應降低了在銷售部門中推行這種新機制的難度。托伊表示：“現在銷售人員和醫生的關系變得不那么重要了，更重要的是事實和科學。”

????葛蘭素史克公司在與政府和保險公司的談判中也奉行了以數據為指導的策略。葛蘭素史克與默克（Merck）和輝瑞（Pfizer）等公司競爭著一塊非常有限的市場蛋糕，不過托伊表示，數據分析正在為葛蘭素史克帶來某種優勢。

????北卡羅來納州藍十字與藍盾協會（Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina）信息管理與分析服務副總裁蘇珊?海默?穆塔夫指出：醫療保健市場瞬息萬變，有效的數據分析如果得到正確使用，就可以節約許多渠道成本。

????“節約成本的唯一方法就是檢驗信息，進行分析，”穆塔夫說。“成本是從什么地方產生的？哪些療法是有效的？它是在哪交付的？”

????去年，北卡羅來納藍十字與藍盾協會把許多來自不同部門的分析師集中在同一個部門里，以方便他們進行協作。同時該公司也希望雇傭一些不僅能夠分析數據、還能用其它人能夠理解和接受的方式提交數據的分析師。

????后來該公司的管理層意識到，讓一群統計學博士花時間獲取數據是很荒唐的，于是他們投入大量資金建立了一個卓越中心（Center of Excellence），卓越中心的分析師以發現問題、解答問題為主，而不是四處尋找數據并檢驗它們的準確性。

????穆塔夫表示，這些變革導致公司的成本出現顯著下降，并且提高了客戶的滿意度水平。卓越中心的建立已使公司節省的醫療開支達到了初始開支的將近19倍。

????盡管以數據為中心的做法已經使北卡羅來納州藍十字與藍盾協會獲得了不小的成功，但該公司仍有一些員工至今不相信數據分析是公司未來成功的關鍵。要說服這些員工也是個不小的挑戰。

????穆塔夫說道：“我們需要讓人們理解，今天的工作環境已經和三四年前不同了。”

????譯者：樸成奎

????"We are building a reputation by making hard decisions about what data we use to compensate our sales people and what we don't use," Touey says.

????Since the early 1980s, pharmaceutical companies have used physician prescription data acquired from vendors to determine how they pay their sales force -- sales reps would make more when doctors wrote more scripts. As any doctor who has scored a catered buffet or free sports tickets can attest, this strategy led to some questionable relationships and caused some patients to wonder why doctors were prescribing one treatment over another.

????Beginning last July, GSK scrapped this model. The company now relies on surveys of doctors and managers, as well as tests of product knowledge and business acumen, to determine sales bonuses.

????Selling this new model to the sales force became easier thanks to support from top management, the transparency of the incentive system, and the favorable reaction from customers, Touey says. "It has become less about relationships with doctors and more about facts and science," he says.

????GSK also is letting its data guide how it negotiates with governments and insurers. They compete with other giants like Merck (MRK) and Pfizer (PFE) for a very limited pie, and Touey says that analytics are providing an advantage to the firm.

????In the ever-changing world of healthcare, effective data analysis can provide cost savings in multiple channels when applied correctly, says Susan Helm-Murtagh, vice president of information management and analytic services for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

????"The only way to do this is by examining information and analytics," Helm-Murtagh says. "Where are costs coming from? What cares are effective? Where is it delivered?"

????Last year, BCBSNC brought many of its analysts from different units into a centralized group where they could collaborate. The company also looks to hire analysts who are capable not only of crunching numbers but also of serving them up in ways that others can understand and accept.

????When executives realized the absurdity of having Ph.D. statisticians wasting time hunting for data, they made a large investment in a Center of Excellence (COE), which allows analysts to focus on asking and answering questions instead of looking for data and verifying its accuracy.

????These changes have resulted in significant cost savings and increasing levels of customer satisfaction, Helm-Murtagh says. The investment in a COE has already resulted in medical expense savings worth 19 times the initial cost.

????While the focus on data has been a resounding success for BCBSNC, the company still faces the challenge of convincing some employees that this is where the company's future success resides.

????"We have a job to do in helping people understand that this is a different place to work today than it was three or four years ago," Helm-Murtagh says.