A última pesquisa do BCG sobre o impacto do Covid-19 mostra quais mudanças na maneira como os médicos se envolvem com a indústria farmacêutica durarão além da pandemia. O ritmo dessas mudanças variou significativamente em áreas e mercados terapêuticos. Nossa pesquisa em diferentes momentos durante a pandemia mostra que muitas dessas mudanças se solidificaram em mudanças de longo prazo nas preferências e comportamentos da MDS.
Within the span of a few months, pharma companies have seen major shifts in physicians’ behaviors and preferences. The pace of these changes has varied significantly across therapeutic areas and markets. Our research at different time points during the pandemic shows that many of these changes have solidified into longer-term changes to MDs’ preferences and behaviors.
Aqui estão as manchetes da mais recente pesquisa do BCG sobre o MDS sobre o impacto do Covid-19, nosso terceiro desde o início da pandemia. Ele mostra quais mudanças na maneira como os médicos se envolvem com a indústria farmacêutica e os pacientes estão endurecendo à medida que as taxas de vacinação escalam e uma nova realidade toma forma.
O engajamento virtual está aqui para ficar
Post-COVID, three-quarters of MDs prefer to maintain or further increase the amount of the virtual (versus face-to-face) engagements with pharma reps that they became accustomed to during the pandemic. They see virtual engagement with pharma companies as efficient and effective. Although physicians’ preference for face-to-face meetings has rebounded from its low point last May, it remains well below pre-COVID levels.
There are some significant differences among the three countries we surveyed this time (China, Germany, and the US). US doctors in particular show a preference for face-to-face engagement. More than 90% of MDs in Germany and 85% in China want to maintain or increase virtual interactions, compared with 63% of doctors in the US.
In each market, pharma companies need to find the right balance between virtual and face-to-face engagement, while recognizing that more virtual interaction is here to stay.
New Communication Channels Have Caught On
Doctors are looking for new models of cooperation with the pharma industry. Two of the four most effective communication channels for MDs are now virtual (training webinars and virtual speaker programs), and despite the expectations of some for virtual fatigue, the perceived effectiveness of these channels has continued to increase since May 2020. Preferences for scheduled webinars and webcasts, scheduled video chats, and on-demand video chats have more than doubled since the A pandemia começou e ainda está aumentando. O mesmo vale para as informações sobre novos produtos: os médicos valorizam muito os webinars, treinamento virtual e programas de alto -falantes. Enquanto o MDS ainda conta com visitas pessoais por representantes de vendas e pessoal de ligação médica, principalmente durante o lançamento do produto, eles estão procurando empresas farmacêuticas para se adaptarem aos tempos de mudança.
Face-to-face visits and telephone interactions by sales reps are still essential, but virtual channels give physicians access to the information they need in an easy and convenient manner. The same holds true for information on new products: physicians highly value webinars, virtual training, and speaker programs. While MDs still count on personal visits by sales reps and medical liaison personnel, particularly during a product launch, they are looking for pharma companies to adapt to changing times.
Personalization of Communication Is a Top Factor in MDs’ Satisfaction with Pharma. MDS Want Engajamento mais personalizado e conteúdo personalizado. Muitos citam tempo insuficiente para ler e conteúdo genérico ou irrelevante como barreiras à comunicação digital. Eles esperam cada vez mais que as empresas farmacêuticas demonstrem uma compreensão de suas necessidades e interesses particulares. De fato, nossa análise encontrou uma forte correlação estatística entre como os médicos percebem a compreensão das empresas farmacêuticas sobre as necessidades e interesses dos médicos e a satisfação da MDS com as comunicações digitais de uma empresa e a qualidade da interação em geral.
Physicians continue to have high levels of interest in medical information and scientific data, and more are interested in learning how Empresas de Biopharma pode apoiar o atendimento ao paciente com ferramentas digitais e engajamento. Pós-Covid, 40% dos MDs gostariam de receber mais informações médicas e científicas. Aproximadamente metade ou mais diz que não recebe conteúdo regular sobre desenvolvimentos médicos e educação, dados científicos ou educação do produto. Nossos dados mostram que as características individuais, como área terapêutica e anos na prática, influenciam como cada médico deseja se envolver, mas esses são apenas pontos de partida. Várias empresas farmacêuticas agora estão encontrando o valor na alavancagem de dados e análises para personalizar compromissos. Além dos canais virtuais, a maioria dos MDs (91%) cita visitas ao pessoal de ligação médica e científica (MSL) como muito eficaz, e eles acreditam que esse canal é subutilizado pela indústria farmacêutica. De fato, programas de fala virtual, seminários on -line e visitas dos MSLs são citados como canais muito eficazes em 90% ou mais dos médicos, mas eles classificam bem na lista em frequência de uso.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for communications; our data shows that individual characteristics, such as therapeutic area and years in practice, influence how each doctor wants to engage, but these are only starting points. Several pharma companies are now finding the value in leveraging data and analytics to personalize engagements.
Pharma companies need to build up their knowledge of physicians’ preferences and pain points, by market, and find the right channel mix for interaction. In addition to virtual channels, most MDs (91%) cite visits by medical and science liaison (MSL) personnel as very effective, and they believe this channel is underused by the pharma industry. Indeed, virtual speaking programs, webinars, and visits by MSLs are all cited as very effective channels by 90% or more of doctors, yet they rank well down the list in frequency of use.
As visitas virtuais dos pacientes são agora um acessório
The virtual doctor appointment will transcend the pandemic. Physicians expect twice as many virtual MD-patient interactions post-COVID compared with pre-COVID. They anticipate significant increases in the use of telemedicine, video-enabled tools, and phone chat or online chat apps. Doctors continue to experience a lower volume of in-person patient visits, citing patient cancellations, office or clinic policies that limit patient volume, and fewer referrals as the main reasons. Pharma companies need to address the increases in undiagnosed populations and the decline in medication adherence that could result.
The June 2021 Results
The slideshow below contains the key results from the latest survey, which was conducted in May/June 2021 and is our third since the onset of COVID-19. The first survey (May 2020) assessed the changes doctors were making in immediate response to the upheavals caused by the pandemic. The second (September/October 2020) looked at the uneven shifts taking place in countries that were coming out of crisis and those that were still mostly locked down. The current survey involved some 800 physicians in the three countries.
Implicações para o modelo de operação farmacêutica
Muitas empresas farmacêuticas começaram a remodelar seu modelo de engajamento. A dinâmica da pandemia acelerou esse processo, e agora as empresas farmacêuticas têm uma perspectiva mais clara sobre o que funcionará e o que não será:
- Drives de dados, o engajamento personalizado pode criar um valor significativo e aumentar mensuravelmente a satisfação. Aprecie. Relacionamentos. O nível certo de foco, rigor na escala e gerenciamento de mudanças verdadeiros e lançamento efetivo serão fatores decisivos no futuro. Exploraremos as implicações disso com mais detalhes em um artigo futuro. Friedemann Wolf
- Professionalizing remote engagement through well-managed, dedicated remote medical and commercial teams delivers strong value that physicians appreciate.
- Providing personalized, modular, timely, and effective virtual content remains a challenge throughout the industry, but when pharma companies master this, we see clear improvement in engagement scores and company success.
- Supporting physicians’ efforts to digitize their engagements with patients and addressing the implications for diagnosis and prescription in a more virtual care environment represent opportunities for pharma companies to tighten their MD relationships.
Although most pharma companies are now reviewing their engagement models, and many are launching initiatives that signal fundamental changes in their go-to-market model, they still struggle to make the jump from individual pilots to scale across the organization. The right level of focus, rigor in scaling, and true change management and effective rollout will be decisive factors in the future. We will explore the implications of this in more detail in a future article.
