Practices & Life Science: Leverage reps for success in 2021
By: Linda Jacky
During COVID-19, technology has truly come to the rescue for medical practices nationwide in
terms of preserving patient relationships. Practice managers, for example, have been able to
increase patient access using telehealth and remote patient monitoring. They’ve been able to
communicate with patients via the portal and text messaging.
They’ve also been able to preserve relationships with life science reps. More specifically,
they’ve continued to receive critical education about new drugs and protocols using virtual
meetings.
However, the current pandemic has also caused relationships to evolve. This article will focus on five ways in which relationships between medical practices and drug reps will evolve in 2021.
1. More virtual meetings.
Even when the COVID-19 vaccine is more available, it doesn’t necessarily mean that medical
practices will automatically open their physical doors to drug reps. Many may continue to limit in-person interactions and engage in virtual meetings instead. Providers may value the efficiency of video conferencing, and freeing up the waiting room is always a bonus.
A recent Accenture survey found that 87% of healthcare providers want either ‘all virtual’ or a
mix of ‘virtual’ and ‘in-person’ meetings even after the pandemic ends. The same survey found that 28% of providers with onsite restrictions for reps may extend those restrictions permanently. Another 44% said they would keep restrictions in place for the foreseeable future.
2. More focus on products that support self-administration and remote monitoring.
The Accenture study also found that 65% of all healthcare providers value self-administration
methods for patients (i.e., auto-injectors or on-body devices) more than they did pre-COVID-19. Sixty-two percent said they value tools for remote monitoring of their patients at home more than they did before COVID-19. Practices will increasingly make time for reps who promote these types of products that enable ease of administration and an ability to maintain adherence without physically visiting the office.
3. More focus on patient education.
Reps will increasingly go beyond providing product information alone. Sixty-nine respondents to the Accenture survey said digital patient education is more helpful now than ever before.
Sixty-five percent said they’ll look to their drug reps for information on how patients can
manage their condition in light of COVID-19.
In 2021, we’ll likely see more of an effort to provide clear and easy-to-understand patient
education materials on a variety of topics.
4. More focus on patient financial assistance programs.
The majority of providers (68%) said affordability programs are particularly helpful. This is
especially true for general practitioners and immunologists.
Life science reps will be increasingly tasked with providing information about these programs to help patients in financial distress who might otherwise delay or forgo treatment.
5. More relevant conversations in general.
Fifty-eight percent of healthcare providers said their pharmaceutical company has spammed
them with content during COVID-19, and the majority say that these companies don’t
understand the real impact of the virus on medical practices and patients. In the year ahead, we’ll likely see pharma companies provide reps with novel data to make conversations with healthcare providers more productive, personalized, and meaningful.
In summary
The year ahead will certainly be an interesting one for healthcare providers and life science reps alike. Navigating this critical relationship in the context of COVID-19 requires flexibility,
communication, and technology. How will your practice ensure that it makes the most of
relationships with reps in 2021 and beyond?
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