Managing Product Controversy: A Medical Liaison Point Of View
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Medical liaisons (MLs) play a crucial role in managing product controversies by facilitating communication between key opinion leaders (KOLs) and headquarters, ensuring accurate data dissemination to enhance trust in the company and its products. They prioritize responsiveness and compassion in customer communications, emphasizing corporate responsibility and ensuring that information flows efficiently to address concerns. By leveraging their relationships and expertise, MLs can mitigate misinformation and reinforce the integrity of drug utilization and patient safety.
Managing Product Controversy: A Medical Liaison Point Of View
- 1. Managing Product Controversy: A Medical Liaison Point Of View Scott Kraun Vice President, MSL Programs SOS
- 2. Overview Controversy as an opportunity Role of the Medical Liaisons (MLs) HQ strategy development team KOL/customer relationships Communications and challenges Information flow
- 3. An Opportunity In Disguise? A proactive, informative, empathetic ML contact initiative can: build or enhance Key Opinion Leader (KOL) and other customer group (i.e. managed markets) relationships reinforce Healthcare Professional (HCP) confidence in drug, company, and industry help reestablish trust
- 4. Importance Of The MLs Serve as the field-based scientific “eyes and ears” of the company May become aware of situations arising during clinical trial or commercial stages of the product lifecycle “Conduit” between corporate and KOL audience
- 5. MLs And HQ Strategy Development Key contributions can include: External perspectives on controversy, i.e. “word on the street” Scientific resource identification, research and data interpretation, and patient impact KOL-spokesperson relationships Standard response letters, medical slide decks, dossier updates, scientific sales force training
- 6. MLs And Controversy Control Have relationships with top-tier and media-savvy KOLs Can quickly and effectively disseminate accurate data Statistical interpretation Appropriate drug utilization Targeted patient groups
- 7. Communication Challenges Misinformation and disinformation Speculation Competitor-generated Responsible communications Data integrity, patient safety
- 8. ML Customer Communications KOLs and other customer groups respect fair-balanced information from corporate clinical representatives, often MLs Personal attention demonstrates responsibility
- 9. ML Customer Communications Cont’d. MLs should: Prioritize contacts to quickly maximize message reach Be responsive to questions Show compassion to concerns
- 10. ML Customer Communications Cont’d. MLs should: Reiterate corporate responsibility, steps, and timelines Ensure Adverse Event Reports (AEs) and Product Quality Complaints (PQCs) flow to HQ for thorough data compilation and further analysis
- 11. Information Flow ML:KOL interactions and information exchange will impact messaging to other HCPs Thorough explanation of accurate data – not competitor, media, or rumor-mill generated – will build assurances
- 12. Maximizing Relationship Marketing ML Medical Info Available Speakers Regional KOLs Speakers Global/US KOLs Managed Care INFLUENCE INFLUENCE High Volume Prescribers
- 13. Quote “ A definitive source and a ‘zero hour’ of first-hand disclosure for complex scientific data help to limit misinformation.” Sidney Taurel Taurel, Sydney. “The Media on Drugs.” The Wall Street Journal 27 Nov. 2007: A19.
- 14. Summary ML role in managing product controversy: Communicate with top KOLs to ensure data understanding and protect integrity Protect patient safety through appropriate identification and drug usage guidelines Provide KOL feedback to HQ strategy development team Serve as a ongoing KOL resource for question response and other informational needs