In response to the rumor of the end of drug reps here is an article I posted last summer. While doing a report for someone I had a chance to go back and reexamine some findings on research we did with HCP’s. One of the questions we wanted answered is “do physicians still value pharma reps?” The answer: it depends
We found that for certain conditions (i.e. cancer) and certain companies (Amgen, Genentech) physicians do value sales reps and try and find time to meet with them. The research also showed that for other more common medications like statins and hypertensives physicians felt there was not a lot of additional value that pharma sales reps could bring to the table.
Other worries right now
When we started to meet with physicians in focus groups the first question our moderator asked was “Overall, how is the business end of your practice going ?”. As reflected in media stories they are “concerned” about new healthcare legislation and its effect on their practice.
The other issue that they face are the increasing costs to bring their practices into the digital age. Tablet’s, smartphones, an integrated network all cost money and right now there is not one solution to integrate insurance paperwork, email, patient records, CRM and scheduling. Even if there was physicians are concerned about the cost of solutions including the training of office staff.
Some physicians are interested in using social media to market their practice but they don’t want to use it for patient consultations until they get paid to do so.
When we asked physicians what are the top two areas that pharma sales reps could add value they said (1) more knowledgeable about medicine/health conditions (2) provide more access to third party journal articles and talk more about ongoing and new clinical trials.
Will the pharma rep become extinct ? I don’t think so but the rep is going to have to become more a person to channel information and establish relationships and less of a salesperson if they are going to provide value.
Disclosure: The research was conducted Aug-November 2009 with PCP’s, Oncologists and Endo’s. They were paid for their time at the research.
Passionate healthcare marketer with over 10 years of experience I believe that what's best for patients is best for healthcare marketers. I also write a monthly DTC Column for PM 360 Magazine and have written many articles on healthcare marketing in an age of empowered patients.
As cost containment bites ever deeper around the world, and the decision as to what drugs can be prescribed moves increasingly to the payor, it is hard to see how the traditional sales rep can survive long term, especially in the present numbers. I would expect to see more interfacing between company and practising MDs, more on-line information, stronger key account management of payor organizations and a steep decline in the number of reps.
A paradigm shift from “the practice of medicine to the business of medicine”
The practice of medicine has changed where at one time it was really about the patient and it was called a “practice”. Don’t get me wrong, today it is still very much about the patient however it’s also really a business. A physician has their own economic considerations to fulfill such as running their business (notice the difference in terms: practice vs. business) and their home and family needs.
There are many demands on the private practice physician today thereby changing the nature of the business. I see the business of medicine similar to that of a restaurant; (this is in no means meant to belittle the practice of and significance of medicine– just a comparison) the doctor needs to process x number of patients through the front door to break even and cover costs making it profitable to say in business; they need to meet with staff payroll, insurance (health and medical malpractice), rent and their own salary.
Hence with physicians needing to see more patients they have less and less time for sales reps especially PCPs and for products they may be more familiar with such as late stage Rxs like Nexium, Lipitor, Crestor, Mirapex ER (just random late stage Rxs). However, HCPs do need the support and resources from the brands to help them in their practice as well as help their patients they’ve prescribed such medications for. Many HCPs prefer to engage in consuming Rx content on their own time.
Pharma manufacturers are taking proactive moves to help the HCP and his office staff by supporting the reps in the field and providing a complementary replacement in cases where reps are phased out. These pharmas along with their marketing partners are providing new “e” tools online for HCPs to engage with such as ability to order samples, obtain product access formulary information, patient resources to help with therapy, webcasts of KoLs, and copies of important journal article reprints.
NPP (non-personal promotions) or HCP RM programs do have value in the pharma marketing space in communicating to HCPs. As for what HCPs are looking for, I often source the 2008 and 2010 SERMO / Publicis Touch Points surveys which clearly show that doctors want a sales rep that brings value, a rep that can hold their ground in a robust exchange about the product, about the clinical data. They don’t want an empty suit.
I strongly feel that a phasing in approach providing self accessible e-tools will only help HCPs to better manage their practice/business and help build a supportive link between the brands and the prescribers.
My view point is that reps will not fully go away, but rather they’ll need to really step up providing more significance in their role and earn the right to have a relationship with the HCPs they call on.