It is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has made in-person engagement much more difficult. As a result, organizations are struggling to maintain relationships with key stakeholders. For pharmaceutical and medical device organizations, medical affairs and sales teams are grounded, making strong targeting and engagement strategies even more imperative in order to gain a competitive advantage.
Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs) are modifying their business strategies due to changes in the industry, such as healthcare reform and financial pressures. IDNs influenced by the B2B strategy are shifting their operating models and changing the way pharmaceutical and medical device companies interact with them. It is also important to acknowledge that as more IDNs are created and others continue to grow, each has its own set of motivators and values important to their leadership and key decision makers.
Across the life sciences industry, there is a call to break down the silos associated with frequent acquisitions and divestments. Companies are growing faster than they can consolidate their technologies and information, requiring more cohesive digital strategies. With the rise of digital and the number of customer accounts that need to be managed, data change management procedures are necessary to ensure stronger, more organized digital collaboration.
Value-based contracts (VBCs) are increasing in popularity throughout field, market access, and contracts teams across the life sciences industry. It’s important that relevant data is used to create these types of contracts so that the output is most advantageous to the customer, as well as the patient. Not only is visibility into contract management beneficial to the customer but it also has dual benefits for both commercial and contracts and pricing teams in medical device and pharmaceutical companies.
In the face of the technology revolution, many organizations typically have a tough time adjusting to new ways of thinking. Instead of embracing innovation, it sometimes is easier to rely on old traditional platforms and systems that tend to hinder their ability to be more efficient and organized. Especially in the life sciences industry, there are several functions that could immensely benefit from doing away with legacy systems and antiquated workflow management.
Although technology is disrupting the life sciences industry, it presents many opportunities to pharmaceutical and medical device companies who are willing to step outside of their comfort zones. Especially with the increase in remote work and collaboration, a life science organization that can embody a strong digital strategy, can boost efficiencies and performance across all functional areas, especially for commercial and medical affairs teams.
Performance management can be a tough skill for life sciences organizations to master, however, when the process is crafted strategically and carefully, it easily becomes a competitive advantage.
According to McKinsey, Medical Affairs teams are growing to become the third strategic pillar in life sciences organizations. Having enhanced data capabilities and expertise in collaborating with key stakeholders makes Medical Affairs well-equipped to provide the strategic support needed to seek RWE and optimize product life cycles and, ultimately, patient outcomes.
There is an increased need for sales leadership intelligence within life science organizations. High quality intelligence not only helps senior leaders support and coach their commercial team but also personally helps them become better decision makers, stay agile, and positively impact the bottom line.
