One of the more difficult challenges reps face in this new era of restricted pharmaceutical selling is the closed hospital.
But this issue is not as daunting as one might think. There are avenues into such institutions that can increase the usage
of your medicines, eliminate formulary restrictions and increase the buzz around a particular medication within the institution's
prescribing community. One way to accomplish these goals is to utilize networks that are accessible to you but that you may
have overlooked.
It's all about the network
CME coordinators. Some of the best advice I ever received was to get to know the continuing medical education coordinators at my hospitals.
These individuals are constantly looking to fill their grand rounds/CME lectures with disease state talks. Most pharmaceutical
companies offer unrestricted educational grants for this purpose. Although many companies have an online application process
that is usually completed by the requesting institution, you can facilitate. Present potential topics and find out if certain
physicians in your territory – who may already be approved speakers for your company – would be interested in presenting a
disease-based, nonbranded, educational lecture. Alternatively, you can suggest a very important physician in your territory,
perhaps one you know is on the pharmacy and therapeutics committee and with whom you need face-time; just be sure that this
physician is not directly opposed to the medication you are promoting. This is a win-win proposition in that you are providing
value to the institution and creating an opportunity for your drug to be mentioned during the talk. You can then follow up
with the speaker and begin a relationship that will allow you more regular contact.
Insider tips
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Hospitalists. Depending on the medications you are promoting, hospitalists can be the key to your market growth. Many of them work at several
hospitals, so if you can influence them to give your drug a try at one institution, chances are they will also use it at another
within your territory. These physicians are focused on decreasing their patients' length of stay, and their compensation is
tied to this metric. If you have a drug that can be promoted for a decreased length of stay (like an intravenous-equivalent
oral form) or if your drug has credible data showing a faster cure rate than a competitor's, hospitalists will be interested
in this information. Additionally, if you are promoting a drug that is on formulary but usually requires a specialty consult,
such as infectious disease, hospitalists can help you eliminate this enormous roadblock to your medication's use, as many
institutions exempt them from the consult restriction. Before attempting this approach, find a "champion" hospitalist (preferably
one who is either on the P&T committee or a strong influencer within the hospital) who will back you up when the drug begins
to gain wider use. When red flags are raised by the pharmacy or by some of the physicians who were not consulted, this hospitalist
can go to bat for you on the improved efficacy and discharge rates he is achieving by using your medication.
A good way to get acquainted with this group of physicians is to find out from the discharge planners or pharmacists who the
hospitalist director is and where he can be found. This individual is usually in charge of setting up weekly, monthly or quarterly
meetings with his group and can provide you with access by allowing conference sponsorship. You can also go to the Philadelphia-based
Society of Hospital Medicine Web site, http://www.hospitalmedicine.org/, to find out who the contact is for your local hospitalist society and offer to support one of its meetings.
Outside organizations or associations. In addition to sponsoring hospitalist associations, there are great benefits in sponsoring other professional organizations.
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants, infection control nurses, and discharge planners are just a few examples of
the many people who can help you increase the usage of your drugs within your closed institutions. You just need to give them
a reason to leave the hospital so you can begin to build a relationship.
