The Clinical Side: Can we bridge the clinical-sales divide?
Part 1 The collaboration conundrum
May 1, 2005 By:
Jane Y. Chin Pharmaceutical Representative
The medical science liaison position was created almost 40 years ago,
and some of us may think our industry has progressed with the value
proposition of this continually evolving role. However, considering the
many challenges of cross-functional collaboration between medical
science liaisons and other pharmaceutical functions, we have a long way
to go toward building a collaborative environment where teamwork does
not clash with compliance. The relationship between field sales forces
and field MSL forces is a particularly touchy subject. In some cases,
"joint calls," "gaining physician access" and "returns on investment"
have become dirty words when used in the context of a sales
representative-MSL relationship.
Where are we now?
In February, Pharmaceutical
Representative conducted an online poll on the frequency of
sales representative-MSL interactions. Of the 72 responses collected
over a 28-day period, over a third indicated that responders either
worked frequently (10%) or at least once a quarter (31%) with an MSL.
Nearly the same proportion of responders worked with MSLs either rarely
(17%) or never (28%).
If this poll had been conducted two years ago, before the Department of
Health and Human Services? Office of Inspector General published the
final "Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers," I
suspect there would have been a higher number of responses in the
"frequently" category. In some organizations, active medical science
liaison support in "scientific sales consultation" may once have been
common practice. Many representatives no longer have that level of
scientific support because of firewalls between medical affairs and
sales functions.
To reduce compliance risk areas, executives have created functional
firewalls that place MSLs under medical affairs rather than marketing
or sales. Many organizations also have operational firewalls, which do
not allow joint calls or allow them only under stringently defined
circumstances. Some companies strongly discourage the use of MSLs to
help sales representatives gain physician access, fearing a perception
of impropriety.
Firewalls can be helpful to distinguish what sales representatives do
from what MSLs do in the field, but without executive direction on how
MSLs and sales representatives can effectively interact in the field,
both representatives and MSLs have been experiencing the negative
consequences of what was meant to be a positive step toward compliance.
A small percentage (7%) of responders in the poll reported that they
have a hard time getting a response from their MSL. Medical science
liaisons are often left to manage cross-functional expectations on a
case-by-case basis, creating a situation where one MSL may be viewed as
more of a team player than another MSL in the same group. Medical
science liaisons may also be receiving mixed messages or unclear
direction on how best to interact with sales representatives in the
field.
Sales representatives generally know of MSLs but not necessarily about
MSLs' roles in the pharmaceutical organization or how MSLs' activities
contribute to the company. The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly
aware of concerns about the dissemination of off-label information by
MSLs in the field, including the misconceptions of some sales
representatives that MSLs have unique privileges granted by the Food
and Drug Administration. These misconceptions can lead sales
representatives to think that medical science liaisons can legitimately
promote off-label or solicit off-label discussions. As a result, some
representatives may look to MSLs to help them grow the business by
leveraging new off-label uses of a product, thereby increasing market
share in their territories. Some sales trainers have reported that
during sales training, representatives sometimes wonder why they are
not allowed to discuss certain information but MSLs are, and why this
difference should exist. This suggests that compliance training may not
always clarify representatives' questions about the MSL role or
guarantee automatic understanding of where MSL activities fit into the
company's field-based activities overall.
Where do we want to be?
This article aims to present some current issues involved in the sales
representative-MSL collaboration conundrum and to identify potential
drivers of these challenges. Now, I invite you -- the representative,
sales or marketing manager, medical science liaison, industry observer,
or consultant -- to e-mail me at the address below and share your
opinions about these issues and what you think the potential solutions
are. In the next article in this two-part series, I will discuss what
solutions exist to get this collaboration where we want it to be.
Jane Y. Chin has a doctorate in biochemistry and experience in sales and medical affairs. She coaches reps to be more scientifically confident in communicating with physicians. For more information on how Chin can help sales teams improve their effectiveness, contact her at jane@pharmrepclinic.com or through her Web site, www.pharmrepclinic.com.
Articles by Jane Y. Chin
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