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Why Doctors are Consulting Wikipedia: Pfizer, GSK and Others Make Access Easier
Why Doctors Are Consulting Wikipedia And how Allergan, Pfizer, GSK and others are changing this
By Patrick Retif, VP of IT, Global Commercial, Allergan and Paul Shawah, VP Commercial Cloud Strategy, Veeva Systems, President, Align Biopharma
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Did you know more healthcare professionals (HCPs) get drug and treatment information from Google, Wikipedia, and other second-hand online sources than from life sciences companies?
Today’s dramatic increase of new andmorecomplexdrugshascreatedagreaterneedforHCPsto receive more timely, tailored, concise information to treat patients. Yet it’s not easy for doctors to get what they need, because each life sciences company provides information digitally in a different way. Busydoctorsareforcedtospend anexorbitantamountoftimelogging in to various web sites and managing dozens of user names and passcodes. In today’s digital worldwheretheexpectationisfor informationtobeatourfingertips, HCPsdon’thavethetimeorinclination to wade through this sea of roadblocks in order to get critical information to help their patients. On the other hand, the source of such crucial information must be reliable.
“I had to create a spreadsheet of 60 IDs.” A physician on Veeva’s HCP panel
As the number of new drugs increases, so does the amount of information healthcare professionals requiretofacilitatepatientengagement.Thereissignificantpotential for biopharmaceutical companies to use digital technology to inform HCPsonnewormorecomplex treatments.But,untilnow,that hasn’t happened with the ease it requires. WHAT’S THE ANSWER? Theanswer—somethingyou would think an IT genius should havecreatedyearsago—istomake it easier for doctors to get through a streamlined vetting process so theycanaccessdataquickly. Finally, this is happening. A new initiative, Align Biopharma, has beenfoundedbysixofthelargest global life sciences companies: Allergan,AstraZeneca,Biogen, GlaxoSmithKline,Novartis,and Pfizer,incooperationwithVeeva. AlignBiopharmaisanewindustry standards initiative. For the firsttime,wearecomingtogether to make it easier and faster for healthcare professionals to connect with the companies that provide the products and services. AlignBiopharmaisdefiningan identificationandauthentication standard to enable single sign-on forHCPstoaccessonlinecontent—includingwebsites,portals, virtualevents,orwebinars—across all companies. Once the group
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develops and publishes its standards, they will be made available to other technology vendors to use in building their products. Veeva will lead the industry standards group and be responsible for group management, operations, and communications. Doctorstreatpatientswithmultiple disease states and conditions, and use drugs from many companies.Becauseweareahighly regulated and very technologically-inclined industry, this leads to a rigorous registration process. Aphysicianmayneedtenor15 registrationIDsatasinglecompany. The number of branded, unbranded, and collaborative sites isexploding.Whenyouaddinthe portals, webinars, CME sites and more, it can be overwhelming.
Companiesexpendalotofenergy and effort to drive traffic to a digital site. So it becomes important nottofrustrateHCPsoncethey’re there. You want them to get info ASAP.Yetthat’snothappening. And because doctors are already pulled in numerous directions in the midst of an over-scheduled day,theyoftenchoosetofindtheir information elsewhere.
AlignBiopharmawasfoundedon theideathat,foreveryone’ssake— HCPs,companies,andespecially patients—therehastobeabetter way.Obviouslythisisacomplex equation.Whatistheeasyway? Whatquestionsdoyouask,how do you register and verify them underonesign-on?Howdoyou satisfy the protocols each company wantsinplace?That’swhyittook the efforts of many industry leaders to arrive at a set of standards. THE PROTOCOLS ARE COMING TOGETHER AlignBiopharmawillenablea single sign on, in one place. Standardswillbepublishedin1Q 2017.Thisinitiativeinvolvedthe cooperation and wisdom of people from all disciplines in the industry, including IT, security and brand people.Oncethefirstsetofstandards is published, the group will solicit industry feedback, then update and revise. Initially, we were concerned about being able to get agreement quicklyfromsomanyparticipants, but we are moving fast, and are productively engaged on all issues. Each company is getting the protocols approved.
This not only serves the companies and the doctors, but it ultimately drives better patient outcomes. Weexpectlifesciencescompanies, vendors, and consultants to sign on. In the case of a precommercial company, sign-on can be immediate, allowing them to start from day one with improved standards. Initially,AlignBiopharmawill focus on developing two new standards to facilitate seamless digital engagementandsimplifytheHCP experience: · Identity management—definitionofanidentificationand authentication standard to enableasinglesign-onforHCPsto accessonlinecontent—including websites, portals, virtual events, or webinars—acrossallcompanies · Consent and communication preferences —definitionof
standards for consent and preference management so that there is consistencyinhowHCPsspecify communication preferences with each company. AlignBiopharmaplanstopublish the Identity Management standard early this year. It will continue to evolve over time as we solicit feedback and companies adopt it over time. This opens up incredible opportunities for companies to gain insightonHCPsthatwillallow the industry to further personalize their interactions and create a seamless digital engagement experience,ultimatelybenefitting patients with much-needed products much faster. The ultimate goal is to streamline communication between the industry and its customers, the physicians, removing barriers and creatingamorefluidconversation. This will improve messaging and marketing efforts, and increase trust and reliance on your company’s outreach to its most vital audience.• FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ALIGN BIOPHARMA, VISIT ALIGNBIOPHARMA.ORG TO LEARN ABOUT ITS MISSION AND CURRENT STANDARDS IN DEVELOPMENT. Patrick Retif VP of IT, Global Commercial, Allergan Patrick has enhanced customer engagement by deploying Veeva to 8,000 reps in 52 countries in 52 weeks. He has also innovated in social media technologies that yielded revenue in just a few months. Patrick has also unleashed digital capabilities at Allergan by implementing a digital factory platform supporting over 450 websites. He has successfully supported over 15 product launches in two years, plus completed the largest 2015 M&A integration of Allergan Commercial IT in just 3 months. He has also led over a dozen integrations and divestitures that included redesigning IT organizations, harmonizing hundreds of systems, establishing news trusted relationships with new Allergan executives, and maintaining business as usual through responsiveness and innovations.
Paul Shawah VP Commercial Cloud Strategy, Veeva Systems; President, Align Biopharma Paul Shawah is shaping advances in cloud-based software to enable modern multichannel communications between life sciences companies and healthcare providers. He has been driving digital innovation in the life sciences industry for decades, and was named one of PharmaVOICE’s Top 100 Industry Innovators in 2012. Shawah is also published in dozens of respected life sciences trade publications and journals and is a regular speaker at industry conferences. At Siebel, Shawah pushed the envelope to incorporate mobile technology in the company’s CRM product that would enable feedback directly from the field during a physician call. He quickly became an evangelist for what is today known as closed loop marketing or CLM, igniting a movement in the life sciences industry as he set out to change the mindset of pharmaceutical marketers and sales operations. Now, he’s leading another transformative initiative as president of Align Biopharma.
paul.shawah@veeva.com
Align Biopharma Align Biopharma is an industry standards group comprised of leading pharmaceutical companies dedicated to making it faster and easier for healthcare professionals to connect with the life sciences industry and get the drug and treatment information they need to deliver improved care to patients. For more information, visit AlignBiopharma.org.
