Metrics that bridge the gap to Medical Affairs 2.0
Historically, decisions for the generation and placement of Medical Affairs data were based on experience and instinct simply because hard, objective information was not available and end-to-end metrics for evaluation simply did not exist. In addition, finding the right thought leader to engage on behalf of your team and assigned scientific imperatives was more of an art than an objective, analytical process. Further, tracking changes in a thought leader’s status and interests accurately and efficiently over time was virtually impossible.
Similarly, with scientific publications, Medical Affairs teams have relied on surrogate markers, such as journal impact factors or conference attendance to support their decisions on where to publish and present.
Lastly, the use of Medical Affairs dashboards in Pharma has become more and more commonplace by leadership, making it now more important than ever that the information you worked so hard to develop is the right science for the right audience!
The Medical Affairs function is in the process of evolving from a traditional support role (Medical Affairs 1.0) into a more robust, strategic organization for data generation and dissemination (Medical Affairs 2.0).
Data gathering and analysis capabilities are now available specifically for Medical Affairs professionals, providing the metrics that matter to your team. As a result, your team can now base decisions on hard, objective, analytical data.
For example, Medical Affairs professionals can now track how frequently, where and how much specific researchers publish or present, where their data are seen, and what impact they have. These new capabilities help you identify leading and up-and-coming thought leaders, track trends in their research interests, predict the next hot scientific issues and which institutions are driving them. Leveraging this data will help you target the best journals and venues to publish and present your data and also allow you to see how you are doing vs the competition in terms of communicating Scientific Imperatives and other parameters. This strategic detail at your fingertips will help you place and present scientific data more effectively.
Some of the analytics now available to you
Share of Scientific Voice – Determine whether or not your scientific imperatives resonate with the right audience. Share of Scientific Voice™
(SoSV) is the collective number of times your product is noted in the medical literature and/or medical/scientific meetings over a given period. SoSV is derived from surveying all credible medical/scientific journal publications available in PubMed and the largest databse of meeting abstracts in the world, and can be used to measure the impact and visibility of a given product in the medical/scientific arena.
Change in Rank – Evaluate who your rising and falling stars are within a specific therapeutic area. Track where and how frequently your thought leaders publish and present and see the impact of their work..
Currency – Assess how focused your thought leaders are on the therapeutic areas important to you, how relevant certain congresses and journals are with respect to dissemination of your data
Contribution Analysis – Judge if your top researchers are also compelling presenters. Track investigators’ presentation and publication references as an indicator of where they excel in terms of scientific communication to help you match experts’ presentation strengths to your specific needs.
Networks – See who collaborates with your experts. Map your thought leader’s professional networks to help you gauge their spheres of influence and provide potential talking points for your field medical staff as you expand your own network of potential collaborators.
These tools, among others developed by Medmeme, now provide Medical Affairs professionals with a cutting edge suite of applications which are the perfect instruments to help drive the transition from Medical Affairs 1.0 to Medical Affairs 2.0. In this series of articles, we will next explore how these tools and metrics specifically apply to the different departments within Medical Affairs and how they’ll help your organization maximize your efforts
Welcome to Medical Affairs 2.0!
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