Digital Engagement in Medical Affairs is a hot topic and one I recently covered in a Group Mentoring session for a client’s Medical Affairs team. This article outlines some of the considerations we discussed around digital engagement by Medical Affairs teams, and what digital engagement looks like.
What is Digital Engagement?
So firstly what is Digital engagement? It’s defined as any kind of engagement using a digital channel. This covers a broad range of mediums from virtual meetings and advisory boards, to recorded modules, digital audit tools, apps, websites, social media and podcasts.
Digital engagement in Medical Affairs covers a wide variety of activities.
What do I need to consider before starting Digital Engagement?
Some of the biggest questions I get from clients are what kind of considerations are there before you embark on a digital project?
Firstly approach it like you would any other project. Using the 5 steps in the Wolf Medical Strategy Framework consider:
Your objective
Who your stakeholders are
What the actual gaps and needs are
The best way to approach or close those gaps
How you are going to measure success.
In fact what I recommend is that for any project whether digital or not, consider if there will be a digital component to it - for example if you will record a meeting, or host materials or a webinar digitally at a later date. Why? Because if you factor that in at the beginning it makes your compliance approvals and process much smoother at the other end.
Guidance around Digital Engagement for Pharma
So what guidance is there around digital engagement, and what considerations do you need to include when planning a digital engagement activity, especially in Medical Affairs? You need to follow your standard compliance guidance and your legislation around promotion. If you check your local compliance guidelines there is usually some guidance around Digital Activities. For example EFPIA (The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations) in Europe, the PMCPA (Prescriptions Medicines Code of Practice Authority) in the UK and IPHA (Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association) in Ireland, all have guidance on digital communications.
According to EFPIA
“A digital channel is only a platform for communicating. Laws and regulations applicable to other platforms and media also apply to digital media. The content, target group and use of the platform are relevant factors to determine applicable rules, not the media as such.
Therefore, the provisions of the Directive 2001/83/EC related to the Medicinal Products’ advertising and of the EFPIA Code of Practice apply to digital communication. The processing of personal data must comply with applicable data protection regulations“
“Member Companies are responsible for all material disseminated via any digital channel that is initiated, branded and/or sponsored by Member Companies, or any Third Party acting on their behalf, including promotion of Medicinal Products.”
What this means in practice is that you treat digital channels as you would any other project from a compliance perspective, also ensuring that GDPR and data protection are covered.
It’s best practice to build in as much control as possible around access to the materials, meetings and websites. It needs to be clear who the materials are intended for, you need to consider how they will be accessed, will HCPs have to self-declare, will they have to log-in. Can you make sure that the link isn’t shared with others.
Considerations around Digital Engagement for Pharma
If we break it down what do we need to consider?
Considerations around Digital Engagement for Medical Affairs
Who:
Is it aimed at HCPs, patients or the general public?
Where will the information be accessed?
Website
Cloud based
App
Live
Recorded
3rd party platform
What is the purpose of the activity?
Insight gathering
Education
Evidence generation
How will it be shared?
•Is it a company owned platform?
•Is it a third-party platform?
•Will a link be shared?
•Who will monitor registrations?
•Will they self-declare?
•Are there disclaimers?
As well as guidance from the various authorities and associations, always check your internal procedures and policies.
Digital Engagement Activities
Working across different companies I have come across a number of different digital activities run by Medical Affairs teams running the spectrum from insight, to education, to engagement..
Digital Insight gathering covers activities such as the use of virtual advisory boards, asynchronous advisory boards and 3rd party partners collecting information or research from HCPs.
From an education perspective there is so much you can do. It depends on what your objective is and what best suits your audience. Options include:
Meetings streamed live, meaning you can reach a wider geographical spread.
Recorded modules - with or without educational quizzes and certificates at the end.
Stand alone webinars or as part of a larger educational programme.
Websites with educational resources - either information or downloadable assets.
Digital summaries such as those created by Science Pod.
Case study tools - where HCPs can work through pre-vetted simulated case studies.
Medical Education through Digital Engagement can be approached a number of ways
For Medical Education websites you will need to consider the content, who has access, and how frequently you update it. You will also need to consider proximity to the promotional materials and ensure there is no overlap of content or materials. I’ve worked on projects where globally supported digital projects can’t necessarily be used locally, based on local rules on engagement and promotion.
Digital Engagement for Medical Affairs via Apps offer another unique touchpoint.
Digital Engagement with Apps
Apps can be of value - but be clear on what you are trying to achieve with them as there is a lot of work involved, such as who will manage it, who will do systems updates etc.
In one company I worked in, Medical Information requests were captured via an App on an MSLs Ipad and this was signed by the HCP and sent directly to the Medical Information department. It just makes so much sense!
I’ve seen QR codes so that HCPs can organise appointments or request follow ups with Medical Affairs teams. Recently I was speaking with a Medical Director whose team ensures feedback is captured before the end of meetings through attendees scanning a QR code.
What about Approved Emails?
This was something that came up in a session I did recently with a client’s Medical Affairs Team. They mentioned that they were being encouraged to create reactive responses that could be shared digitally. The issue with this is you never know when a request will come in. So I posed the question - why not proactive non-promotional emails? If you want digital engagement then why don’t you use it to engage proactively?
If you have a non-promotional meeting or an educational campaign - consider having a suite of pre-approved emails that could be sent from your Medical Affairs Team. Just remember this is where having a strong cross-functional strategy comes in, you need to be clear on the volume of the promotional emails being sent to HCPs so that they don’t get overwhelmed and annoyed. You also have to ensure you have captured digital consent!
Digital engagement is becoming more popular and certainly since the Covid pandemic people are a lot more comfortable with digital meetings and the convenience of attending remotely. If you don’t know your HCPs preference - why not ask them? It’s the best.
Ask your customers what their preferences are
In Summary
Getting comfortable with digital engagement and using it to maximise engagement and impact will be key for Pharma including Medical Affairs over the coming years. In order for Medical Affairs teams to keep up with current practice ensure you are familiar with your local guidance and SOPs. Before embarking on any projects be clear on your customers preferences and your overall objective.
If you are interested in learning more about digital engagement and other topics to maximise your Medical Affairs engagement contact us at Wolf Medical today info@wolfmedical.ie or sign up to our Medical Impact Membership launching starting in May 2024. Our Medical Impact Membership is aimed at Medical Leads looking to level up their skill set and will provide training and discussion around hot topics in Medical every two months. As well as our regular training calls there will be the opportunity for support for all your Medical Affairs questions in between the calls. Spaces are limited to 10 per group and registration closes on the 10th of May 2024. Email info@wolfmedical.ie for more information or to register now!
