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Evolving Communication with Healthcare Professionals in the Pharmaceutical Space: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

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Abstract

The pharmaceutical industry is subject to complex regulations relating to the safety and efficacy of medicinal products, as well as pricing and reimbursement, added value, communication, and advertising. In addition, multiple stakeholders have evolved and now not only include physicians, but also payers, regulatory authorities, patients, and patient advocacy groups in the move toward an added value-based healthcare system. The advent of digitalization has also had a significant influence on how healthcare professionals and decision makers are identified and the most effective and preferred methods of communicating with them. This review will investigate how communication between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals as well as other stakeholders is changing. It will then examine how pharmaceutical companies can employ the latest technologies to identify, target, and inform relevant parties about the medicinal product and its value at the time of launch and post-approval activities. This has been achieved by a review of the available literature and supported by a survey of industry representatives. The results indicate that an optimal communication strategy is likely to involve a combination of face-to-face interactions and an increased use of digital platforms with an emphasis on clinical data and scientific information.

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Fig. 1

Reproduced with permission from Bain & Company (www.bain.com) [11]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Apogenix AG, Im Neuenheimer Feld 584, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Andriy Krendyukov

  2. Daiichi Sankyo Europe GmbH, Munich, Germany

    Dévi Nasy

Authors
  1. Andriy Krendyukov
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  2. Dévi Nasy
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Correspondence to Andriy Krendyukov.

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No funding was used to assist in the preparation of this article.

Conflict of interest

Andriy Krendyukov is an employee of Apogenix AG, and Dévi Nasy is an employee of Daiichi Sankyo Europe GmbH. The opinions and ideas expressed in this article are personal and do not necessarily represent those of the companies. Andriy Krendyukov and Dévi Nasy declare that they have no other potential conflicts of interest that might be relevant to the contents of this article.

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Krendyukov, A., Nasy, D. Evolving Communication with Healthcare Professionals in the Pharmaceutical Space: Current Trends and Future Perspectives. Pharm Med 34, 247–256 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40290-020-00341-0

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