July Summary Of #MedAffairsTalk on Clubhouse

Every week the #MedAffairsTalk group comes together to discuss current topics in Medical Affairs. Thanks to the amazing guest speakers and audience, we have engaging conversations that dive deeper into various topics. Our fantastic moderators are Luca Dezzani, Amy Pernell Cavers, Bora Erdemli, PhD, and myself.

Below are the summary points from each session, but we would love to hear you live! Please join us for our next sessions, which are each Friday at 1 PM EST on Clubhouse!

July 2, 2021 - Training and Capability Building

Celebrating 1000+ members of?#MedAffairsTalk?and an excellent conversation about training and capabilities development for?#medicalaffairs?with guest speakers?Andy H.,?Joseph Cha?&?Taylor Spector, PhD!

Here are my takeaways for this week:

?? Training has a change management component to it. Skills are learned, and behaviors are modified. You have 2 extremes (the champions and the resisters) when it comes to training (with some gray scales in the middle). In that regard, words matter, and calling it career development may be a better option.

?? There is no such thing as a 1 curriculum fits all. A better option is to group the learnings by job types but to differentiate based on competency assessments, individualize the experience, and cultivate a growth mindset.

?? There is an overwhelming amount of content available, both within companies, but also online. The best way to carve out a professional development path is to first ask leadership what the desired outcome is and then build a path to excellence with each employee taking into account the skills they already possess.

?? Training for MA should be based on 4 pillars: scientific acumen, engagement skills, business acumen, and emotional intelligence

?? (unfortunately) assessments and tests will continue to be the backbone, but we need a better way to show mastery versus the (short term) retention of some facts. It is the ROI that matters.

?? What do MA professionals think they need more training on is science and scientific acumen. What do MA professionals really need more training on is soft skills and?#emotionalintelligence

July 9, 2021 - Launch Preparation

Strategy, data, storytelling,?#emotionalintelligence, position, value, patient centricity, insights, collaboration were some of the 1 words to describe a successful launch by the moderators of?#MedAffairsTalk?and guests!

This week there were contributions from many (Thank you ???? ), so here are my takeaways!

?? The human element is the most critical in a successful launch; we are the ones presenting the data, making sure we have cross-functional alignment, fruitful internal collaborations, and valued relationships built upon scientific storytelling with our external stakeholders.

?? Strategy vs. bad strategy. A good strategy encompasses the best approaches, the data, etc. A bad strategy is forced from the top down without buy-in from those who execute, leaving the launch faltering. Bad strategy adheres to templates and restrictive thinking with a loss of creativity.

?? Storytelling and the scientific platform. You need a robust scientific platform with cross-functional alignment and agreement. From here, the MSLs or field medical can tell the scientific story in a compelling way that meets the HCP's needs on how and when to receive this information. The storytelling must be consistent across the company.

?? Insights! Here MA can make the difference by providing the information needed to create an effective launch strategy. This can help position the product by having a good understanding of the landscape and help shape the scientific narrative necessary for a successful launch.

?? Cross-functional alignment and agreement. When this human element is missing, we see that people duplicate efforts, the company does not come across as 'one,' silos are detrimental to cross-functional success, and the launch will fall short.

And the best time to truly measure the value of MA? In the pre-launch period! There it will be much easier to attribute the impact to the organization's success.

I truly enjoyed this week's conversation and have again learned so much! Please, let me know in the comments what else you thought I missed or topics you'd like us to bring up in an upcoming session! We ?? feedback and suggestions!

July 16, 2021 - What will the Return to Work Look Like?

We had an international, lively, and diverse crowd join us for our weekly?#MedAffairsTalk! Some of us are really ready to get back to the office, others..... maybe not so much!

Here are my takeaways from this week's fabulous talk!

?? Most, if not all of us, are still in a hybrid situation, but hybrid means different things to different situations, and there is a wide range of expectations and possibilities. One conference was already fully in person with no virtual component, whereas others will go to the office for the first time next week. The post-pandemic workforce will have different expectations and will want more flexibility to work from home. Productivity has clearly not been affected.

?? It's important to meet the client where they want. Reevaluation of the needs for in-person versus virtual for each KOL will become important. The pandemic has shown us that we can now meet with different stakeholders 1000s of miles away from each other on the same day. This efficiency improves productivity.

?? What is the Return On Investment on in-person meetings? Travel is costly, and a reevaluation to see which meetings are deemed necessary and added value may be required. Travel for just a 1-hour meeting is becoming harder to justify.

?? Is it possible to build relationships virtually? We are human, and we need the human connection. At the same time, some of us have started a new job at a new company and have build solid relationships solely through a virtual platform. Both research and experience show that building and maintaining relationships are possible.

?? What about the competitive edge that you lose if your competitor meets in person with a KOL and you don't? Not an uncommon situation, but if the relationship is solid and you are a trusted advisor, the value of the interaction will not have been diminished.

Thank you all for joining us today, and let us know what you thought of today's session in the comments!

July 23, 2021 - Use of Technology in Medical Affairs

This week's Teams vs. Zoom!

This week is going to be hard to recap, but I will do my best!

?? Most companies use Teams for internal meetings, but there were several mentions of difficulties setting up meetings with external stakeholders in Teams (definitely happened to me too). One example was of the meeting attendees being in different rooms for the same meeting. Another obstacle could be that most physicians prefer and are used to Zoom. On the other hand, the time lag between clicking on the Zoom link in your calendar, going through the webpage before opening the app was mentioned as cumbersome.

?? Slack vs. Teams. Collaborating on a document in teams through SharePoint was considered a big benefit by many who came on stage. Slack has those abilities through Google Drive/Dropbox integrations.

?? The biggest problem for most people was the lack of integration between the different platforms, the inability to find emails on your phone, and collaboration in PDFs. And a place where Medical Affairs specific software (how to's) questions can be asked. (?? ask them in our Group!!!! That's what we're here for!)

?? Some other software mentioned and worth looking at is Canva, BioRender, Notion, Smartsheet, Trello, Monday, MS Project.

?? This topic is something we should elaborate on in a future session: how can we make the technology we use more patient-centered? And how can?#medicalaffairs?play a role in advancing this?

Thank you to all of you who came up on stage and shared your perspectives with us! Too many to name, but your input is appreciated!

I forgot to ask a question, but maybe someone can answer this in the comments ?? : is Teams HIPAA compliant? I know Zoom can be (you have to pay for it)

July 30, 2021 - Case Study 01: Speaker Failure

DON'T PANIC! Just yet, at least!

Speaker failure - case study 01!

Nine months post-launch, the main PI of your Phase 3/pivotal study presents at a major/international conference. Post-conference, there is a very public poll where 60% of the respondents say they are not likely to prescribe your drug in the near future. What do you do!

Here are my take-aways from the engaging conversation, and please add yours in the comments!

?? The strategy to resolve the problem should include the root cause analysis, improve the situation and prevent this from happening in the future.

?? Some of the possible root causes mentioned were: (1) speaker went 'off course,' (2) how good is the data, (3) was it the right audience for the poll, (4) how does the drug fit within the current treatment guidelines, (5) what was the scientific message and did the perception change from before to after (speaker vs. campaign failure).

?? To improve the current situation, suggestions were to utilize the MSL team. Through insight-gathering, see if this is the true sentiment with the KOLs/HCPs, or if other things are at play. Review and adjust the resource for the MSLs and make sure the message is on point. Realign the scientific message with the key pain points of external stakeholders and create educational activities to support such. Most importantly, re-engage with the stakeholders, both in the negative and the positive.

?? To prevent this from happening in the future, it is crucial to make sure that we have the right information from the beginning. You need the right pre-launch activities in place. You need adboards with the right stakeholders to get a proper layout of the landscape. Make sure that your scientific message is on point and that your storytelling is engaging. Make sure there is a cross-functional collaboration with a solid strategic plan.

?? Every single person in?#medicalaffairs?should be comfortable in having crucial conversations. If this was a speaker failure, those who engage with the speaker should be handling the feedback, and no escalation should happen. The relationship should be long-term and nurtured, taking in stride the ups and the downs.

Thank you all for joining us each week and please join us on stage next time!

?? #medicalaffairs #MedAffairsTalk #medicalaffairsleader