PharmExecblog | Ben Comer
For some medical practice areas, digital details haven’t sufficiently stepped in where their human sales rep predecessors have stepped (or have been pushed) out, according to a survey of U.S. physicians.
Over the last two years, in-person visits to oncologists decreased by 14%, but eDetails for the group only increased by 4%. Allergy/Immunology docs saw a 5% decrease in rep visits, but eDetailing grew by 8%. Still, allergy/immunology docs only received 1.8 eDetails per week, on average, but would like to see 3.3 eDetails per week, according to the survey results.
In terms of perceived value, in-person reps ranked higher across the board. However, oncologists and family medicine practitioners said they were better educated by eDetails, whereas cardiologists and allergy/immunology docs said in-person reps provided a better education.
Regardless of whether a physician prefers eDetails or traditional sales calls, the kinds of material preferences included in a detail also vary by practice area. “If you go into a cardiology detail without referencing clinical trial data, they’re going to feel like something’s missing,” says Kevin Olson, CEO at Industry Standard Research, publisher of the survey. Oncologists, on the other hand, “don’t tell us the same thing” about clinical trial data, says Olson. Oncologists (39%) cited the ability to answer product-related questions as the most important aspect of a detail, followed by the inclusion of information that is “sufficiently patient focused,” at 30%. Fifty percent of cardiologists said clinical trial data is most important.
Asked about some of the more surprising results of the survey, Olson says one question asked about the importance of key opinion leader (KOL) content; he was surprised to learn that it did not rank highly in comparison to other aspects of the detail.