MANAGED CARE 101: A MUST FOR SALES AND ACCOUNT MANAGERS IN PHARMA

Managed care is a process that gives patients an option to receive care at a reduced cost through their healthcare plans that have specialized contracts with healthcare providers. Managed care’s primary focus is on wellness and prevention, though it also supports better utilization of healthcare services, better healthcare quality, and lower costs.

In other words, managed care can benefit both patients and providers through a coordinated approach; patients get access to lower-cost benefits while providers gain access to an efficient process for acquiring new patients and managing receivables.

Managed care plans come in a variety of options, including Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Point Of Service (POS) Plans, And Medicaid Managed Care. Population survey data shows that over 70 million Americans have been enrolled in HMOs, and nearly 90 million have been involved with PPOs. It is fair to say that managed markets are a focal point of modern healthcare – and pharmaceutical personnel need to understand how the interplay of various participants in managed care affect their sales and operations.

The Role of Pharmaceutical Sales and Account Managers in Managed Care

Pharmaceutical sales reps bear a heavy burden. As product specialists and provider liaisons, sales reps have more to do than simply memorize spec sheets. Succeeding in managed care requires an understanding of the general market environment, the economics of managed markets, and how to match their products and solutions to the potential buyers based on the critical business issues faced by the key decision makers.

Sales reps need a deeper understanding of influencing factors such as regulations in product pricing, prescribing restrictions, authorizations, copay management, and more. Account Managers on the other hand need to be able to have tremendous insights into the concerns and challenges of the Key Decision Makers, and based on that build and deliver a unique value proposition that speaks undeniable value and long-term engagement.

This is why, in addition to the standard account management training, most pharmaceutical companies require their sales and account reps to go through managed care training seminars to gain a deep understanding of the system.

Managed Care Training Offers a Competitive Edge

In order to be able to deliver the above-mentioned value, pharma sales and account managers must be well versed in the intricacies of the managed market.

This involves-

• Understanding managed healthcare & the different components
• Identifying the providers & how they impact managed healthcare
• Defining quality & identifying quality initiatives in addition to the leading quality organizations
• Understanding the U.S. healthcare market framework

Pharma managers and sales reps are most effective when they are coached by those familiar with the specialized needs of managed markets. As a leading healthcare consulting firm, The Brooks Group has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in this field.

The Brooks Group offers a dedicated course called “Managed Care 101” – a training course specifically designed for account managers, field sales reps, and senior level sales professionals looking for insight into the various strategies and techniques used to support managed care markets. Registration is available through open-enrollment sessions at The Brooks Group or by a custom course with your team/organization.

If you’re interested in learning more about our managed care training curriculum or about our healthcare executive training programs, contact us today for more information.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2020/11/managed-care-101-a-must-for-sales-and-account-managers-in-pharma/

5 KEY PRESENTATION SKILLS THAT HEALTHCARE EXECUTIVES NEED TO DEVELOP TODAY

At the executive level, success depends a lot on effective communication. This is particularly true for healthcare, where entities frequently rely on one another for insights into healthcare market research, strategic goals and leadership development.

Innovations move fast in healthcare, and executives who want to keep pace will need to relay these insights to key participants within their organization, as well as other entities through presentations, boardroom meetings, or other speaking engagements. To this end, they need a communication strategy that gets the information across in a clear and concise manner, and demonstrates leadership, competence, and confidence.

These are the fundamental traits to have when presenting to strategic-level personnel, and they’re achievable by first nailing down a few essential presentation skills, noted below.

1. Develop the Right Content Structure for Effective Presentations

Presentations given to healthcare personnel must be well-designed, and logical. They need to speak to the benefits of new healthcare methodologies and get clinicians on board. For these audiences, content should be created with the following elements in mind:

• Clear objective setting
• Strategic focus of the content
• Logical structuring of material
• Establishing relevance to the audience’s area of work

In other words, it all starts with the content and how well it is structured.

2. Manage Distractions During Presentations

Technical problems. Memory lapses. Co-presenters going off-script. Distractions are inevitable. It’s how the presenter deals with them that matters.

Managing distraction is a function of experience and deliberate application of personal skills around voice and body language. Healthcare executives don’t need to be clever or quick on their feet to manage distractions; they just need to apply the same skills-based approach to distractions as they do to their other presentation goals. With the right healthcare executive training, presenters will have all the tools they need to stay one step ahead of such disruptions.

3. Leverage Media Tools to Support Verbal Messages

Slideshows and handouts are old favorites, but to be effective in today’s world of short attention spans, executives need to take things one step further. These days, interactive multimedia presentations are the easiest way to keep audiences engaged.

Modern digital media like 3D modeling and simulations, infographics, gamification, can all be leveraged to create interactive learning experiences for audiences. After all, the best healthcare presentations don’t simply speak to audiences. They’re customized with specific audiences in mind and built to facilitate participation and thoughtful dialogue.

The idea here is to determine the best combination of technologies to engage each audience and leave them with a “wow” factor that makes them eager to hear more!

4. Identify & Manage Varying Types of Audience Participants

It’s common to feel alone up there on the platform. But presenters aren’t alone – not when they’re familiar with their audience and how they can help reinforce the presenter’s goals. Some audience members may be supporters an executive can turn to for validation; others may be detractors, or “fence-sitters” that jam up a group consensus.

Learning to identify and manage these participants helps healthcare executives retain control during presentations and create better engagement among attendees.

5. Create Purposeful Audience Interaction

Healthcare is a dynamic industry, and healthcare presentations need to follow suit by engaging audience members and driving purposeful results from their participation.

But it isn’t easy to shake attendees out of apathy and get them involved in the discussion, which is why it helps to have dedicated training from healthcare consulting firms on the best way to create purpose-driven interactions in each presentation.

Healthcare Executive Training Begins With Communication

The above are just a few essential presentation skills that effective healthcare executives should know, but they’re only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s possible. The Brooks Group provides detailed presentation training through our Carpei Audientiam program, specifically designed to enhance executive presentation skills and the way they connect with their audience. Registration is available through open enrollment sessions here, or by custom course with your organization.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2020/11/5-key-presentation-skills-that-healthcare-executives-need-to-develop-today/