Pharmaceutical Companies & Patient Advocacy Work Together Through COVID

 

The Advocate: Supporting the Patient Voice, is a syndicated market research product powered by The Brooks Group that conducts a study of the relationship between patient advocate groups and pharmaceutical companies. We placed particular emphasis on the changes that this relationship has undergone as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a summary of some of our most pertinent findings.

Gaps Identified Through the Advocacy/Pharma Partnership

•    COVID-19's Impact on Patients

35% of respondents indicated that COVID-19 was a ‘very big issue’ in terms of its impact on their patients’ medical adherence, with 59% reporting that missed preventative appointments had the biggest impact.

•    What Organizations are Doing to Dissuade Fear from Seeing Physicians

63% of respondents provided information to patients to help convince them that it was safe to see their physician during the COVID-19 pandemic, while 33% chose to improve access to virtual support groups and other online tools and 24% encouraged patients to make telemedicine appointments instead.

•    Working Together to Ease the Burden of Non-Medical Switching

82% of respondents indicated that non-medical medication switching was either a very big or moderate issue for their patients, but only 52% said their organization is actively working to combat this problem.  

•    What Organizations are Doing to Support Patient Caregivers

88% of respondents indicated that caregiver burnout was either a very big or moderate issue for their patients. 45% also said their organization provided information to support caregivers while 31% provided support services or counselling to caregivers.

•    What Pharma Should Do to Support Patient Caregivers

30% of patient advocates would like to see pharmaceutical organizations provide more education to support caregivers, while 21% would like more grants and funding to support caregiver programs.

Best Practices in the Advocacy/Pharma Relationship

•    What Has “Good” Looked Like When Interacting With Pharma?

Of the pharmaceutical companies that advocacy organizations identified as having had ‘good’ interactions with them during the pandemic, 32% offered funds, 29% offered timely and accurate information, and 28% reached out early and without prompting.

•    Factors Driving Corporate Reputation

Respondents were asked to assign companies a corporate reputation score based on factors such as how committed they were to helping patients and how easily organizations were able to communicate with the leadership within each pharmaceutical company. Janssen and Sanofi placed first in 3 out of 7 metrics each, with Janssen achieving a slightly higher overall average (5.24 vs 5.22).   

•    Industry Leaders in Corporate Reputation

Janssen held onto the number-one rank in overall corporate reputation for the third year in a row, but their score dipped slightly from 5.33 in 2018 to 5.24 in 2019. Meanwhile, Sanofi demonstrated strong improvement, surging from seventh to second place with just two fewer points than Janssen (5.22). Merck dropped from fifth to tenth place with a 2019 score of just 4.53.

•    Industry leaders in Corporate Reputation by Therapeutic Area

Biogen Idec enjoyed a peerless reputation in the Rare Disease category with a perfect 7.0 score, while Sanofi took the top spot in both the Cardiovascular and Respiratory categories. Overall, 21 different companies placed somewhere in the top three spots for all therapeutic areas.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/06/pharmaceutical-companies-patient-advocacy-work-together-through-covid/

Refresher Training Enhances Retention by 35%. Do you need one?

 

Workers in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry are required to possess extensive specialized knowledge, and compliance is paramount in every role. Healthcare executives and account managers are expected to cultivate a deep understanding of their company's products, their customers' pain points, new shifts in the healthcare market, and much more.

With so much to remember, it is no surprise that some of the specifics, especially new information that is not attached to years of experience begins to fizzle out after the training courses. Healthcare consulting companies often recommend refresher training to help with knowledge retention. Providing refresher training to your staff may boost retention rates by up to 35%.  

What is Refresher Training?

Rather than teaching new skills and concepts, refresher training is used to review information the learner has already been through. It may also be used to update learners on new developments in topics they have already covered or to clarify certain company-specific concepts during an employee onboarding training program.

Benefits of Refresher Training

Aside from increased retention, some of the improvements you can expect to see following a round of refresher training include:

•    Increased efficiency.
•    Higher compliance.
•    More confident employees.
•    Better awareness of new products and industry trends.
•    An improved ability to identify gaps in skills and knowledge among the team.

When is Refresher Training in Order?

The following five situations are some of the most common instances in which your organization may benefit from refresher training.

1. When Repeated Mistakes are Being Made

Everyone makes the occasional mistake, but when the same mistakes surface over and over again, there may be some confusion over what is expected for certain tasks. Refresher training helps to clarify these expectations, ensure that standard procedures are being followed, and create a consistent experience for your customers.

2. When New Information Must Be Disseminated

The world of pharmaceuticals and biotech is fast-paced and unforgiving. Healthcare executive training teaches the information that is relevant at the moment, but what is cutting-edge today may become obsolete tomorrow. Without regular refresher training, employees may struggle to keep up with changes in internal policy or new developments in the field.

3. When Tech is Being Underutilized

Technology is becoming an increasingly prominent part of the healthcare industry, even for executives. If your company has implemented new tools (such as a new CRM system or an appointment scheduling tool) that are not being fully leveraged, refresher training that reminds employees how to use these solutions may help to boost their adoption rate.

4. When Productivity is Declining  

When employees are unsure of how to properly do their jobs, their performance often begins to slip. If you've noticed declining revenue, lower customer retention rates, or rising turnover among your employees, some refresher training may be able to correct the problem.

5. Customer Relationships Are Suffering

Maintaining strong links with current customers is key to the stability of a business. If your customers are expressing dissatisfaction with the way their accounts are being handled, a fresh round of account management training can help to remind your staff of how they can meet those customers' needs.

Refresher training may be delivered in a variety of formats, including in-person and online. Companies can develop customized refresher training courses by using The Brooks Group's instructional design services to translate their content into lessons, quizzes, and other educational resources.

Building Employee Confidence for Future Success

Your organization cannot thrive without confident staff who are sure of their abilities and their role. Solidifying key concepts with refresher training is an investment in both the satisfaction of your current customers and your organization’s future. Contact The Brooks Group today to build refresher training programs for your company.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/06/refresher-training-enhances-retention-by-35-do-you-need-one/