The Future of HCP Engagement: Asynchronous and Omnichannel

More than any other industry, life sciences has undergone a rapid wave of transformation due to the challenges presented by the pandemic. The level of disruption during the past 14 months has been unprecedented.

At Tact.ai, we have been looking at this fundamental shift in the behaviour of all stakeholders, building solutions like Tact Assistant and Tact Portal that would frame the future of HCP engagement.

Traditionally, rep engagement with physicians was face-to-face. It relied on the model of relationship building, engagement, and advocacy with physicians built by the field team. However, due to the pandemic, doors to all non-essential visitors, including Pharma reps, were closed. A new model would be needed.

• In Europe, McKinsey reported a 70% reduction in in-person contacts between HCPs and Pharma reps
• Before the pandemic, 64% of meetings between the Pharma representatives and the HCP were face-to-face; today almost all of the meetings are happening virtually

With the traditional methods of engagement going obsolete overnight, the question we need to ask now is how do we connect with them in a manner that’s based on their preferences? While HCPs may seem reluctant to schedule a 30-minute meeting, the issue is not about the information being shared.

HCP’s, being in the frontline for over a year now, have embraced digital interactions. Is there a way for Pharma or Biotech companies to create solutions -- using AI  -- that cater to the HCP’s preferences and expectations? One of our partners, BASE life science, has advocated this for over a decade, driving technology development and trends focusing on data migration, data engineering, advanced analytics & AI.

However, it’s not just about building technology that improves engagement. It is also about making sure that technology is adopted across the board, and delivering value to stakeholders.  What we’ve learned while working with our Tact Assistant for life sciences, is that enabling sales reps with on-time nudges and reminders improves the desired behaviour like capturing the salient points of a discussion and logging the notes from those interactions on the same day.

An increase in the desired behaviour and adoption leads to a positive feedback loop. The more a rep engages with the systems, the more they get back in the form of customer insights, changing from a system of record to a system of engagement. As Baptiste Mercier of BASE life science mentioned in his blog, “Ensuring the field teams can access promptly the insights generated by the users at the right time is where commercial and technology will focus in the coming months.”

Tact.ai and BASE work together to help companies reshape the omnichannel and asynchronous engagement model. Apart from the pandemic-driven decline in face-to-face meetings, we do see a fundamental digital shift in the everyday lives of the HCPs. Moving forward Pharma companies need to acknowledge this shift, from push-to-pull, and create solutions that are engaging the HCP’s on their terms. There is no one size fits all approach here, but what’s essential is understanding how the customer would like to engage. Improving collaboration, unifying disparate channels, and utilizing different data sources will greatly help to create the simplified customer journey that HCPs require.

As Pharma companies start rethinking the future of HCP engagement, the Tact.ai and BASE life science partnership is bringing these best practices forward to not only solve the current problems but to redefine HCP engagement and make it more human-friendly.

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