Crystal Ball : Pharma & Healthcare
2020 AC After Covid19
Seven commonsensical predictions
- Pharma : Two clear roles in near future – the Sales Rep and "Medical" Rep
- Pharma's new buzzword will be "Diversify"
- Chemist chains and e-pharmacies will embrace tele-medicine to sell more
- Tele-Medicine kiosks new Business opportunity for pharamcists and Nurses
- More Pointofcare diagnostics & Wearables sales will reach newer heights
- Tele-medicine beyond boundaries – new medical regulation will emerge
- Medical tourism : Temporary decline but steadily will increase
WFH & Pharma - a dozen do-ables
What Medical representatives can do at home?
- Learn how to search using Google and Learn how to search for Medical information
- Download apps - Use them:
- Kindle; Podcasts ; IQVIA sales view; Ted and Ted-ed ; Flipboard; Microsoft office; Digilocker; Google Drive; Khan Academy; Microsoft ToDo; Google Keep Slide share and Linkedin
- Learn Top Basics of Excel and PowerPoint
- Join a MOOC - Finish a course for yourself and your satisfaction
- Correct doctor's List/ Address / Phone Nos / Pin-code / Collect Info - Doctor's Profile (key interests)
- Therapy Challenge - Challenge your colleague with a good Video detailing or a Minute speech on your favourite brand and Therapy/disease
- Share an Idea with the company - be an intrapreneur/ share success stories to learn from / Listen to colleagues
- Think...write down - what can be stopped and still be productive
- Eat Moderate - Start exercise - Meditate a bit
- Watch a film a day with your family
- Give time to the doctor to recoup with Corona stress - contact only if you have personal rapport. enquire about their safety. sincerely appreciate their efforts - ask if you are of any professional help - Do not sell your products!
- Read about Coronavirus and COVID 19 and challenge Fake news on social media - Your Non-pharma Friends and relatives will respect you.
- Communicate internally - Communicate to give clarity - assure people – Do not communicate - only to give work!
- Do not pressurize FF on digital reach - if you cannot..they also can not
- Do not over Do training and testing people knowledge and skills
- Think for next 3 Months – give the training that’s useful
- Teach some meditation online! Find out ways …
- Ask for ideas - conduct Interviews - learn how can you be a better Employer – recognize good contributions
- Conduct internal interviews – a good time for better assessments
- Show them some fun free stuff like – High 5 Test
- Genuinely extend professional help to the doctor
- Gamify - enjoy the games – do not use games for assessments
- Do a Webinar Star award... Do a Talk show with Leadership-Champion your Values?
- Don’t think how to cut people – but optimize vacancies – Optimize un-productive work. Let your people know that you value them. Tell them that digital is additional support, touchpoint to Human interaction, and make them partners in future digital initiatives
What Brand Managers can do?
- Go Back to Basics: If you can not answer 2 out of these 3 Ques- Go back to Basics
- Difference between - Pandemic, Epidemic, and Endemic?
- Define: Prevalence and Incidence?
- Explain the Hierarchy of evidence
- Learn Excel
- Learn PowerPoint
- Master the formulae for metrics - Learn to write a Business Plan
- Learn to create P&L for your brand
- Learn a bit of Stats - a Major part of Marketing is Mathematics
- Learn Data visualization techniques
- Watch Ted and More of Ted-ed
- Read and follow Pharma KOLs
- Read More about Evidence-Based Medicine
- Read and Learn about Corona Virus and Covid-19 seriously
- Complete courses on digital - start with free courses
- Google Digital unlocked
- Complete the course: Artificial Intelligence Full Course - Edureka
10 Check points : Health of a Sales organization for Sustainable performance
- Planned, Progressive, and Profitable Sales.
- Company’s relative Market Share %
- Mix, Span and Consistency of its brand's performance
- Risks and mitigation plans
- Basic selling processes and adherence to compliance
- How many hours of training each employee gets to improve them?
- Execution in short term, Strategy for midterm and values in long term
- Leadership that displays Authenticity and cares for the growth of employees
- How many employees are Happy Employees-Happy to work and have a sense of achievement and are being recognized for their contribution?
- The organization earns profits - genuinely keen to give back a portion to the community
Medical Representatives – Can they be Corona Warriors?
- They know the basics
- They are trained
- They have personal report with doctors
- They know how the health care operates
Can the Pharma organizations and government use their services to serve in this difficult situation to contain Coronavirus spread? Can OPPI /IDMA / IPA and Other associations get into talks with Govt and offer their help and services through Med reps ?
What is to be done?
- Reach out to organizations – Reach out to associations – Reach out to Trade unions.
- Request their permission to give their field force to serve the Public under the guidance of Doctors.
- Invite and Join the sales force on Video conf . Give them One-day training on how to contain Corona Virus
- Give them a skill. They will learn it fast
- Certify them as trained Corona Volunteers to serve the public at large
- Provide them all disposable protective gear.
What can Medical Reps Do?
- Deploy them at clinics to screen Patients and identify possible corona infections.
- Deploy them to offer public education on social media.
- Deploy them with doctors to help healthcare professions.
- Deploy them and certify them to Manage the supply chain of essential medicines.
- They can be used for the transport of samples and medicines since all of them have personal transport
- Each rep will be given a list of 200 houses to monitor on a weekly basis. Anyone showing symptoms of Covid will be picked up and informed by government agencies
- Daily allowance to be paid by the government. Salary by employers.
- All they need to be given is personal protection clothing and IR temperature monitor.
- If IR not available Digital devices to be used
Of course, everyone should be given a choice to volunteer or not to - leave it to them to decide!
Credits: Parthasarathy Ponguri