Medical Information Call Centers Are Key to Key Opinion Leader Success

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - Apr 13, 2011) - The role of call centers and medical information centers of excellence is rapidly shifting as average call volumes decrease, but the need for call centers' coordination capability grows and becomes more valuable.

New technology diversifies the communication channels available to physicians, researchers, payers, patients and other stakeholders. Call centers now increasingly serve as the listening posts for Medical Affairs executives trying to understand the Voice of the Customer.

"The ability to understand physicians' questions and concerns as quickly as possible and respond with in-demand answers is becoming a critical competitive advantage for Medical Affairs," said Adam Bianchi, chief operating officer of Cutting Edge Information.

"The voice of the customer is heard through a wide array of channels from normal detailing to CME to advocacy blogs to every new communication tool," Bianchi said. "The call center can be an incredibly effective hub for collecting and sharing insights."

Rather than conflicting with other Medical Affairs teams, successful call center groups are moving to be a key partner in a more coordinated strategy across the whole organization. For example, the growing presence of medical science liaisons (MSLs) is merging the field-based medical force's activities with tasks once handled almost exclusively by medical information call centers.

"Call center leaders are changing ship's course through rapid adoption of new technologies as well as expanding into brand new coordination roles where their expertise is a powerful strength," said Bianchi. "Innovative team leaders are finding new areas where Medical Information can offer its expertise and experience."

In recent years, some call center- and headquarters-based medical information teams came to the uncomfortable realization that their organizational leadership did not see the full value of Medical Information's long-term customer experience. Many leaders of medical information teams have now learned to better "sell" their abilities rather than face shrinking responsibilities.

For the project, "Evolving Medical Information Call Centers: Performance Measurement and Process Improvement," Cutting Edge Information sought quantitative data and qualitative learnings from leaders across the Medical Information and Medical Affairs universe. (http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/medical-information/ )