How Medical Affairs Creates Value & Relationships through Service to Critical External Groups

Industries Profiled:
Health Care; Pharmaceutical; Diagnostic; Biotech; Communications; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Medical Device; Chemical; Biopharmaceutical; Clinical Research; Laboratories


Companies Profiled:
Abbott; Amgen; ApotheCom; Astellas; Bayer; Boehringer Ingelheim; cipla; CSL Behring; EMD Serono; Ferring Pharmaceuticals; Genentech; Janssen; Jazz Pharmaceuticals; Novartis; Novo Nordisk; Otonomy; Pfizer; Roche; Roche Diagnostics; Sandoz; Sanofi; Sanofi Genzyme; Santen; Seattle Genetics; Shire; Siemens Healthcare; Sunovion; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd; Tillotts Pharma; UCB Pharma; Upsher-Smith; Vifor Pharma

Study Snapshot

Best Practices, LLC engaged 50 Medical Affairs leaders from 33 pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies through a benchmarking survey instrument.

Key topics covered in this report include:

• Medical Affairs Interactions with External Groups
• Specialized Tools, Roles, Services and Involvement Timeline
• Changing Policies, Activities and KPIs of Medical Affairs to Work with External Groups
• Global Standards, Best Practices and Challenges

• Medical Affairs Work with Payer Groups
  • Medical Affairs Groups to Involve: Health Outcome Researchers, Medical Field Teams and Medical Information Groups are involved most frequently with Payers.
• Medical Affairs Work with Advocacy Groups
  • Medical Affairs Services: Scientific exchanges with decision-makers and influencers are delivered at 53% of the companies. Collecting and integrating value pathway, medical insights on unmet needs and scientific, clinical and HEOR data presentations are delivered to advocacy groups by 52% and 48% of companies.
• Medical Affairs Work with ACOs/IDNs/HCPs
  • KPIs: Coverage determination is the most used KPI to measure the success of Medical Affairs' work.
• Medical Affairs Work with Specialty Pharmacies
  • Specialized Tools: Clinical trial recruitment or support, disease state education tools and online scientific publications are the most impactful specialized tools.

I.	Executive Summary
	Study Structure & Design
	Participated Benchmark Class
	Key Findings and Recommendations
II.	Interactions with External Groups
	External Groups: Types Engaged by Medical Affairs
	External Groups: Importance and Work Effectiveness
III.	Tools, Roles, Services, KPIs and Interactions Timeline: Established Groups
	Payers
	Advocacy Groups
	Guidelines Organizations
	Government Agencies
	ACOs/IDNs/HCPs
IV.	Tools, Roles, Services, KPIs and Interactions Timeline: Emerging Groups
	Specialty Pharmacies
	Group Purchasing Organizations
	Large Employer Groups
	Pathway Vendors
V.	Regulation, Medical Affairs’ Global Work and Challenges
	Medical Affairs Work at Federal and State Levels
	Tactics to Adjust Medical Affairs Work Globally
	Challenges of Working with External Groups
VI.	Participants’ Demographics
	Geographic Responsibility of Medical Affairs
	Industries Supported by Medical Affairs

• Association of Medical Affairs with established and emerging external groups
• Importance of external groups to the work conducted within Medical Affairs
• Effectiveness of work conducted by Medical Affairs with external groups
• Importance vs effectiveness matrix: TBC, U.S. only and global segment
• Top Medical Affairs functions involved with external groups

• Payer groups dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups involved with payer work and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement with payers
• Tools deployed to showcase value
• Services offered by Medical Affairs to payers
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups - U.S. only and global segment
• Key performance indicators for work with payers
• Medical Affairs activities conducted with payers

• Advocacy groups dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups that drive advocacy relationship and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement with advocacy groups
• Tools deployed by Medical Affairs to showcase value
• Services provided by Medical Affairs to showcase value to advocacy groups
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups - U.S. only and global segment
• Key performance indicators for work with advocacy groups
• Medical Affairs activities with advocacy groups

• Guidelines organizations dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups that drive guidelines organizations relationship and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement with guidelines organizations
• Tools deployed by Medical Affairs to showcase value
• Services provided by Medical Affairs to showcase value to guidelines organizations
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups
• Medical Affairs activities conducted with guidelines organizations

• Government agencies dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups that drive relationships with government agencies and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement of Medical Affairs with government agencies
• Tools deployed by Medical Affairs to showcase value
• Services provided by Medical Affairs to showcase value to government agencies
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups
• Key performance indicators for work with government agencies
• Medical Affairs activities conducted with government agencies

• ACO/IDN/HCP dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups that drive ACO/IDN/HCP relationship and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement of Medical Affairs with ACOs/IDNs/HCPs
• Tools deployed by Medical Affairs to showcase value
• Services provided by Medical Affairs to showcase value to ACOs/IDNs/HCPs
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups - U.S. only and global segment
• Key performance indicators for work with ACOs/IDNs/HCPs
• Medical Affairs activities conducted with ACOs/IDNs/HCPs

• Specialty pharmacies dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups that drive relationships with specialty pharmacies and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement of Medical Affairs with specialty pharmacies
• Tools deployed by Medical Affairs to showcase value
• Services provided by Medical Affairs to showcase value to specialty pharmacies
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups

• Group purchasing organizations (GPOs) dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups that drive relationships with GPOs and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement of Medical Affairs with group purchasing organizations
• Tools deployed by Medical Affairs to showcase value
• Services provided by Medical Affairs to showcase value to GPOs
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups

• Large employer groups dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups that drive relationships with large employer groups and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement of Medical Affairs with large employer groups
• Tools deployed by Medical Affairs to showcase value
• Services provided by Medical Affairs to showcase value to large employer groups
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups

• Pathway vendors dashboard: Key tools, roles, Medical Affairs groups that drive relationships with pathway vendors and relationship timeline
• Functional involvement of Medical Affairs with pathway vendors
• Tools deployed by Medical Affairs to showcase value
• Services provided by Medical Affairs to showcase value to pathway vendors
• Effectiveness of the listed specialized tools used by Medical Affairs with various groups

• Evolving Medical Affairs policies and procedures
• Activities supported by Medical Affairs at federal and state levels
• Approaches used to establish global Medical Affairs standards of excellence
• Challenges faced by Medical Affairs in working with external groups