Pharmaceutical Medical Information Contact Centers: Results of Three Benchmarking Surveys
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Pharmaceutical Medical Information Contact Centers: Results of Three Benchmarking Surveys
Pete Guillot, MIA, RAC President, CenierFirst Consulting, LLC. Indianapolis. lndiana
Stocey M. frng, PharmD Senior Manager, Medical Communications, Genentech. Inc. South San Francisco, California
Pharmaceutical medical information contact centers are often a key interfaceamong a company, the medical community, and the general public. Results fiom three benchmarking surveys are reviewed. The surveys were designed to provide contact center leaders with unbiased and relevant information for use in assessing operations and setting strategic direction. The surveys were similar in f m s and conducted at three time points (2004,2005, and 2008). The surveys focused on the organizational structure and operations, sourcing options, technology, and globalization. These findings provide not only a snapshot of current contact centers, but also a view over time of the progression of changes to organizational and operationalprocesses of medical infor-
Key Words Coniaci center; Medical information department; Benchmark
Correspondence Address Pete Guillot, 8605 Allisonville Road, Suite 267, Indianapolis. I N 4 6 2 5 0 (email: p e t e j u i l l o t @ centerfirst.net). Portions ofthese data were presented at the Drug Informal ion Association Medical Communications Workshop, March 2 0 0 9 .
INTRODUCTION A pharmaceutical medical information contact center is defined as having the primary responsibility of providing medical information to health care professionals, patients, and caregivers through various communication channels (eg, phone, Internet website, email, mail, and fax). Pharmaceutical medical information contact centers typically have three core activities; these include disseminating information (ie, approved product labeling as well as off-label information upon request from health care professionals), managing caller inquiry volume (especially during increased awareness of product availability or media coverage), and collecting information (typically for adverse events or product complaints). Pharmaceutical medical information contact centers are often a key interface among a company, the medical community, and the general public. These contact centers typically address hundreds of inquiries that are received by phone, email, fax, and mail on a daily basis. Re-
mation contact centers. The trends and challenges faced by pharmaceutical medical information contact centers included (a) increasing efficiency and productivity of the process to handle increased call volumes to meet customer expectations; (b) creating or maintaining a validated environmentfor business processes and systems to improve service, efficiency, and compliance; (c) utilizing outsourcing options, including offshore or international contact centers, to help maintain costs and obtain flexibility; and last (d) continuing to add and show value to the overall organization. This information is presented as a resource as contact centers develop and refine strategi
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