Despite huge investments into CRM systems some pharma companies still struggle to get all of their staff to embrace and fully interact with them. Pf’s Iain Bate explores why, and what the future holds for technology in the industry.

There’s no doubt that technological developments have changed the way we live and work from year to year – maybe even from month to month in the 21st Century. But has the world of healthcare been travelling in the slow lane of the intergalactic highway?

The potential that technology offers to pharma, and the general world of healthcare, is enormous. But is the pharmaceutical industry, and its staff in particular, using it to maximise the returns of billion-dollar investments?

It would seem that technology is the ‘buzz word’ on the lips of a few of healthcare’s major players at present. The DH recently invited people to nominate their favourite health-related mobile phone ‘app’ – be it for keeping fit, to locate a hospital or chemist, or helping to manage an illness. Creative minds were also asked to design their own health app with a panel of DH judges deciding on their favourite from the most popular entries.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley says it’s the Government’s intention to give people better access to information using modern technology and the exercise is a “unique opportunity for the NHS and those who develop apps to not only showcase their work, but to bring to life new ideas and realise true innovation in healthcare”.

As part of the DH’s technology revolution, patients may also soon be offered online consultations with their GPs using programmes such as Skype. Clearly the Government is embracing the convenience technology offers to patients, but are other sectors in healthcare as interested? It would seem there is still some way to go.

 

In two minds

Pf ’s 2010/11 annual Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey suggests that not all respondents are completely convinced by the power of technology in the workplace. Although the Survey – which relates to 2010 and the early part of this year – found that nearly 90% of respondents have access to a CRM system, only 43% find time to use it in the field and more than a fifth of people fail to accurately record post-call reports with important clients.

Questions have to be asked as to why, despite multimillion pound investment and training by pharma companies, there remains a percentage of staff that still ignore the power and potential of the technology at their finger tips.

Results from the Survey reveal there’s no difference in uptake by key account managers, primary and secondary care representatives, those in primary care roles only, firstline sales managers and secondline sales managers and the use of CRM technology between differing age groups – although surprisingly 10% of respondents in these positions with less than two years of experience said they did not have a CRM system, compared to just 5% more experienced colleagues.

The launch of the iPad in March 2010 promised to revolutionise the way sales representatives, and those in similar roles, use CRM systems in the field. However, nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents from the Survey are still presently sent out with laptops containing their customer-relationship systems.

When quizzed on what they’d change about the hardware which houses their system, the majority of respondents said that their CRM was too awkward to carry, with poor running systems an issue and that batteries ran out too quickly. Apple claims its second-generation iPad now enjoys ten hours of use away from a plug socket in the field.

Yet the switch to the latest convenient tablet devices may not necessarily be about high levels of investment, it may be down to maximising value for money as Paul Shawah, Vice President, Multi Channel Strategy, Veeva Systems explains. “I would say the life cycle of devices within the industry is generally about three years, sometimes a little bit longer,” he said. “When a company invests in new technology they typically depreciate that over that period, so they don’t want to replace it in the field for that time to maximise their investment.

“However, with the introduction of game changing technology like the iPad, this has changed. We see a number of our pharmaceutical customers are justifying the business case to move to the iPad even before their tablets are fully depreciated. This speaks to the business benefit that pharma expects to achieve from the iPad and the related applications only available on that device.”

A convenient shield

Despite technology eliminating mundane process in the workplace and offering the potential to assist employees and improve their efficiency at work, it has historically been used as a shield to mask poor performance and abused as a means to waste company time – a recent online survey by AOL found that nearly half of Americans (44.7%) rank surfing the web as their primary activity during the two hours they ‘waste’ each day at work.

But it would seem that a high number of respondents do value the opportunities CRM offers. Almost two-thirds (64%) said they always enter correctly the amount of customer sales they make into their CRM. But 21% admitted they fail to always report face-to-face meetings with clients. More surprisingly, over a fifth of participants said they do not always record the number of products they had sold to clients.

The lack of honest accuracy is surprising considering the amount of time spent using CRM systems each day. A third said they spend between one and two hours a day on their system with a fifth spending three hours or more on their CRM. During their time using the management system, more than half (55%) said that call reporting was the most useful feature.

Although respondents were less impressed with the KAM abilities of their software with only 19% believing it to be the most useful facility. When questioned about what they would change given the chance, 45% said they wanted an improved database, over a quarter (28%) called for their system to be overall more useful, and 18% said they would prefer their CRM to be easier to use.

 

The next level

But what of the future of CRM systems? Will they be easier to use and have improved customer databases? David Round, General Manager, UK, Cegedim Relationship Management, says the regular interaction we now have with technology means we’ve all come to expect the latest developments.

“End users are significantly more ‘technology-savvy’ than their counterparts of even five years ago,” he explained. “If anything, the challenge for companies is to ensure that they provide their end users with the types of technology that they use as consumers. It’s also important to focus on the usability of your software to ensure maximum use. Technology companies – and pharma – must work together to develop a better understanding of the interaction, to ensure it meets users’ needs in the field.”

One main reason that users have become more ‘savvy’ is down to the use and interaction with social media. Whether at home or at work, websites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and most recently Google+ have driven an increased use of various forms of technology – especially on devices such as smartphones or tablet devices which reps are calling for in the field.

Pharma companies, both in the US and UK, have flirted with the idea of fully embracing the power social media harnesses, but at present are restricted by the PMCPA’s Code of Practice and by the FDA – who has again delayed the publication of its guidance.

The FDA says it is “difficult to provide a timeframe... due to the extensive work and review process, or ‘Good Guidance Practices’, which ensures that FDA’s stakeholders are provided well vetted guidances articulating FDA’s current thinking on a topic”.

Although the FDA may be unsure on how to direct healthcare companies, David Round believes the introduction, both professionally and personally, of social media has had an impact on staff and their expectations.

“For the modern professional person, much of their everyday life is conducted online – for example on shopping, utilities, insurance or booking a holiday – and many users then want the same level of capability from the tools they use in their job,” he added.

Dan Goldsmith, General Manager, Veeva Europe, agrees there has been a significant shift in the way we operate and interact due to our experiences online through tagged posts or hash-tagged searches. But although the 800 million users on Facebook – more than half which ‘log-on’ every day – and 175 million people on Twitter have no problem saying hello to friends, pharma finds it more difficult reaching out to people.

“Social media create a new avenue for healthcare dialogue and will only continue to pervade our lives,” said Dan. “Consequently, I believe that pharma faces two challenges. The first is to decide how to participate in the online dialogue with stakeholders and then to create those interactions through the channels we’re all familiar with, such as Facebook and Twitter.

“The second is to figure out how to leverage the model of social dialogue internally to support stronger collaboration and more focused communication among employees. Already, we see some companies taking advantage of the latest social business tools to connect employees with one another and to access and share information in real time.”

Clearly CRM solution providers understand the potential modern technology and social media platforms offer to companies. Whether pharma and its workforce get fully up to speed on the intergalactic highway sooner or later remains to be seen.

Nanotechnology holds the key to a new generation of medical devices and diagnostics. Mike Fisher of the Nanotechnology KTN looks at how miniaturisation is changing the face of healthcare.

Over the past decade there has been significant interest in the promise that micro and nanotechnology holds for life sciences.

An estimated 40% of US nanotechnology venture capital is being allocated to life science start-ups – and over 2008 and 2009, according to a study carried out by Lux Research, healthcare and the life sciences saw an increase in investment of 42%, while other areas such as manufacturing and materials saw a decline.

Europe has a number of leading biotechnology companies, as well as world-renowned R&D facilities. Traditionally the emphasis of these companies has been exclusively on biotechnology – but more recently the lines between biotechnology and the electronics industries have become blurred, creating a new and exciting field of new applications and markets using techniques acquired in the semiconductor world.

The electronics industry has been transformed by the strategy that ‘smaller is better’, and using these same techniques and applying them in medical and pharmaceutical contexts has opened exciting new market opportunities. The next level of miniaturisation, into nanoscale dimensions, is a booming area of R&D with significant funding being invested worldwide.

Mobile diagnostics

Using miniaturisation, medical diagnosis equipment can now be used outside of the lab: in doctor’s surgeries, remotely, and even on mobile phones. The applications are endless.

Imagine a world where all you need is your smart phone to detect any disease through blood analysis, without the need for costly and lengthy analysis in the lab. That could be real in five or ten years’ time.

Ten years ago the ‘lab-on-chip’ was a concept without a viable market entry point, but now point-of-care diagnostic systems are starting to show clear benefits in disease detection and cancer therapy.

By using these applications to analyse samples of blood, interstitial fluid, urine and saliva, medics are able to use minimally invasive techniques to obtain quick results that are easily collected, with minimal stress and discomfort to patients.

Using miniaturisation in diagnosis means that the size and cost of equipment can be reduced dramatically. Sensors can be made available at the point of care, in many cases providing a diagnosis while the patient is with the doctor. Providing early diagnosis means that the right treatment can be given early, avoiding complications caused by delays.

Micro and nano diagnostic devices can also provide closed-loop systems that continuously monitor patients and respond immediately to physiological changes. This is particularly important in the intensive care unit, where simple parameters such as oxygen levels can be critical.

In the future, as medical systems become fully integrated with semiconductor technology, we can expect lab-on-chip devices that measure information on disease markers, cell count or DNA-RNA from a very small quantity of blood or other biological fluid sampled by pain-free needles, and ways to receive and transmit real-time information from sensors located inside the human body.

With applications such as point-of-care diagnostics already emerging with huge benefits to patients, there is no doubt that the next generation of healthcare technology will be enabled by the use of miniaturisation.

Taking a simple and effective concept from the semiconductor world has already delivered a dramatic effect on medical diagnostics and is now moving into drug discovery, creating new and exciting applications across a wide variety of markets.

Chain reaction

Getting these applications to market has been hindered by a lack of potential investors and early adopters willing to take a leap of faith. However, there are now a significant number of international companies developing these new application technologies, as they have begun to see the clinical effectiveness offered by nanotechnology and miniaturisation.

The current interest in the use of miniaturisation in the life sciences has been driven by the many advances this new concept promises. Individuals, companies and funding bodies are looking for ways to invest in this newly commercialised technology. To ensure success, nano-companies need to secure support from venture capitalists and other funding bodies, which can be difficult in the current economic climate.

However, despite the advanced developments in miniaturisation in the life sciences, the industry is still relatively new and there are a number of gaps in the supply chain that prohibit products from getting to market in an effective manner. It is crucial with any new technology to ensure that all parts of the supply chain interact and keep each other informed of developments and capabilities.

One of the Nanotechnology KTN’s main remits is to analyse this supply chain, determine where the gaps are and encourage companies to recognise the commercial gains that can be reaped from bridging them.

Connecting members of the supply chain with one another means that academics, research specialists, industrial practitioners and funding sources can meet to discuss ideas and business opportunities, thus ensuring the developments in this application of nanotechnology continue.

Clearly, many of the applications in these new markets are novel and as a result have yet to be fully developed and become economically viable. In the quest to make these technologies and applications available to a wider market, clinical efficacy and value to the healthcare payer are ultimately the deciding factors.

Increasingly, products need to be cost-effective – and the materials used to produce each device represent a significant part of the cost. It can be expected that as the use of miniaturisation in life sciences becomes more widespread, the associated costs will reduce and the applications will expand much more widely.

Given the economic benefits it promises, it is inevitable that the use of miniaturisation in the life sciences will continue to be adopted and supported.

Mike Fisher, PhD, is Theme Manager – Life Sciences & Healthcare at the Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).

Medical technologies that advance the QIPP agenda by saving healthcare providers time and cost were the focus of an event featuring Government and NHS speakers alongside demonstrations of groundbreaking new technologies.

The inaugural Healthcare Efficiency through Technology Expo (pictured), held at Olympia Two, London, combined a high-level conference with an exhibition dedicated to solutions for more efficient patient care.

Speakers at the conference included Dr Mahmood Adil, National QIPP Advisor – Clinical & Finance Engagement at the DH; Lord Nigel Crisp, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health; and Bob Alexander, Director of NHS Finance.

Dr Adil identified the challenge for the NHS of achieving £20 billion of savings through the QIPP programme, arguing that “Efficiency without quality is unthinkable, and quality without efficiency is unsustainable.”

Dame Fiona Caldicott, Chair of the National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care, led a discussion on the challenges of information governance and security in the use of electronic healthcare systems.

Chris Chant, Executive Director, Digital at the Cabinet Office, discussed the Government’s digital strategy and said that a new cloud framework, G Cloud, will be in place by the end of this year to help IT providers deliver services to government.

The exhibition featured an area dedicated to Apps and Social Media for Healthcare. A Patient Journey feature, sponsored by 3M, showed the role of technology in pursuing the QIPP agenda in every phase of the care process: primary care, A&E, the operating theatre, the hospital ward and follow-up care at home.

Dr Simon Collins, Clinical Lead, MedOCC, Medway Community Healthcare, called the event “an inspiring and thought-provoking overview of the many ways that technology has been used to improve efficiency and also patient care in many parts of the NHS.”

He added: “I came away inspired that the QIPP agenda may not be such an impossible dream – and that the effective use of technology will be crucial in making it a reality.”

Next year’s Healthcare Efficiency through Technology Expo is set for 23 October 2012.