MedThink Communications, a full-service healthcare communications company, today announced the launch of MedThink Connect™, a new, customizable Web application that provides healthcare companies a vehicle to efficiently seek guidance, maintain interaction, and build a community atmosphere with external experts. MedThink Connect allows users to advance their relationships with external experts, including advisors, investigators, spokespeople, patients, and speakers.
“Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are increasingly seeking best practices related to seeking counsel from external experts”
"In today's digital age where rapid information exchange is a necessity, additional opportunities exist to guide decision making by improving communication and collaboration between and among expert opinion leaders and a company," said Steve Palmisano, Vice President, Medical Communications. "Providing cost-efficient business solutions that utilize digital technology, such as MedThink Connect, can help an organization further supplement face-to-face interaction with experts in the field."
MedThink Connect was developed in response to industry changes, new guidelines, evolving client needs, and recent research conducted with external experts and clients. The primary purpose of MedThink Connect is to allow companies and external experts to supplement face-to-face interaction with a digital engagement platform.
Organizations within the healthcare industry often work with external experts in a variety of roles, including advisory boards, investigators, media relations, and speakers. The process of engaging these experts has generally been standardized, limited to in-person meetings and teleconferences, which are becoming increasingly difficult to execute given cost considerations and experts' often over-extended schedules.
MedThink Connect creates a secure, virtual community in which companies and external experts can broaden interactions, seek guidance, facilitate discussion, and provide a centralized resource for information and materials. This is accomplished through several time-tested, core modules including task lists, surveys, video, image collaboration, data navigation, and resource libraries. Modules are modified to create a platform to meet a company's specific needs.
"Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are increasingly seeking best practices related to seeking counsel from external experts," said Palmisano. "We cannot ignore the impact and influence of online communications tools."
Survey Shows External Experts Want Additional Opportunities to Communicate
A recent survey of physician experts shows that 60 percent would like additional opportunities to communicate with a company between in-person meetings, and 74 percent feel that companies are not providing or only somewhat providing them with the means to offer expert advice outside of meetings and teleconferences. Furthermore, 88 percent of external experts place medium-to-high value on providing guidance via a virtual collaboration tool.
Additional findings from the survey show that 89 percent of respondents would be interested in participating in a virtual collaboration tool. As well, 74 percent would view a pharmaceutical, device, or biotechnology company more positively if the company incorporated a virtual tool into its existing approach to collaboration.
"Physician experts want to engage online, and as our research highlights, they do not believe they have easy access to all the information needed to provide their best counsel," said Jon Hudson, Vice President, Digital and Media Services. "Digital collaboration tools enable companies to be seen by their opinion leaders as incorporating the latest technology to create a new standard of communication in the healthcare marketplace."
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