Marketing Medical Faith

There are so many factors involved in the campaign of encouraging the use of new (and even old) drugs in the medical community that one can really make a career out of it. I've never been under any illusion as to the intricacy and complexity of the management that goes into promoting a single drug and I have no doubt that it takes a great deal of money involved, but it would take constant updates and reinvention to lead a successful campaign.

Given that  I've been privy to the thought process behind it recently, I just think that, although there still are too many factors to possibly ever have under control, it would help people in this business to take into account certain things into consideration.

DOCTORS: When it comes to approaching the use of new drugs, there is no greater avenue for promotion than to those that prescribe and practice medicine. But unfortunately, doctors are not created equal.

When it comes to brushing up on new drugs and new medical information, there are doctors that diligently read and keep up with medical breakthroughs and whatnot through established medical journals (no, not the ones that routinely pop up on your regular Wikipedia searches), know how to critically appraise articles, and know what the terms RRR (relative risk reduction), ARR (absolute risk reduction), hard and soft endpoints mean. You see, it's never just about what they point out in the conclusion sections of articles that counts. One has to look at how the trials are conducted, any underlying agendas and whether they are statistically hazy or statistically potent.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are doctors who are content with what they know and do not read quite as much. There are subsets of this group that become the hook, line and sinker types that believe everything medical representatives pitch to them at their clinics or those that think sponsored scientific "eatings" are law and incorporate them into their practice.

If you strategize, you'd have to wow the first group with a great medical trial to influence the inclusion of new drugs into their well-established arsenal of therapeutics. The second group will take a little bit more wining and dining, maybe a few more side offers, and you're all set. Not to make this sound all shady and unethical, but people have to know that these are drugs with trials about them having proven their effect with their target disease. In reality, use is largely a matter of marketing, and benefit takes a backseat, but if you can get both, everybody comes out a winner.

PHARMACISTS: Pharmacists in the Philippines play a unique role in the sales of medicines. And I largely suspect, not only here but all over the world. Patients would often bypass doctor consultations and go directly to pharmacies and ask for medications. I'm sure that they all know their stuff and exercise vigilant and compassionate dispensing of drugs, but somewhere out there is an argument that they should refer to doctors regarding drug prescription but that is the reality. Marketing-wise, it's a whole new avenue to cover.

MEDICAL REPRESENTATIVES: These individuals go into doctors clinics and make cases for their assigned drugs and have to keep smiles on their faces doing so. Imagine how hard that job will be if you have to drive doctors and hospital bigwigs around at their whim. But marketing drugs have to be launched off somewhere and for companies to have the perfect representatives will go a long way. They have to know how to play doctor types and personalities and know the intricacies of promoting drugs, when to play off humor, who needs the extra push, who responds to flattery, and who needs it straight up. So for those in the market of selling to doctors, make sure you have the best of them.

PATIENTS: The most important market for drugs are the people who actually use them. In this day and age, the information superhighway is a busy busy one and patients are not as uninformed as they used to be. They come into clinics armed with information, albeit a hodgepodge of medical jargon and not necessarily knowledge, but giving them information, guided and unbiased, for them to digest as they see fit, would go a long way. Just don't forget to add those words at the end "if symptoms persist, consult your doctor." Creating groups online of patients with similar experiences, quick drug study guides, and nearby support systems will go a long way in showing that your drug cares for patients and at the same time, promoting its use among people who actually know what it is like using them.

Selling people on to medications has never been as straightforward as it seemed. Through the ages, people have found ways to get around stipulations, advertising, succumbed to some degree of corruption, but it has always been about getting drugs to people that need them, given by people that actually know stuff about it. With that, you need belief in your drug, some medical faith. So if you are in the drug marketing biz, and you think that traditional folk healers are a way to get people to believe in your drug, go that way.

Sell the drug, not your soul.