Benchmarking the Roles and Responsibilities for U.S.-Based Field Medical Team Interactions with Managed Care Customers

Still, there is significant variance across pharma companies in which payer groups such payer liaisons work with, as well as the services and activities these field functions perform.

Best Practices, LLC undertook benchmarking research to deliver insights around the roles, responsibilities, resources and activities for U.S.-based payer liaison medical teams. This report also contains qualitative information from study participants on the value, weaknesses and best practices surrounding the use of field medical roles to interact with the payer community.

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


Companies Profiled:
Abbvie; Bayer; Biogen; Boehringer Ingelheim; Celgene; Foundation Medicine; GlaxoSmithKline ; Janssen; Merck; Novartis; Pfizer; Sanofi; Sanofi Genzyme; Shire; Sunovion; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd; Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Study Snapshot

Best Practices, LLC engaged 17 leaders representing 16 leading bio-pharmaceutical companies and one genomic profiling company focused on oncology through a benchmarking survey instrument and interviews. This study includes a Top 10 Pharma segment that includes 8 companies that were among the 10 largest pharma companies, by revenue, in 2016.
Key topics covered in this report include:

1. Field Medical Team Characteristics

• Field Medical Team Makeup
• Field Medical Team Responsibilities
• Effectiveness of Managed Care Interactions

• General Contact for Managed Care Customers
• Primary Contact for Managed Care Customers
  

• Time Spent on Key External and Internal Responsibilities
• Value of Key External and Internal Responsibilities
  

• Staffing Level
• Best Practices for Interactions with Managed Care Customers

• Principal Field Medical Team Contact for Payers is MCL (41%); HOL (35%); Hybrid (24%):
  While pharma appears to spread the primary responsibility for payer interactions among three types of field medical roles (MCL, HOL, Hybrid), the data in this study show that companies with either MCLs or Hybrid roles utilize that function as their principal payer contact.
• Clinical Updates for Products Already on the Market Seen as the Most Valued External Activity: Providing payers with clinical updates on marketed products is seen as a highly valued activity by 71% of participants. This activity also consumes the most time - 24% on average – of HOLs, MCLs, and Hybrid. Meanwhile, pre-meeting preparation for customer engagement was rated as the most valued internal activity for these roles by 71% of participants, although only 5% of their time is spent on that activity.

I.	Executive Summary	pgs. 3-8
	Research Overview	pg. 5
	Study Definitions	pg. 6
	Universe Of Learning: 17 Companies Participated in Study	pg. 7
II.	Findings and Recommendations	pgs. 9-14
III.	U.S. Field Medical Team Characteristics	pgs. 15-28
IV.	U.S. Field Medical Team Coverage	pgs. 29-31
V.	U.S. Field Medical Team Activities	pgs. 32-45
VI.	U.S. Field Medical Team Product Support, Staffing and Structure	pgs. 46-54
VII.	Qualitative Insights from Interviews	pgs. 55-62
VIII.	Field Medical Team Value, Weaknesses and Best Practices	pgs. 63-70
IX.	About Best Practices, LLC	pgs. 71-72

• Field Medical Team Makeup - Functions/Roles that are Part of Participating Organization's U.S.-Based Field Medical Team
• U.S.-Based Field Medical Team Functions/Roles Involved in Interaction with Managed Care Customers
• Handling Overlap between the MSLs and Hybrid Field Medical Role with Teamwork
• U.S.-Based Field Medical Team Function/Role Serving as the Principal Contact for Managed Care Customers
• Do Payers Prefer a Single Point of Contact from Medical and Commercial?
• Responsibilities of listed U.S.-Based Field Medical Team Functions
• Alignment of Field Medical Roles
• Differentiation, if Any, between Two Field Roles (MSLs and Hybrid Role)
• Level of Effectiveness Associated with the Listed Field-Based Medical Functions/Roles and their Interactions with Managed Care Customers
• Coordination between the Field Team Members Visiting the Same Manage Care Customer

• U.S.-Based Field Medical Team Function/Role Serving as a General Contact for Managed Care Customers
• U.S.-Based Field Medical Team Function/Role Serving as a Primary Contact for Managed Care Customers

• Percentage of Time Spent by the Principal Contact Serving Managed Care Customers on External (Account) and Internal (Corporate) Responsibilities
• Percentage of Time Spent by the Principal Contact Serving Managed Care Customers on the Listed External (Account) and Internal (Corporate) Responsibilities
• Most Critical Activities for the Field Role Serving Payers
• Value of Key External Activities for Principal Field Medical Role Serving Managed Care
• Value of Key Internal Activities for Principal Field Medical Role Serving Managed Care
• Differentiation between Field HEOR Team and MSLs

• Number of In-Line and Pipeline Products Supported by the Primary Contact Serving Managed Care Customers
• Number of Field Medical Team US-Based FTES (Staffing Level) for Each Role/Function Indicated
• Ratio of Manager to Managed Care Field Medical Role
• Job Level of the Person to Whom the Leader (Direct Manager) of Field-Based Medical Team Function Directly Reports

• Collaboration on Outcomes Projects with Payers
• Differentiation of HOL Role in Comparison to Other Companies
• Coordination of Field Medical Team Interactions with Payers
• Validating HEOR Team’s Value to Leadership
• Coordination between the Field Team Members Visiting the Same Manage Care Customer

• Main Value of Utilizing a Dedicated Field Medical Team Member as the Principal Contact for Managed Care Companies
• Main Weakness of Current Approach to Field Medical Team Interactions with Managed Care Companies
• Biggest Changes Needed for to Field Medical Teams
• Best Practices for Field Medical Team Interactions with Managed Care Customers