Professional Medical Education Excellence: Structures, Resources, Services & Performance Levels to Optimize Pharmaceutical Education Groups

This report will help incumbent companies to optimize their medical education capabilities, efficiency and effectiveness.

An in-depth analysis of the industry shows that there is a core set of factors in successful medical education groups: structure and activities of the medical education function, effective levels of professional medical education staffing, the role of the medical education group in key activities (including involvement with thought leaders and professional societies) and resource allocation by region and program type.

Best Practices^®, LLC’s report, Professional Medical Education Excellence: Structures, Resources, Services & Performance Levels to Optimize Pharma Education Groups explores each of these aspects and provides a pharmaceutical segment as well as a data segment representing other industries.

This comprehensive benchmark report analyzes a broad range of medical education factors, and delivers qualitative and quantitative data on staffing, services, structures, investments and much more. Medical education leadership will benefit using this intelligence to evaluate their organization’s resource levels relative to other market leaders.

In addition, the study presents medical education leader’s perspective on the current and future trends and direction of medical education for field-based medical educators, technological changes and spending changes. It also includes insightful analyses on an array of pitfalls that can affect the medical education function, including the changing business environment and compliance management.

Study Snapshot

The medical education landscape for pharmaceutical and medical devices companies has never been more challenging with medical education groups facing more complexity and restrictions than ever. Best Practices^®, LLC conducted research to probe critical medical education failure points and success factors.

Best Practices^®, LLC used both field surveys and interviews to complete this study. In all, 40 medical education leaders from 35 different companies from the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors contributed data. In-depth interviews were conducted with veteran leaders from four organizations.

Key Findings

Medical Education is a function that best fits with medical affairs or divisions that have limited, if any, commercial ties. Pharma companies manage their Medical Education function within their Medical Affairs group in order to minimize criticism to their CME programs.

Medical Education staffing levels’ outlook shows little or no growth in the pharma sector. A total of 65 percent of pharma participants foresee no change in staffing levels in the coming two years.

Medical Education budgets could potentially shrink in the pharma sector. Budgets are under pressure as companies cut back as part of the fallout over past criticism of commercial ties to education. Some have moved to only support independent education.

In terms of geographic focus, Medical Education is uniquely positioned to help fuel organizations’ growth in emerging areas like China and India. Despite the growing revenue stream produced by emerging areas, pharma companies are devoting to Asia-emerging areas few of their total MedEd FTEs and programs, and only some of their total MedEd budget.

Technology-based programs will increase in the next two years. More than 60 percent of pharma participants project increases of 10 percent or more. Pharma’s investing in iPads/tablets will represent, on average, 16 percent of their technology budget over the next two years.

Performance measurement in Medical Education is a sore point for many, with no one voicing absolute satisfaction with current approaches. Common metrics used to show value are programs conducted, attendees, and percentage of repeat attendees in different courses. Post-program surveys are also common, although many don’t view them as reliable measures.