Lee Ronan, Commercial Director, CSL
One thing is for sure; 2021 is going to be a better year than 2020. Here are a few areas where I think we will see important change:
Changing treatment models
Keeping people out of hospital has to become a key focus of 2021. You might say this was already a focus, but I think it will become more important given 2020. Whether this is through greater adoption of technology (monitoring apps, digital interactions), increased utilisation for community pharmacists (a better form of medicine usage reviews) or patient empowerment, it’s an area I expect to see evolve in 2021.
New norm for customer engagement
A recent survey suggested just 10% of HCP’s want to go back to only face to face engagement with sales reps. Many more HCP’s are wanting a digital-led engagement model. The new norm for pharma will be omnichannel. HCP’s should be able to choose their preferred engagement channel; whether it’s a website, chatbot, online support team or face to face contact. Pharma companies will need to adapt their marketing channels to truly put the customer at the centre. Rather than product focused sales teams we will see the emergence of a customer engagement-led approach. Reps will own the client relationship and call in appropriate support from medical, commercial and market access etc. on a need as basis.
More AI
It’s probably fairly safe to bet on AI and tools based on AI becoming more popular in 2021. I expect we will see a plethora of “out of the ‘black’ box” AI tools coming to the market. Companies will have to choose wisely to ensure the tools they choose add real value and empower their analysts and sales teams to be more effective. We’ve invested heavily in AI and would be more than happy to have a chat with you about the pro’s and con’s.
ICS take over
The government originally proposed all CCG’s should be part of an ICS by April 21st, 2021. Given what’s happened in 2020 I would expect this deadline to be pushed back into 2022. Eleven new ICS’s have been announced for April 2021, meaning 60% of patients will be covered by 29 ICS’s. This leaves 13 parts of the country still working towards ICS status.
We look forward to continuing to work with our existing clients in the coming year and to the new opportunities 2021 presents. As I said at the beginning of the article, let’s hope it is a better year than this one!
If you would like to discuss any of the above, contact me on 01483 528305 or email leer@CSL-UK.com
