Untangling the Healthcare Web
Carnival fun house or your worst nightmare?
Picture a door. Open it, and five more appear – some are locked, and some are revolving. No, it’s not a carnival fun house, but instead depicts the frustrating process that most key account managers (KAMs) experience in today’s managed care world. It would be an understatement to say flexibility is a required personality trait for a KAM.
Healthcare organizational structures and ownerships are changing at a rapid pace. Market access – getting your products on a health system, payer or hospital formulary and even the permission to visit physicians – is constantly shifting. The healthcare system itself is evolving, too. There is consolidation of small practices into integrated delivery networks (IDN). This creates a new challenge of understanding a particular doctor’s affiliation to a healthcare organization.
IDNs now own more than 60% of all physician group practices. The implication for pharma is great: the physicians are no longer the sole decision maker when it comes to writing prescriptions. There are many other stakeholders, like pharmacy buyers, payers, and administrators associated with the treatment decision. Reach and frequency, once pervasive among commercial organizations, no longer fits the paradigm.
Enter the Key Account Management model
Making the shift from a reach and frequency approach to an account-based selling model is a multi-step process. Rather than assigning individual territories, life sciences companies need to consider moving to multidimensional, account- focused selling teams that reflect the way today’s customers are organized.
Sometimes referred to as the account team’s quarterback, the key account manager is responsible for the account plan. It starts with understanding the particular organization’s hierarchy of treatment influencers. Next comes the development of account objectives and a coordinated account plan, with a focus on engaging the right influencers for an account. Finally, it is time to execute the plan pull-through from the entire account team.
A bright future ahead
Despite the added complexity, there are new opportunities. According to research from CMI/Compas, 39% of physicians are willing to see life sciences reps without restrictions. Personalized medicines are on the rise, but require a great deal of collaboration and knowledge. This positions well-prepared key account managers, specialty sales reps, and medical teams to become a vital part of therapy decision making.
Account teams that are backed by accurate stakeholder data combined with customer engagement technology will be a strategic game changer. With the ability to identify how all key stakeholders connect, account managers can target and coordinate their outreach. And, thanks to the cloud, the account data is kept up to date with continuous field feedback that is checked and verified.
The future looks bright for key account managers with access to the rich customer affiliation data available today. The key is consolidating data-driven customer insights – whether an individual physician, healthcare system, or payer – into one system, and placing it directly into the hands of those who use it most.