Biopharma companies that provide healthcare professionals (HCPs) with compliant chat channels benefit from increased engagement, according (PDF) to Veeva Systems.
Analyzing interactions captured in its customer relationship management platform, Veeva found HCPs start 30% of conversations with reps when a compliant chat channel is available. The software provider framed the use of the channels by HCPs in light of the rise of precision therapies, saying the focus on smaller patient populations means physicians have questions when they come to start patients on drugs.
Inbound channels offer HCPs a way to get answers to questions about reimbursement, site certification and more. Veeva found that, on average, reps can respond to queries in compliant chat channels in less than five minutes and use the medium to arrange samples for new patient starts and schedule meetings.
Text messaging and standalone chat apps may also support timely responses but in the view of Veeva, a company that sells an app for digital engagement between reps and HCPs, they create compliance risks and fragment interaction data.
Veeva’s data suggests pushing inbound channels can increase digital engagement without cannibalizing in-person interactions. On average, 78% of HCP interactions are in person and 22% are digital, per data collected by Veeva. At companies that push inbound channels, the mix shifts to 42% in-person and 58% digital.
The shift reflects a doubling of digital engagement. According to Veeva, in-person volumes stay the same or increase while digital engagement explodes. The channel mix goes from 14% email, 2% video and 1% chat, to 25% email, 12% video and 15% complaint chat. Phone’s share is largely unchanged in the two engagement models, rising from 5% to 6% in the more digital approach.