L&M Blog

Over the past several months L&M Healthcare’s client teams have been actively participating in planning and discussions with our clients in preparation for their 2022 Peer-to-Peer campaigns. Everything from program types, speaker counts, allocations, regional distribution, and of course BUDGETS. What must be taken into consideration during these discussions is of course the new PhRMA guidance on bureau events (https://www.phrma.org/resource-center/Pages/Statement-on-Revisions-to-the-PhRMA-Code-on-Interactions-with-Health-Care-Professionals) which provided direction on two important components to a bureau campaign; 1) Appropriate venue selection and 2) Alcohol consumption at local live events. Let’s tackle each…

Venues

The latest PhRMA code reiterates its long-standing position that ‘meals offered as an incidental business courtesy to attendees of company-sponsored speaker programs should be modest as judged by local standards” and that “high-end restaurants and other such venues are not appropriate locations for speaker programs.” Now more than ever, careful attention must be paid to the proper selection of venues for meal-based events so as not to appear to be overspending on event participants. As a result of this renewed guidance many of L&M Healthcare’s clients are suppressing the meal maximum per person even lower than before. Some as low as $90/person all in for dinner. This conservative approach to meal spend further emphasizes the need for a Speakers Bureau partner which understands the rules, has a technological solution to seamlessly support business rules and event planning, and a customer service team which will support the field force and work tirelessly to find great venues and negotiate pharma specific contracts. We have over 10,000 venues vetted in our STARS system and will never let your salesforce down.

Booze!

The latest PhRMA code further states that “pharmaceutical companies should not pay for or provide alcohol in connection with speaker programs.” That sound you heard was the vintners and scotch purveyors of the world uttering a collective gasp and sigh. The days of $150 cabernet and $20 pours of Ardbeg 10 are alas over. Many of us enjoy a boozy beverage with our meal, particularly when we are with friends and colleagues. Afterall “In Vino Veritas”, the great social lubricant allows for free conversations and open dialogue. But let’s look at the upside. First and foremost safety, unfortunately evenings of consumption can lead to physical and legal harm later on which your company no longer shares in culpability for. Additionally, those food budgets we talked about above, well they got a lot easier to meet or beat without the addition of expensive spirits. Finally, we can now focus solely on the content and value which your programs bring to HCPs for the benefit of their patients, without the cloud of impropriety.

Over the years and decades of bureau events the easiest road to potential fraud is that part of the event receipt which lists the wine and cocktails. That said some clients are allowing HCPs to purchase their own drink at the bar prior to entering the event space, but strictly forbid reordering from the venue service staff when the program has begun. Somewhere in the interpretation of this new ruling is where your company will fall, and L&M will be here to ensure business rules are created and enforced.

So, save the fancy restaurant and expensive wine and cocktails for dinners with friends and family. As we enter the holidays we want to extend our wishes to you yours for a happy and healthy holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading!

Adam Margolis, CEO, Managing Partner

The marketing world we live in has certainly evolved in the past 20 years. We all recognize that in order to impact a marketplace, and to evolve thinking about the treatment of a condition, the community needs to be approached using an omnichannel strategy. Omnichannel marketing integrates various channels utilized by an organization to interact with their customers with the goal of a consistent brand experience.

HCPs receive an onslaught of information from a variety of sources on a day-to-day basis and in this era of fewer sales calls, reduced access, nonpersonal promotion, and a renewed commitment to work life balance during this ongoing global pandemic, a comprehensive approach to education is paramount. Add to this the PhRMA restriction regarding attending more than one program per year on the same topic, and we no longer can depend upon a single dinner event breaking through the noise to excite HCPs to take a hard look at their treatment of various conditions. Meeting the HCP where they are utilizing creative and “off” schedules, shorter timed events which capture engagement with a shorter attention span and providing focused education can yield more broad based results.

L&M Healthcare and our partners at Relevate Health (https://www.relevatehealth.com/) have developed an integrated and engaging approach to our clients’ Speakers Bureau platforms. Applying an omnichannel lens to your peer-to-peer efforts not only will increase engagement and resonance, but it will create efficiencies for you with our comprehensive solution for all your peer-to-peer needs and amplifies the engagement by parsing out the experience in a variety of different channels. The SpeakerShare and PracticeShare 360 degree surround programs have demonstrated results for our clients by utilizing a pre-meeting invitation directly from the presenter including teasers and event information, post-event thank you and white paper reviewing the core and locally relevant content, as well as a communication to no-shows or interested participants summarizing the event and reminding them of future opportunities to join. These programs have resulted in meaningful change including:

• >25% Trx life of event attendees with timely follow up
• >40% NRx lift of event attendees with timely follow up
• Up to ~40% unique open rates
• 3x field team follow-up using customized materials

Across the board our clients are engaging with their HCP audiences in an omnichannel way. Optimizing your speaker bureau’s approach by applying an omnichannel strategy, can extend your key messages across a variety of engaging channels and all hinging off of the core educational message and session. This will help amplify your share of voice, reinforce your brand messaging, and optimize your engagements with your HCPs by meeting them where they are.

Contact us today and together we can positively impact your comprehensive marketing approach to your peer-to-peer efforts by applying this omnichannel approach to maximize your results.

Thank you for reading!

Adam Margolis, CEO, Managing Partner

With the recent changes made to the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals (“PhRMA Code”), https://www.phrma.org/resource-center/Pages/Statement-on-Revisions-to-the-PhRMA-Code-on-Interactions-with-Health-Care-Professionals the industry will need to evolve. Research has shown an ongoing trend towards less frequent, but higher quality sessions. Let’s outline some steps and requirements to succeed under these new expectations.

The partnership of L&M Healthcare Communications and Relevate Health, https://www.relevatehealth.com/ is extremely well positioned to help guide our clients down the new path which is actively being forged in medical communications and peer-to-peer education. The latest PhRMA code is a single gear in a complex machine of interactions with healthcare providers which must be actively and continuously managed and fine-tuned over the course of the planned engagement. No longer can pharmaceutical companies employ a tactic of non-specific sweeping, overwhelming volume, and high program counts. A Speakers Bureau program needs to be a highly targeted tactic which seeks to educate the treatment community on specific new developments which will be relevant to their practices and will benefit patient care. Pharma cannot fall back on extravagant meals, expensive wine, and high-end cocktails to attract an audience to a speaker program. And no longer can the “frequent flyers” repeatedly benefit from a night out to network with colleagues and enjoy a free meal. 

We can employ a number of strategies and tactics to ensure that each and every educational interaction and session which clients invest in is meaningful to the audience and ensures comprehensive education on its products. 

First, and it may seem like an obvious suggestion (although less so from a bureau provider), reduce the number of programs per year that are expected to be executed by your field force. We generally recommend our clients consider doing 1 program per representative per calendar quarter. This allows for the representative to spend dedicated time each quarter ensuring a proper audience is recruited which will maximize the impact of the program. Additionally, depending upon the size of the bureau, it will allow KOLs to speak at a reasonable number of programs which will meet the minimums and maximums set out in their contracts. Less is more, and make every interaction a meaningful educational experience. 

Second, the mix of programs between live in venue and virtual programs should be much more balanced. While nothing can replace a live evening with a group of HCPs and KOLs, virtual events with powerful content and compelling formats can attract a good audience looking for flexible timing and education that truly interests them beyond the free meal you provide. Virtual programs require a fraction of the budget of a live event, and far less time commitment from both speaker and participants.

Third, program content must evolve. Product slide decks remain an important anchor for educational events, however there is room for improvement. By building your educational message over a series of chapters, modules, cases and immersive sessions, you can generate excitement and commitment from your audience to participate in multiple distinct educational sessions both live and virtual which will ensure continued commitment to your educational message and will reinforce adult learning principles. Additionally, this educational method allows our clients to justify targeting an audience which will benefit from multiple educational sessions throughout the year without triggering an issue with the latest PhRMA guidance. 

Fourth, provide a surround sound of educational information for each program participant. Utilizing the SpeakerShare^SM program can maximize the impact of educational events by promoting attendance and disseminating speakers’ key messages across channels both before and after the program. It allows our clients to continuously interact with targeted HCP communities without the need for constant live educational sessions. SpeakerShare connects invitees, attendees, and even no-shows to the KOL speakers who in turn supplies your audience with in-label, approved educational information directly to their inboxes. This can also promote a feedback loop using surveys and chat which will capture the educational need of the treatment community in the future. This type of program has provided tremendous lift to our client brands. 

We welcome the opportunity to participate in the process of a comprehensive peer-to-peer program review and strategic advancement with our current and future clients. We should view the latest guidance as an opportunity to evolve education to meet HCPs where they are in a compliant and beneficial way, which will ultimately help the industry do an even better and more targeted job of educating the treatment community for the benefit of patients. 

Thank you for reading,

Adam Margolis, CEO, L&M Healthcare Communications

Adam Margolis

Keri Reynolds, EDC Communications

I recently chatted with a client regarding “post-pandemic” opportunities for resuming normal business activities, specifically in the world of medical speaker training.  We both agree that unknowns continue as we move into the reality of a “new” new-normal.  One thing is certain, however.  Whoever can master the art of effectively pivoting between the in-person and virtual meeting experiences will be the front runners of audience engagement and meeting success.   

PIVOT.  How many times have you heard this word over the last eighteen months?   According to Merriam-Webster, the meaning of pivot when used as a noun is: the action of pivoting, especially: the action in basketball of stepping with one foot while keeping the other foot at its point of contact with the floor.  The basketball player offers a great mental picture for us as we consider how to increase our pivot effectiveness in mastering the hybrid communication world.  What can we emulate and apply?

There is no denying that the hybrid world brings much to manage, regardless of the talents and skills you possess individually.   Having a team approach is a best practice and provides great benefit in effectively managing our hybrid-event world.  A co-presenter and/or a producer can help you manage the interaction and engagement of the virtual audience while you focus on your onsite attendees.   This strategy eases pressure for all, and positively contributes to the team’s in-the-moment flexibility.

1. Stay grounded.  To maintain success in pivoting, the basketball player keeps one foot firmly grounded, watching and listening to what is happening around them.  In the “new” new-normal hybrid meeting world, as an effective communicator you also remain grounded in the delivery skill fundamentals that engage the audience.  You know that delivery always matters and is fundamental to audience engagement.  Especially in the hybrid world, planning for and managing the details that provide a welcoming experience sets a positive foundation.  Of course, eye contact with the camera will invite the virtual participant into the meeting.  As always, when connecting with an in-person attendee, look them in the eye.  Being grounded in the need to be inclusive with all participants and remembering the virtual audience is also live will contribute to your flexibility and support your ability to strategically pivot between the two audiences.  Don’t forget the importance of thinking like a listener and meeting participant.  Put yourself in their shoes.
2. Stay flexible.  With one foot firmly grounded, our basketball player is positioned to flexibly pivot and move in different directions based on what they see, hear, and sense.  Flexibility is a must when managing both the virtual and in-person meeting worlds simultaneously.  Strong pivoting skills reinforce your awareness of both audiences, supports easy movement between audiences, and assists you in changing direction in the moment using different engagement strategies and activities when needed. 
3. Stay prepared.  It is a given that master athletes, including our basketball star, are relentless as they practice, run drills and prepare for game day.  As master communicators looking to excel in the “new” new-normal world, we too should be relentless as we practice and prepare. Here are a few items to consider.  First, what have you learned over the “new normal” months of virtual meeting immersion?  Necessity IS the mother of invention and we’ve learned that virtual meetings and interactions CAN be done well so incorporate what works from both the in-person and virtual environments.  Thinking like a participant will be a great guide as you consider what works.  With that in mind, remember that the virtual space has additional details to manage beyond the in-person world.  Know your virtual technology platform and how to manage its functionality particularly as it supports virtual participation and engagement. Ask yourself, how will I/my team manage and respond to the remote audience?  As you intentionally invite your virtual audience to respond and interact, ask your producer to “feed” you responses via an ear bud to facilitate your attention to both audiences.  Speaking of platform functionality, preload your handouts to your technology platform so that your virtual audience has easy access to what is being discussed.  This scores you significant engagement points with the virtual folks since your preplanning is obvious.

As you continue to merge virtual into the in-person experience, ensure your look is professional.  Does your virtual “stage” mesh with what is happening onsite?  If you are presenting from your home office, does your audience really want to see your kitchen or the bed behind you?  Our hybrid world is raising the bar so think about asking for professional help with your virtual stage.  L&M Healthcare Communications offers cutting-edge support:  https://lmhcare.com/blog/the-national-sales-meeting-in-the-age-of-covid-dont-cancel-it-go-virtual/  Incorporating the L&M 3-D Virtual Studio platform and the full technical and logistical expertise offered by L&M can certainly raise the bar on your hybrid event.

Have you considered hiring a communication coach who will provide in-the-moment delivery feedback and strategies while you practice and prepare?  As a speaker and communication coach, I have the opportunity to come alongside speakers and provide specific and practical coaching tips while they practice their presentation.  I get to be a part of the growth that takes place as skills are sharpened, delivery gets stronger, and confidence grows.

Both the in-person and virtual delivery worlds have a significant place in our “new” new-normal.  Mastering the hybrid world of meetings and presentations through strong, focused pivot strategies allows us to embrace the future with greater confidence.  You can count on the “new” new-normals continuing and the hybrid “pivot-masters” will be leading the way.

Thank you for reading,

Keri Reynolds, Client Services Director, EDC Communications https://thinkedc.com/

Adam Margolis, CEO, L&M Healthcare Communications

The history books will have a hard time truly encapsulating the unbelievable events of the last 16 months. We hope that in some small way our blog has provided some guidance, ideas, creative approaches, and an evolving position on what it has taken to operate a successful Peer-to-Peer program in this new uncharted territory.

As we move forward into this Hybrid world of Bureau, we must become masters of this New-New World as it relates to our critical education efforts. A number of issues, concerns, and marketplace evolutions have occurred and in order to successfully manage the new world of promotional, peer-to-peer education attention should be paid to these issues. They are important as we look at the remaining half of 2021 and mission critical for business planning for FY2022.

1. Work/Life balance is more important than ever, you need to meet HCPs “where they are…” HCP audiences have adjusted to receiving education on demand, or at their preferred time, and may not be as flexible for live local events.
2. COVID remains both a physical threat in areas with lower vaccination rates, and abroad, but also an emotional scar which has many people still unwilling to socialize or dine in groups, especially with strangers.
3. Refresh and motivate your speakers. The hybrid model of peer-to-peer programs and events necessitates a retraining of speakers to be successful with a new wider range of program options.
4. How can we do more with less? Marketing budgets in some cases are smaller for a number of reasons including profitability concerns as a result of 2020 performance, a reduced utilization of peer-to-peer funds as a result of the inability to execute live events, and a critically important focus on patient assistant programs to ensure product access for people whose livelihood has been impacted by the pandemic.
5. Amid all this global upheaval, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released its “Special Fraud Alert: Speaker Programs*” in November of 2020. The implications of this Alert are wide ranging and up to interpretation, but needless to say, many safeguards and updates to Speaker Program plans should be implemented with an eye towards this guidance.
6. There’s an undeniable spirit of hope in our country as we get closer to true mass immunity. People are ready to get out into the world this summer. Speakers are flying again, restaurants are open, let’s set a plan for meaningful and responsible face-to-face interactions.

L&M Healthcare and our partners at EDC Communications are here to help you navigate this New-New World of promotional education, Peer-to-Peer bureau, and training. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be posting our thoughts, opinions and suggestions for how to evolve your plans and thinking. We remain ready to assist our current and future clients with this mission critical process. Stand by for more soon, and do not hesitate to reach out in the meantime for a quick catch up or strategy session.

Thank you for reading,

Adam Margolis, CEO, Managing Partner, L&M Healthcare Communications

*https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/alertsandbulletins/2020/SpecialFraudAlertSpeakerPrograms.pdf

For decades, Pharmaceutical company sales organizations have made the financial and logistical commitment to gather together hundreds of company executives, sales representatives, managers, and marketers for the annual Company National Sales Meeting (NSM).

These huge events are carefully planned to allow for team building, a morale boost, motivation, training and recognition for a job well done.  And everyone will have a lot of fun in the process.   I recall a huge 3-day NSM I attended in the early 90’s for a major pharmaceutical company that I worked for that featured top performers at that time appearing live on-site to give mini concerts every day between meeting events.  Think Natalie Cole, the Count Basie Orchestra, and for the grand finale on the final night, a full length concert by Huey Lewis and the News.  It was a blast.  And I’m sure it cost a fortune.

The National Sales Meeting remains an important way to keep the sales organization feeling appreciated, educated and motivated to achieve its goals. 

So how do you pull off a NSM in the age of Covid-19 restrictions on travel and gathering?

For most organizations in 2020, they simply had to cancel all plans for a NSM.  Others made a hasty switch to some sort of virtual event on a Zoom-style platform with mixed results. Now, in 2021, many companies continue to struggle to identify the most effective way to gather the sales organization together virtually in a compelling and engaging event. Here’s an example of a recent virtual NSM that was a tremendous success.

In mid-April of this year, one major biotech company hosted a full, multi-day virtual NSM for over 500 attendees in partnership with L&M Healthcare Communications.  Using the L&M 3-D Virtual Studio platform and the full technical and logistical expertise offered by L&M, the meeting featured a full agenda of Executive talks, interviews, product sales training, update sessions and a sales representative awards program.   Any meeting segment that you might consider in a live event can be brought to life virtually. 

Here’s a list of what L&M delivered over three days of live programming:

• CEO Corporate address and company update
• CEO/CFO Fireside Chat
• CCO Commercial Update
• Marketing Strategy Overview
• Clinical Expert presentations
• New Product Training
• Sales Management Regional Breakout Sessions
• Black Tie Awards Ceremony with winner speeches and music

Each of these sessions was delivered in a custom virtual 3D environment allowing multiple remote speakers to appear in the same space at the same time regardless of where they were in the world. 

As for cost, a virtual NSM held over multiple days allowed for significant cost savings vs. a live meeting.  Just calculate in your head the savings by not having the enormous expenses of airfare, hotels, food and beverage, entertainment and other related expenses multiplied by hundreds of personnel.  The NSM described above was completed at approximately one-quarter or less of the estimated cost of a live meeting.

If you are anxious to gather your sales organization in 2021, the L&M Healthcare Communications 3-D Virtual Studio can deliver a wonderfully engaging meeting of any size and duration at a fraction of the cost of a live event

So don’t skip your NSM this year.   L&M Healthcare Communications can help you start designing your virtual NSM immediately with full meeting design, development and technical support.

Please feel free to contact L&M for a demo and see for yourself!

Thanks for reading!

Adam Margolis, CEO

No doubt, if you’ve ventured out into the world of restaurants and dining over the past several months, you’ll notice a major change at many of your favorite spots. The impact of COVID on how we interface with our surroundings has forced us to look for technological solutions to what once seemed like a tried-and-true process.

The same can be said for Bureau operations in the time of Virtual events. What seemed like a simple process of signing in and tracking attendance on paper, or putting your finger to a communal iPad, really isn’t so simple anymore. Consider the basic health concerns surrounding sharing pens, a stylus or a tablet screen. Even more concerning are the issues surrounding the proper capture of attendance at a program when all of the attendees are accessing the program remotely from their homes or separate offices.

Importantly, if an attendee has been provided a delivered meal, your reps must receive evidence of proper program participation to ensure accurate transparency reporting. Is it a valuable use of their time to go chasing HCPs down for a signature? Think about it….the health issues mentioned above get repeated all over again!

L&M Healthcare has deployed a seamless and simple solution to a vexing problem for many of our clients. Wrapped up with our fully integrated, customized, and comprehensive Bureau Portal Technology STARS, we can ensure your Peer-to-Peer program remains highly compliant even during these challenging times.

We would be happy to demonstrate the Attendance Verification feature in our STARS portal.  Please contact me if you would like to learn more.

Thanks for reading.

Adam Margolis

CEO, L&M Healthcare Communications

I entered “Zoom fatigue” into Google to see what’s been written about it.   Turns out, lots.  In fact, Google delivered twenty-nine results, pages worth of peer-reviewed studies, scholarly articles, newspaper features and videos on the topic. 

Fortunately, you don’t need to read all these articles to understand Zoom fatigue.   Just think about your own relationship with video conferencing and how you feel about it now vs. a year ago.  If you are like most folks who spend hours each week video conferencing, you get the point that Zoom fatigue is a legitimate syndrome and not some made up catch phrase.

Most of us have accepted the current reality that our most common everyday experiences are now on-line, remote events.  Think client meetings, Ad boards, conferences, work status meetings, capabilities presentations, sales meetings,  happy hour with friends, checking in with Mom.  Is it any wonder that so much has been written to describe this very prevalent problem?

So what is the alternative?  Are we stuck in these meetings for another year in the same tedious grid or are there dynamic alternatives?

While ZOOM-style meetings definitely have their place, and this article does not intend to dismiss ZOOM or similar VC platforms entirely, we should all be aware that not all meeting types default successfully or effectively to a grid-style meeting platform. 

You might consider a 3-D Virtual platform that offers templated virtual meeting environments that are designed to match the meeting objectives.  For example, for a promotional or educational speaker program, a virtual environment that places a single speaker or multiple remote speakers directly behind a desk, a lectern, or on a dais with other remote speakers and a moderator would add tremendous production value to your event.  The speakers can be anywhere in the world.  Just put them in front of a webcam and they are now part of the set.   Add a few panels behind the desk or to the side to show slides, streaming video, charts and graphs.  Add some branding, polling, white boards, some windows, a city skyline on a sunny day.   Your design options are only limited by your imagination.

How about a virtual National Sales Meeting or POA.  You can choose a virtual meeting hall, or maybe a college lecture hall environment.  If you can’t bring your reps in to HQ for training, let’s gather them into a 3-D virtual training center so they are engaged, well-trained and ready for the new drug launch.

These 3-D meeting environments exist now and are ready to service your needs for whatever virtual events you have planned in 2021 and beyond.  Your meeting attendees will be more engaged, more productive and you will have their attention longer. 

L&M Healthcare Communications can easily demonstrate its 3-D Virtual Studio and recommend how to incorporate the right space into your meetings plan.  Let us know when you are ready to see the 3-D Virtual Studio for yourself and re-energize your virtual meetings.  

Now get some rest!  You have five Zoom meetings tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Adam Margolis, CEO

One of the most unfortunate side effects of the COVID disruption for our industry is the near total shut down of live meetings and events.  As a result, meaningful face-to-face, educational interactions between physicians and their peers is now non-existent.   The classic dinner or lunch event, with a speaker, PowerPoint deck and a reasonable meal accommodation, has essentially ground to a halt. But the need to educate your target audience continues.

You must meet your audience where they are, and not sit back and cross your fingers that the local live event will return soon. In the absence of a herd immunity via the vaccine, and the progressive march towards the spring months, the return of significant local live events is months or more away. 

What are the alternatives to live events?

Small format, rapidly deployable events are the name of the game. Marketers can select from a wide range of Speakers who have agreed to make themselves available for personal, one-on-one presentations and discussions of approved, on-label content via Zoom and other communications tools.

Expert Encounters

Expert Encounters are clinical conversations between HCPs that allow for flexible timing, comfortable at home or in office setting, and when properly managed by a dedicated bureau staff, compliantly and technologically seamlessly executed. Representatives make these programs available to their HCP audience, and participate in each interaction. Scheduled through our Bureau web portal, STARS, the L&M coordinator quickly picks up the logistical planning for a seamless event.

In addition, these interactions are highly cost efficient. The absence of travel, meals, A/V and travel time compensation, maximizes the educational cost efficiency of each interaction. When properly marketed, Expert Encounters will offer the field-based sales team a unique program offering, and the HCP a customized, meaningful interaction with an approved speaker of their choosing in a completely compliant online venue.

L&M Healthcare has implemented hundreds of Expert Encounters since March 2020, with staff coverage of each and every event. We can assist you with a creative and rapidly deployable program to fill your HCPs educational needs.

Thanks for reading.

Adam Margolis, CEO, L&M Healthcare Communications