ENQUIRY HANDLING FOR MEDICAL INFORMATION

Professional Information can manage any aspect of a customer's enquiry handling from its own offices using trained and experienced Medical Information personnel.

This service is currently operated for a wide range of pharmaceutical companies. Enquiries on promoted and non-promoted products are handled from healthcare professionals, the general public, and internal company customers.

Feedback from our collaborations is that outsourcing of Medical Information enquiry handling to Professional Information has proved successful in supporting the delivery of a consistent, effective and highly professional Medical Information service.

• Promoted products
• Non-promoted products
• Healthcare Professionals
• General Public
• Internal Customers
• Product Launches
• Product Recalls
• Seasonal products
• Long-term outsourcing
• Intermittent outsourcing

Supporting the needs of a full range of customers

Professional Information has experience of providing a Medical Information service for enquiries from healthcare professionals (doctors, pharmacists and nurses), the general public, and internal customers such as Sales Representatives, Marketing and Clinical Research. Patient enquiries in particular can place high demand on an already stretched Medical Information Department if this increasingly influential customer group is to be dealt with to maximum benefit whilst remaining fully compliant with the rules governing provision of information to the general public.

The response must be tailored to the needs of the individual, taking into account the knowledge of the enquirer, pharmaceutical industry guidelines on information provision, and the importance of capitalising on the opportunity for positive customer perception.

Supporting the needs of a diverse range of products and situations

A Medical Information enquiry handling service is expected to meet the needs of many different products under a range of differing circumstances. Professional Information has extensive experience of supporting the enquiry handling needs of promoted and non-promoted products either as a continuous service or only at times when demand exceeds resource such as product launches, staff shortfall, product recalls, seasonal products and out-of-stocks.

Non-promoted products tend to be unpopular within busy Medical Information Departments - often being considered as no more than a distraction from work on the promoted products - but they are nevertheless important to the Medical Profession. Professional Information provides cost-effective support for the non-promoted products allowing the in-house staff to focus on the products that are currently pivotal to the Company's business goals.

In respect of the promoted products, larger companies often find themselves stretched to adequately resource the medical information needs of a broad portfolio of promoted products. When demand peaks, service standards can be maintained by outsourcing specific products. Small and medium sized companies can benefit by tapping into the critical mass at Professional Information, enabling maximum benefit to be derived from their promoted products by ensuring that customers receive the same excellent levels of medical information support as they should from the very largest companies.

How does it work?

Following an initial briefing, Professional Information will prepare a detailed proposal describing the process of preparation for outsourced enquiry handling, the procedures to be followed once the contract is underway, and a detailed costing. Following award of the project, Working Practices covering all elements of the service to be provided are drawn up and agreed between the companies. In the run-up to going live with the service, electronic and paper files are set up by Professional Information using the data supplied by the customer, and initial staff training is completed. Once the service is underway, individual enquiry reports together with regular "enquiry statistics" reports, tailored to the specific requirements of the customer, are provided. Regular teleconferences and meetings ensure that the collaboration develops successfully in line with customer expectations.

To request a proposal for enquiry handling services, please contact Professional Information.