Access to physicians, Pharma professionals once coveted the job of pharma sales reps; at the height of its popularity, the position was held in the highest regard just a decade ago. As the last few years have passed, however, that has changed, and reps no longer need only to finish the job that DTC advertising used to do the “heavy lifting” on. Starting around 2012, major industry shifts all but thrust the brunt of the pharma sales workload into the laps of the reps. 

Accessing HCPs 

In addition to a gradually increasing negative attitude toward pharmaceutical sales reps in general throughout the industry, there also arose additional issues with reps gaining access to physicians. Much of this was due to the surge in the number of patients that needed to be seen on a daily basis, in addition to more administrative work that physicians are now required to do. 

Doctors simply no longer have time for sales reps. 

Every pharma sales pro dreams of accessible HCPs; industry standards state that for a physician to be considered accessible, he or she must meet more than 70% of the rep who approach them. 

Why Pharma Sales Reps are Battling an Uphill Battle 

One of the reasons why physicians are becoming so much less access to physicians is the fact that there are just so many reps out there. While it`s true that the number of reps decreases year by year, on average, a physician gets over 2,700 contacts annually from pharma sales reps. This translates to an average of one sales rep contact for every single hour a physician is at work. These contacts include phone calls, personal visits, emails, and more. With so many sales reps crowded on the sidewalk, it’s more difficult than ever  to stand out and establish a meaningful relationship with HCP. 

Doctors have followed  the trend of digitalization, so direct contact is no longer the preferred means of communication. In fact, according to a survey, nearly 80% of doctors prefer to get information online rather than talking to the person in charge. The screen is currently the perfect place for sales reps to meet HCP. Eighty-two percent visit the drug company’s website for medication information, and 74%  visit it to find clinical trial information. In addition, 70% of doctors visit pharmaceutical company websites looking for patient support materials. Digital marketing for pharmaceutical companies can increase success while helping to bring resources to healthcare professionals. 

The rep is famous for sticking to routines. This is one of the most common complaints doctors have. Physicians generally consider the services of medical representatives to be little personalized, repetitive and mostly scripted. The situation hasn’t changed much, and salesmen have access to new tools compared to 20 years ago, but the approaches are very similar. It is important for pharmaceutical company representatives to personalize their approach to the individual physician they see in order to present information in a concise, accurate and meaningful way.

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