GSK Pharmaceuticals’ annual conference highlights healthcare practitioners’ expectations from medical reps

From left: GSK Area Business Manager Yashas Vishwa Weeratunga, Panellist Dr. Seneth Samaranayake, GSK Head of Medical Affairs Dr. Chatura Jayakody, Panellist Dr. Srilal de Silva and GSK Area Business Manager Dinesh Thalagune

From left: GSK Head of Medical Affairs Dr. Chatura Jayakody, GSK Head of Marketing Tony Amath, GSK Country Head Sunder Ramachandran, Panellist Dr. Srilal de Silva, Panellist Dr. Seneth Samaranayake, Head of Sales Tyrone Fernando, Head of Finance Manoj Jayawardena, Head of Logistics Dhanushke Fonseka and Head of HR Nirupa Wijeratne

As part of their recently concluded annual conference, GSK Pharmaceuticals Ltd. invited leading healthcare practitioners Dr. Srilal de Silva and Dr. Seneth Samaranayake to share their perspectives on the evolving healthcare landscape in Sri Lanka and their expectations from the medical reps within the country. The panel discussion was led by Dinesh Thalagune and Yashas Vishwa Weeratunga (GSK Area Business Managers). Following are excerpts from the discussion.

Q: What is the value proposition of a medical representative from a doctor’s perspective?

This question has been front and centre for many young people joining the profession. Both the doctors’ provided a simple, yet impactful framework comprising of three words: attitude, knowledge and, finally, skills. The combination of the three will create a strong and impactful personality for a medical rep which makes a world of difference.

Attitude – the attitude of a medical rep plays a major role when meeting a doctor, starting from the way they enter the clinic to the choice of language. The professionalism they demonstrate while explaining their products also enhances their impression. The non-verbal skills and body language make an impact as well. Medical reps must try to break the ice and use appropriate humour during the conversation. Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) are busy individuals and medical reps must create the opportunity to meet with them. It is generally advised that medical reps keep their eyes and ears open and understand what’s going on in the broader environment within the country, as this will aid their conversational skills.

Knowledge – the most valuable tool a medical rep possesses when meeting a doctor is their knowledge about the products. The rep’s responsibility is to know inside-out about not only their product but also its competitors, usage of the product by the patients and most importantly its disease area and the broader global developments in that area. It is the responsibility of the rep to be persistent – to push hard and remind HCPs about the benefits of the drug and not to give up. A well-informed rep who knows what they are talking about can be demanding of the health care practitioner’s time without coming across as a distraction.

Skills – having the right set of skills will complement the attitude and knowledge in winning in the market. A rep should know how to manage their time and prioritise the key selling messages to the HCPs. Moreover, the rep needs to understand the HCP’s requirement too in order drive a better conversation with them. Finally, consistent practice is important to ensure that you are conversant in your body language, timing, and flow of your conversation.

Having knowledge, skills and attitude is not sufficient for a medical rep to shine in the field. It is important to develop an intuitive ability to understand the HCP’s intent and customise the approach. This will enable the medical rep to cater better to the doctor’s requirements. It will also create an opportunity for the rep to convince and convert the doctor to prescribe their brand to the patients.

The panel also reflected on the increasing digital engagement adopted by pharma companies and recommended that a balance be maintained between face-to-face and digital. The panel acknowledged that while digital is the future, it is the medical rep’s role to help HCPs evolve as well. They could do this by simple reminders to the HCPs on important webinars a few hours before the session and use mobile devices to share interactive and rich media content.

Overall, the panel felt that the medical reps were still valued by the HCP community but that the time had come to step up, contribute to the knowledge and understanding of HCPs and ensure that this relationship remains relevant and fit for the future.