These trends are transforming the way medical information (MI) teams function.

The current generation of MI technologies use AI and natural language processing (NLP) to interpret and respond to even the most complex questions from healthcare professionals and patients alike. They can instantly search databases to generate the correct response, and they use language that feels almost human, bringing a customer-centric experience to every interaction.

But some life sciences decision-makers are still uncertain about how these solutions fit into their broader MI environment, and how to make the business case for adding them to the mix.

To tackle these topics, we recently sat down with Simon Johns, director of Medical Information and Marketed Product Safety at IQVIA, and Richard Marcil, Chief Customer Officer at conversationHEALTH to discuss how MI teams are embracing an integrated artificial intelligence and human future. Here’s what they had to say.

What trends are accelerating the need for automation in MI customer support?

Johns: Medical Information is a primary touch point for customers to get information about a pharma company’s products. This has become even more important now that sales reps are struggling to get face-to-face meetings with healthcare professionals. If a company hasn’t got a model that makes all engagement channels equally available - particularly digital - then they are failing at customer satisfaction.

Marcil: There is definitely a trend around humans and AI joining forces for better professional engagement and ‘always on’ availability. The opportunity now is defining the roles and responsibilities of each so that we can deliver fast, productive and thorough responses to every inquiry.

How has the pandemic affected these inquiries?

Johns: We are seeing a paradigm shift in the way healthcare providers and patients communicate with life science companies. It used to be all telephone and email, but now they are embracing digital first. Providing concise answers to their questions in near to real time via their preferred channels is the big challenge ahead.

Marcil: We are also seeing that customers expect answers to their inquiries in real time, whether it's a weekday, a weeknight, or a weekend. The good news is that AI never sleeps.

Are healthcare professionals willing to take answers from an automated system?

Marcil: It depends. Nobody has time for technology for the sake of technology, especially not healthcare professionals. So, when we deploy AI agents, they have to be as good as humans and at times better. These professionals don't need to listen to another script or scroll through a PDF document. If anything, I think the bar is higher for us as industry to deliver quick information versus a Google search.

How do you decide if an inquiry should be handled by a human or the AI?

Johns: The critical factor for pharma companies is what is the risk and where is the disruption. If you have a human-only model, it’s very hard to cope with unexpected surges and lags in every market. Decision makers in the pharma industry need to ask themselves, can we cope with a sudden increase in volume of inquiries associated with a product launch or a product recall?

AI can mitigate that risk, but they need to be confident that the technology they use will deliver a satisfying customer interaction, and that customers will accept responses from an automated agent.

Marcil: They also need to think about what types of questions are right for AI interactions. AI technology is powerful at handling simpler, repetitive inquiries. But there are also times when we need humans to engage. For example, if the AI has not been trained to respond on a topic, or if the interaction is more appropriate for a medical expert, the human should step in.

We see this most often in off-label inquiries, where the AI can be trained to respond, but it may be of more clinical value to have a human medical expert respond.

Why should decision makers prioritize AI technology investments for MI?

Johns: The nine-to-five Monday-to-Friday inquiry window doesn't exist anymore. For many pharma companies, more than 50% of the Medical Information inquiries now come during off hours. If inbound inquiries aren’t supported by an engaging ‘always on’ mechanism, how else will those customers get the information they need?

To adapt, life sciences companies need a truly hybrid model where humans are combined with an AI conversational agent to ensure an excellent experience on any channel at any time of the day or night.

Marcil: Most medical information teams weren’t prepared to take on the scale and demand for innovation in customer experience that is now required. But it has to be done.

The next ‘new normal’ is digital and pharma companies need to demonstrate that they can provide valuable information using AI technology when and where customers want it. It must be real time, it has to be always-on, and needs to build trust and credibility through every interaction.

Simon Johns, Director, Medical Information and Marketed Product Safety, IQVIA

Simon Johns has over 24 years of experience supporting customer projects across all stages of drug development and commercialization. He is a member of the IQVIA Lifecycle Safety Leadership Team, providing strategic insight into best industry practices including the application of technology to drive operational efficiencies. Simon has received 2 IQVIA CEO Awards relating to MI and local PV projects.  He was the Gold Winner for the American Business Awards in May 2022 for “Future of HCP Engagement: AI-Enabled Medical Information Teams” and is a member of the DIA Europe Medical Information and Communications training team.

Richard Marcil, Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer, conversationHEALTH

Richard Marcil is a C-level executive with 20 years of building brands and businesses in startup and multinational organizations, both in North America and globally. Prior to conversationHEALTH, Richard led a North American strategy consultancy focused on brand innovation and digital transformation, working with companies like Salesforce and Alphabet. At heart, however, Richard is an industry insider. He was a founding executive at Silicon Valley-based biotech companies and prior to that held a number of leadership roles across Johnson & Johnson businesses.