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Vol. 2 Issue 8

MEDICAL

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August 2012

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Editorial

COACHING

FOR

CHANGE

"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results." - Jack Dixon

Why Do We Fail to Get Results? Many pharma companies are adopting coaching to transform the way their field force is working. However, while most are excited with the concept of coaching, they are frustrated with the results, because their focus is on the wrong indicators. They imagine that one or two rushed up sessions in a beach resort will transform the behavior of their managers from sales bullies to performance coaches! In pharma we focus only on sales; not on changing the knowledge, skills and attitude of the MRs/FLMs/SLMs. As a result, their capabilities and behavior remain the same, but we expect better/more from them. This is insanity and hence the results are disappointing. As in sports, we must discover the learning needs of field force people and then coach people to change their ineffective ways of working. Good sportspeople become great sportspeople through great coaching and continuous practice. Doctors and lawyers call their profession as 'practice' because they are constantly learning through practice, CME and other professional development programs. Companies like GSK, Pfizer, Eli Lilly once pioneers in people development are today paying billions of scarce dollars in fines to FDA for unethical practices. Surprisingly when it comes to getting results from doctors, they seem to get the options right and are pleased with the outcomes till they have to pay the heavy penalties to FDA. If only a fraction of this money was spent on Coaching their people to do the right things ! When it comes to any developmental activities including coaching, pharma does not have or has limited funds. When it comes to CRM for doctors the funds are unlimited ! What do you think is the learning field force gets from these ACTIONS ? People pay attention to what you do and where you put your money and not what you pay lip-service to. Coaching is great. But good stuff doesnt come cheap. At FFE 2012, Mr. Girdhar Balwani, Managing Director Invida, had this to say about their experience as an outsourced field force service provider Pharma companies want good, fast and cheap service. What they dont realize is that they can pick two of the options but the third one is not an option but an OUTCOME based on the other two options. You can have good and fast if youre willing to spend a lot of money. You can have fast and cheap, but the quality will be poor. You might even be able to get good and cheap, if youre willing to wait a long time. The MedicinMan Poll on LinkedIn (see Page 14) is another clear indicator to show that employees are aware of what is needed to progress as professionals and businesses. Are the decision-makers willing to FOCUS on CHANGE?
in.linkedin.com/in/anupsoans @anupsoans facebook.com/anup.soans

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MedicinMan August 2012

IS THERE BUSINESS IN RURAL MARKETS?

By Dr. Surinder Kumar Sharma, Head - Strategy & Business Development, TTK Healthcare Ltd.

India lives in its villages. - Mahatma Gandhi And after so many years, we still wonder is there a business in rural markets? According to census 2011, out of 1.2 billion Indians, 68.84% live in Rural India. Rural India is undergoing a tremendous change machines are replacing man and tools and as a result farmers and their families have a lot of time for non-farming activities. According to census 2011, 91.21 million households in rural India have access to phone, compared to 64.67 million
60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 6766 7084 9937 11686 12351 13622 8725 7435 8392 14728 16998 9513 10678 10517 RURAL CLASS II TO VI METROS CLASS I TOWNS

15291

17314

households in Urban India. Computer is not a magic-box or a genie for a rural folk anymore. There are 8.64 million households with a computer in rural India. Internet usage in rural India has overtaken usage in urban India - more Internet users in rural India than in urban. TV and dish antennas are common sight in rural India. 56 millions households have a TV, compared to 60 million urban households. Government is aggressively spending for rural development. Active steps are being taken to improve healthcare. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) was launched in 2008. Its purpose is to cover all BPL families with a health insurance of Rs. 30,000/ (government or private hospital treatment, no age limit and pre-existing ailments are also

covered). One thousand more PG seats are sanctioned for private medical colleges, and 4000 more seats are created in existing government colleges. Land required to open a medical college is being reduced from 25 to 20 acres. To meet the shortage of teachers in medical colleges, age-bar for faculty position is being increased from 65 to 70 yrs. To encourage rural healthcare, 50% PG seats are allocated to doctors working in rural areas. There is narrowing of rural urban divide due to: 1. Better income from farming 2. Increasing income from non-farming avenues and immigrants 3. Industry projects in rural areas 4. Infrastructure development 5. Increase in literacy and awareness 6. Affordability of technology & white goods Income from non-farming sector is increasing. Now around 50% income in rural India is being generated from trade, food processing, industry, and money brought back by emigrants. Better procurement prices for crops, a run of good monsoons, cash crops, etc. have increased disposable income. Rural folks are buying cars, flat screen TVs, microwaves and high-end mobile phones. Rural income is 43% of national income. In terms of absolute numbers disposable income and middle class is more in rural India. Literacy is improving in rural India - there are 493 million literates in rural India, 285.4 million in urban. In spite of its huge potential, as indicated by various parameters mentioned earlier, rural markets contribution to pharma remains abysmal; even its growth, over the past few years, has been suboptimal. What are the factors that are preventing the rural pharma market to achieve its potential?

MedicinMan August 2012

Road Blocks Inadequate Infrastructure There are gaping holes both in government as well as private sectors initiatives to create a good healthcare infrastructure. There are gross inadequacies - be it the number of hospitals, dispensaries, staff, or doctors (only 1 doctor per 3000 people in rural area, compared to 2/3000 in urban). Quacks rule the roost. 60% of rural diseases do not get treated at all. Lack of awareness Lack of awareness towards diseases, even the highly prevalent ones, continues. Superstition and belief in witchcraft is still rampant. Most of folks still believe that diseases are due to Gods curse, and have fatalistic attitude towards health and disease. Lack of affordability Many drugs remain expensive. Rural masses have stronger value for money. A few days, or a little, suffering is preferred to spending money on medicines. Poor accessibility Highly disbursed markets make distribution expensive and a logistic nightmare. Maintaining cold-chain or special storage conditions is a challenge due to erratic electricity supply. To establish a dependable distribution system in interiors one needs strategic approach, rather than tactical, as ROI period is long. What is the way forward? To develop rural markets, one needs a multipronged approach, and need to: 1. Improve Healthcare System 2. Create Awareness 3. Provide Affordability 4. Ensure Accessibility Improving healthcare system It shall be viewed as a community responsibility and corporations shall take active responsibility. Various steps that can be taken to develop and robust healthcare system in rural India are: 1. Partnering with government, NGOs and other key stake holders 2. Training rural doctors and supporting staff 3. Providing microfinance to doctors, retails, etc. to create healthcare infrastructure Some of the initiatives taken in this area are: 1. MSD India launched Project Transcend, a program to train GPs on evidence based management of diabetes. 2. Sanofi Aventis PRAYAS - a program to meet rural Indias healthcare needs and to bridge the gap by training rural doctors - plan to train 150,000 doctors across India. Creating awareness 1. Educating rural masses about safe and reliable remedies for common ailments 2. Partnering with rural institutions and NGOs 3. Making use of annuals fairs, weekly haats and mandis to spread awareness Some aspiring initiatives, which have done good to both company as well as masses are: 1. Novo Nordisk Education Foundation is undertaking massive diabetes control program that involves screening, spreading awareness and training doctors. 2. SPARSH, a multilingual helpline for diabetics to support Januvia and Janumet. 3. NPL had run Teach more, reach more campaign to educate masses about epilepsy. 4. J&Js Mobile health for mothers helped many. Providing affordability 1. Making medicine more affordable is very important. Companies can think of differential pricing strategy for rural areas, e.g. Microsoft has low prices for its products for students. 2. Rural healthcare insurance can help decreasing the burden of payment on the individuals 3. Training medical staff for cost effective disease management may help in establishing trust in allopathic medicines. Arogya Parivar (Healthy Family), a low-profit social initiative developed by Novartis, is a good example. This program is proved to be a commercially sustainable program. Ensuring Accessibility Highly disbursed market and thinly populated area make setting an effective distribution system a nightmare. Maintaining cold chain etc becomes very difficult due to frequent power failures. Various options could be: 1. Company delivery vans 2. Pooling of resources by collaborations between companies to set up viable distribution channels 3. Developing products suitable for rough storing conditions 4. Mobile clinics and mobile pharmacies 5. Post offices duplicating as pharmacies Ranbaxy and Pfizer have formalized an alliance with ITC to penetrate the rural markets for their over-the-counter (OTC) products. Traditionally Indian companies, especially mid- & smallsize, have a better penetration in rural and class II-VI markets. Now multinationals (Indian & foreign) are becoming more aggressive in these markets. Every other day, there is news of some or other company hiring to enter into rural markets. In view of these developments, mid- & small-size companies need to be proactive to make the most of the new markets created by these companies and, more importantly, to protect their current business in these markets.

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Where Pharma Business Leaders Brainstorm

To maintain the tempo generated by Brand Drift and FFE 2012, MedicinMan will be hosting the 1st BREAKFAST FOR THE BRAIN on Friday 7th September 2012 in Mumbai from 0830 AM to 1000 AM.

CONTACT
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MedicinMan August 2012

Why Does Key Account Management Often Fail in Pharma?

Hakeem Adebiyi, Managing Director, Hands Associates Ltd

I am regularly asked this question by my pharma clients and my usual response is what Einstein said: "if you can't explain it simply then you don't understand it well enough," i.e. the fundamental reason that KAM fails is the over complication of the process. I have worked on KAM implementations for 8 years across various healthcare companies and use this experience to model what makes KAM successful. I have condensed the factors into the 3 golden rules. 1. Align to business strategy 2. Right people/right skills 3. Align business process If any of these rules are neglected then KAM falters. However, in a quest to refine the rules and identify common reasons which may fall outside these, an invitation was extended to members of an interested group (Pharma KAM) on LinkedIn to participate in a discussion about: What is the main reason that KAM fails in Pharma. This group is focused upon account management in Pharma and has active discussions on a range of topics associated with the management of key accounts. The group highlighted several areas as potential reasons for failure of KAM. I summarized them below and linked them to the relevant golden rule where appropriate. The comments above shows that there are several factors which can lead to the failure of KAM in the pharma industry. I grouped them into 3 general categories for simplicity. I. No clear understanding of what KAM actually means in the pharma market, this is demonstrated in the understanding KAM. KAM isnt just a sales persons state of mind. It is a business methodology, which needs to be in the companys DNA. The challenge for Pharma is whether full KAM is needed (KAM teams working with customer teams to deliver integrated partnerships sharing common objectives) or just good account management (sales people identifying who the key decision makers are and interacting with them more effectively when deliver-

ing your value proposition). As one respondent put it I think it would be useful to define KAM in various levels. Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. This way people will have a roadmap to adopt KAM. Defining what needs to be achieved determines the skills, capabilities and structures companies need. If you are not clear at the outset, then its successful implementation is unlikely. Lack of clarity around what type of KAM you are striving will inevitably lead to the second factor. II. Lack of organisational support. 1.Senior managers who structure the DNA of the company do not buy in to KAM 2.No buy in from relevant stakeholders who may be required to interface with customers 3.No supporting HR structures 4. Appraisals and reviews dont drive KAM behaviours such as KAM teams or long term planning 5.No supporting business process e.g. CRM still focuses on activity and individual customers rather than profitability and decision making units In reality an effective KAM approach needs to originate from the top of the organisation to create the right KAM mindset company wide III. Lack of skills and capabilities. Once again, if you are not clear what needs to be achieved then you cant be clear what competencies are required. It is critical to get the appropriate person for the appropriate role, as one respondent put it: role clarity is of utmost importance; the only reason for failure is not understanding the role properly. Whilst the 3 golden rules still stand, this feedback shows that they are best understood when supplemented specifically with the common mistakes that need to be avoided.

hakeem@handsassociates.com www.hands-associates.com

MedicinMan August 2012

General Categories Organizational support leadership

Comments KAM often doesnt have backing of senior management Asking questions like: Why, Who, How KAM is the beginning of developing effective KAM approaches originating at the top of the organization and works on creating the right mindset towards KAM; companywide. The strategy isnt clear across the organization We dont spend enough time shaping the DNA of the company Because they dont have the backing of the organization in its entirety to doing business in an account centric and KAM led manner Functions will still be organized in their traditional way and KAMs will still be treated as 'sales force' i.e. a route to market amongst many others Functions still arranged in their traditional way KAMs still just seen as a sales force Identifying the customers need and aligning their needs with yours

Golden Rule 1

Organizational support processes and structures Skill Gap

Do they have the commercial acumen-if not coach them, do they understand business per se and business planning-if not give them the knowledge, do they ask the right questions-if not train/coach them Understanding of KAM KAM is a state of mind KAM requires commercially aware sales people 1 2

A commercially astute KAM will, given the correct personal internal motivation (i.e. "state of mind"), understand intuitively the importance of focusing on the new decision makers, rather than the traditional target list - the latter often being based on historical factors that may not still be valid. Only reason for failure is not understanding the role properly

KAM on the Web

1. In the post blockbuster and share-of-the-voice era, Pharma will have to deliver a lot more value: http://www.pharmaphorum.com/2012/07/27/kam-future-pharma-sales-model/ 2. KAM in the Harvard Business Review: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/07/how_to_succeed_at_key_account.html#comment-589214138 Contributed by Hanno Wolfram, MD at Innov8 GmbH, Germany

MedicinMan August 2012

Steps to LEAD your sales team to WIN

Success is a personal matter: team members can work toward it at their own speed, provided there is constant progress. Given below are practical and easily implementable strategies. You may ask the team members to build on one at a time and gradually add more. 1. SET GOALS. If you don't know where you're going, you will never get there. It is as simple as that. 2. WRITE IT DOWN. With many things happening every day, it may be hard to focus on real important matters. Writing out goals and consistently reviewing them keeps them fresh in your mind. 3, DRAW OUT A SCHEDULE. Use anything such as a gadget, pen and paper, Daily to-do list or a planner to build your goals into your schedule.

K.HARIRAM, Former MD - Galderma

4. PLAN. Knowing where you are going is one thing. Equally important is to decide, how you will get there. 5. KEEP AN IDEA PAD. Note down the ideas as they occur to you. The mind gets free to focus on other things. This will help to preserve and review on ideas and to work on it later. 6. LEARN EVERY DAY. Read a few pages of a book, any interesting articles from a newspaper, or e-zines, try and pick up a new skill- or the one that you don't often use. 7. EXECUTE. Goad yourself to action and measure your progress. 8. NOTE YOUR SUCCESSES. Observe any small or incremental progress. Do not discount the small victories. Remember, each small win motivates you to greater ones. 9. GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO THINK. Taking time to stop, sit and think is very important. Allowing time to review your day or a meeting gives you tremendous insight that inspires change. " Your ability to connect with your team members directly impacts their level of engagement. The more engaged your team is, the better the results ".

MedicinMan August 2012

What Benefits do Doctors Derive from Meeting Medical Reps?

tion products as well as meet an MR marketing anxiolytics and anti-depressants. But his priority will always be to meet MRs from oncology product companies like Bayer, not only for product and disease related information but also to know the latest happenings in his field and what his peers are doing. A good MR is one who blends science with the social to keep the busy doctor in the loop of happenings that matter to him. A good MR might even begin the conversation with general or specific information about what is happening in other oncology treatment centers. Once the doctor is aware of the value that MRs brings to the interaction, he will always make time to meet them. As medical practice becomes more and more corporate oriented, the role of MRs will change as the decision-making shifts from doctors to hospital managers. But the need for information still remains and so the role of MRs might evolve but it will remain as long as modern medicine is practiced. This is true of every medical specialty. For most doctors, meeting with MRs is a part of their daily work. What they would want is adherence to basic norms of interaction. Several doctors have remarked that the social skills of MRs have been going down steadily - MRs are unable to connect with doctors. This continuous reinforcement of poor social experience because of the lack of basic training is one of the main reasons for general lack of receptivity by doctors. The Indian education system follows a 10 years of schooling followed by 2 years of pre-university education. In the earlier days till the 80s most MRs studied science together with future doctors and engineers in the 2 years of pre-university education. Thus a natural bonding occurred. It was not unusual for an MR to meet his pre-university classmate, who became a doctor. This initial comfort level in interacting with doctors went a long way in creating confidence and rapport. All this changed rapidly with the rise of IT and BPO sectors especially in the urban areas. Students who did not get into medical or engineering colleges had many other options other than pharma field sales. And for students who study B.Pharm, field sales is the last and often temporary career option. The steady decline of quality of people entering pharma field sales is one of the main reasons in addition to other reasons that make Doctor MR interaction uninteresting. While most doctors still maintain a high degree of decorum in their attire and sophisticated demeanor in their approach the same cannot be said of the majority of MRs. Their attire is sloppy, their demeanor unprofessional and their approach diffident. This creates a natural barrier for receptivity. MRs who are high on social skills and good in their technical skills still receive very good reception from doctors. MRs must offer tangible value to increase the doctors receptivity. Either their products have to be unique or their social skills endearing and their technical skills valuable. When all three are present, the receptivity is high; when they are poor, the receptivity also decreases.

India is slowly catching up with the fatigue levels of its western counterparts when it comes to Doctor Medical Rep relationship. But the Indian healthcare landscape and situation are entirely different and hence the reasons for fatigue are also different, although there are many similarities in the challenges faced in terms of access to doctors. The problem of plenty and popular perceptions often obfuscate real issues. This is more so in India, where nearly 3,00,000 Medical Reps (MRs) jostle for time with 5,00,000 doctors (The figures are only indicative). Majority of these MRs are merely an appendix whose main task is to remind the doctors of their branded generics in a market overcrowded with 60,000 branded generic drugs. In general, how receptive are doctors to meeting MRs? How critical is the product or service offered by the company to the doctors practice determines the quality of relationship between the doctor and the MR. Doctors are receptive to different MRs differently - an oncologist will be keen to meet an MR from a pharma company, which has a patented anti cancer monopoly products. Most of the information regarding the drug and the latest clinical trials reports will be provided through the MR. The same oncologist will also meet MRs from other companies marketing anti cancer drugs to keep himself abreast of developments relating to launch of products at different price points. For example, the oncologist who has been seeing the MR from Bayer (Nexavar) regularly will also be keen to meet the MRs from Cipla and Natco who have now introduced generic Sorafenib at a fraction of the price of Nexavar. But this equation will change when ten more pharma companies jump into the bandwagon and market Sorafenib then it is the marketing strategy of the company and the skill of the MR that will determine the receptivity. The same oncologist will also like to keep in touch with MRs from various pharma companies who market products needed by a cancer patient. This could be as mundane as a cough syrup with a new combination of more effective antitussives or a marketer of high-end pain relievers. The oncologist will also like to meet and receive samples of nutri-

MedicinMan August 2012

Is there a particular time of day or week when doctors are more receptive to meeting with MRs? This would entirely vary from doctor to doctor. Some generalizations can be made. For example most General Practitioners (GPs) would have the same schedule throughout the week and hence everyday would be more or less the same, unless he practices in different localities. With specialists, it will depend on their schedules. The MR has to find out the various affiliations that a specialist has in hospitals and academia to discover the best time and place to meet him. What are the most common topics of discussion between doctors and MRs? This depends again on the company and its offerings. When it comes to oncology product companies like Bayer, the oncologist would certainly be eager to know more about Nexavar and will ask questions about the most appropriate ways to use the product safely and effectively; how other oncologists are using it and what is their experience. But the same cannot be said for an MR who is promoting the 160th brand of Amlodipine or some other irrational combination of vitamins, minerals and trace elements - all rolled into one only the brand name matters and the benefits that the doctor will derive by prescribing the product. For physicians who aren't experienced in meeting with MRs, what's the most valuable advice you feel you can give them about making these meetings as productive as possible? Physicians entering the profession should make the most of the opportunity of meeting MRs - they will benefit the most. Provided the MRs are well trained, which other source will offer so much information in such short period of time in the convenience of ones own clinic? Besides lets remember that well trained MRs with B.Pharm are an excellent source of information about drugs. Over time, Doctors will learn to distinguish between the good and the not-so-good and can make an informed decision about meeting MRs. Even experienced and busy practitioners can benefit immensely by meeting MRs who are well trained. By asking for information that they need, they can create a tailor -made information source that is easy and simple to access. Most well trained MRs will be only too happy to serve the information needs of doctors. The new generations of graduates passing out of college are digital natives and can be a great source of knowledge for the doctor to learn about technology, social media and newer trends in technology. The talents of MRs, the tools that they use and the training that they receive go a long way in making the Doctor MR relationship beneficial to both. MRs are an integral part of the cycle beginning with drug research and leading to marketing; usage by patients and feedback on the results both efficacy and ADRs. This loop needs to be maintained, as the feedback from doctors to MRs is as important as the information provided to doctors by MRs for the progress of modern medicine. Both doctors and MRs need to find new ways and new tools that will make this relationship mutually rewarding. Indian Pharma business leaders need to apply their minds to address this issue by engaging doctors at all levels to know their expectations and reinvent their discourse with doctors through MRs. In the future MRs will be more of Information Editors and Technology Partners who understand the business and economics of modern medicine and help medical practitioners to increase their efficiency and effectiveness in delivering total patient care and satisfaction.
MedicinMan Editorial Team

Post FFE 2012 MedicinMan Klout at an All Time High!

Post FFE, MedicinMans social media influence as measured by the social media analytics website Klout has hit an all-time high of 71. MedicinMan wishes to thank all its readers, followers and wellwishers for following and sharing MedicinMan content.

MedicinMan August 2012

The Basics of Pharmacology

Pharmacokinetics
In this section on pharmacology, we would like to let you know about the important terminologies related to pharmacokinetics. Pharmacokinetics is a commonly used term while comparing two drugs. It refers to what the body does to a drug. Four pharmacokinetic properties (absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination) determine the speed of onset of drug action, the intensity of drugs effect and duration of drug action (Figure 1) once the drug is administered to the patient. Absorption is the transfer of a drug from its site of administration to the blood stream. The rate and efficiency of absorption depend on the route of administration of the drug (enteral or parenteral). For drugs given by the intravenous route, absorption is complete, i.e. the total dose of the drug given reaches the blood circulation. Drug absorption by other routes like the oral route is not complete. This may be due to the presence of food or drugs in the gastrointestinal tract. Drug absorption is also determined by various factors like the ionic state of drug; the uncharged drug is better absorbed than the charged state. The second step is the distribution of the drug which refers to movement of drug into the interstitial tissue and intracellular fluids in the human body. The distribution of drug depends on blood flow to different organs (e.g. brain, liver and kidney have greater blood flow as compared to skeletal muscles leading to quicker distribution to these organs), extent of plasma protein binding, lipid solubility of the drug etc. Plasma protein binding, another commonly used term of pharmacokinetics refers to the binding of drugs to the plasma proteins (usually albumin). Bound drugs are pharmacologically inactive. Metabolism or biotransformation refers to chemical alteration of drug in the body. The liver is the major site for drug metabolism. The reactions are often called as Phase I and Phase II reactions. Cytochrome P-450 (CYP450) enzymes located in the liver are responsible for Phase I reactions. Some of the drugs (e.g. rifampicin) can induce the synthesis of some particular enzymes (CYP2C9), thus the co-administration of drugs with rifampicin can lead to excessive metabolism of the second

drug thereby decreasing their plasma concentration. Conversely, some drugs (e.g. ketoconazole) inhibit an enzyme and thus increase the plasma concentration of coadministered drugs leading to their toxicity. So, both the enzyme inducers and inhibitors can lead to clinically significant drug-drug interactions. The final step is the elimination of the drug and its metabolites from the body in urine, bile or feces. Renal excretion is the most common mechanism of drug elimination. This explains the rationale of dose adjustment requirement in patients with impaired renal function. The drugs having an alternative route of elimination (fecal route) are safer in patients with severe renal impairment. In the next issue, we would be discussing the terminologies related to clinical applications of pharmacokinetics.

Dr. Amit Dang Director at Geronimo Healthcare Solutions Private Limited

Schematic representation explaining Pharmacokinetics

12

Mumbai Monsoon Magic Healthcare meets Technology at Health 2.0 Mumbai Chapter MeetUp!

Dinesh Chindarkar, Health 2.0 Mumbai Chapter Leader Addresses the Audience

True to the Health 2.0 global culture, the first meet-up of Health 2.0 Mumbai chapter captured in its essence newer health ideas, technology, medias and health innovations. The gathering had a variety of people from diverse backgrounds of technology, pharma, hospitals, digital agencies, start-ups etc. But they gathered here with one objective to connect the varied dots of healthcare and create a complete picture. The setting was completely informal and unconventional. As it rained outside, the MIG club in Mumbai rained with health ideas. Dinesh Chindarkar, Health 2.0 Mumbai Chapter leader, presented the concept and introduced Health 2.0 philosophy to the audience. This was followed by a video from the co-founder of Health 2.0 also an Indian Indu Subaiya who specially crafted a message for the Mumbaikars from Los Angeles. This was followed by a presentation by Dr. Shalini Ratan, who shared her observation about how technology is affecting Doctor & Patient behaviours & changing outcomes. She also shared a project of telemedicine for rural markets that she was involved with. The pharma industry was represented by quite a few people.

Dr. Amit Bhargava, VP (Medical) - Alkem, presented his thoughts about what pharma expects from technology and how the two can be united. He also mentioned about the Big Data specific to India that can be generated with pharma partnership for medicines and patients. Pankaj Dikholkar Chief Manager, Strategic Marketing Services Abbott, gave parallel examples from other industry of the effectiveness of newer medias. He also emphasised on the opportunity that existed since increasing number of consumers & patients in India are searching online for health solutions. Aditya Patkar emphasised on how websites & electronic medical records are emerging trends amongst Doctors and slowly becoming mandatory. Dr. Neelesh Bhandari shed light on how social media is changing the way Doctors are connecting with patients and also how it is benefitting them to access information. This is where a dire need for Social Media training is needed for physicians. Ashwin Bonde Sr. Manager, MCM MSD, shared his thoughts on leveraging newer channels for marketing in pharma and how going the unconventional way is the need of the hour. Shreekant Pawar, co-founder of Farasbee a start-up and sponsor of the event, demonstrated his product Diabeto that helps connect Glucometers to smartphones in a unique way. He enthralled the audience with the friendliness of the device for physically & visually handicapped people too and urged pharma to create products that were patient centric and offered value. Dinesh Chindarkar thanked the audience and promised to have more diverse speakers and more frequent meet-ups to cultivate brighter, innovative patient centric health ideas & technology solutions. This was followed by discussions & networking over coffee.

Dr. Shalini Ratan, member - MedicinMan Edit Team, interacts with participants. Chhaya Sankath, CEO of MedicinMan is seen chatting with Dr. Neelesh Bhandari in the background.

>>> A MedicinMan Poll to Ascertain Employee Perspectives | MedicinMan August 2012

Job Satisfaction
While companies are experiencing high levels of attrition and lack of employee productivity, MedicinMan Poll clearly shows job satisfaction factors that can lead to reversal of the current lose lose situation. Link to MedicinMan Poll results and comments - http://linkd.in/MDfst Organizations can conduct their own surveys regularly to discover unique job satisfiers that bring about Employee Engagement instead of waiting to conduct exit interview which does not benefit anybody. MedicinMan Poll insights also show the importance of need for Front-line Managers to gain insights into people motivation and engagement factors to function as people leaders and business managers as written in the book SuperVision for the SuperWiser Front-line Manager. In the above poll conducted by MedicinMan, 441 respondents were asked to choose one of the 5 options as most important job satisfiers, salary being equal. The majority of the respondents were from the 18 29 age group, followed by the 30 36 and 45+ age groups.

Salary Being Equal, What Will You Choose as Important to Job Satisfaction?

Salary Being Equal, What Will You Choose as Important to Job Satisfaction?

>>> A MedicinMan Poll to Ascertain Employee Perspectives | MedicinMan August 2012

>>> A MedicinMan Poll to Ascertain Employee Perspectives | MedicinMan August 2012

1. Learning and Development Opportunities

Learning and Development emerged as the No.1 job satisfier, especially among the 18 29 age group respondents. This is an important feedback for employers Young people are aware of the importance and need to acquire skills at the workplace to further their career aspirations. How many Pharma Companies are offering Learning and Development as one of their main offering to attract, develop and retain talent?

1. Work-Life Balance

Work Life Balance emerged as the second most important job satisfier reflecting the need for a more balanced work-life. This was a common factor across age groups and is one of the main reasons for attrition as employees leave to get a temporary respite from work-life imbalance in the new job. This feedback is important for line managers and HR managers that people want not only to work, but have a balanced life as well. The need is a bit more pronounced in 30 36 age group, as this is the stage in life when they have to cope with important personal life issues such as marriage and arrival of children. The 45+ age group also expressed this as an important job satisfier. Companies that take note of these employee aspirations will be able to move ahead in the area on people management.

>>> A MedicinMan Poll to Ascertain Employee Perspectives | MedicinMan August 2012

>>> A MedicinMan Poll to Ascertain Employee Perspectives | MedicinMan August 2012

3. Inspiring Work Environment

This was followed by Inspiring Work Environment mostly by the 37 44 and 45 + age group, who have by now moved to comfortable office jobs or have lesser field work as part of their work. It is significant that the 18 29 and 30 -36 age groups did not consider Inspiring Work Environment high on their list of job satisfiers. Probably they are aware and have accepted the rigors of field working as essential part of their work.

4. Good Immediate Manager & Seniors

For the 18 29 age group, Good Immediate Manager and seniors were important and this is a significant pointer that has emerged in all polls and discussions the need to develop Front-line Managers as good people managers. When an individual performer gets promoted on the basis of his sales record, his focus will be on his areas of strength and not the areas needed to be an effective Front-line Manager. The sales pressures also make it difficult for Front-line Manager to be GOOD to people and it multiplies the work pressure leading to high attrition.

5. Growth and Promotions

Surprisingly growth and promotions came last on the list. Again this was the top need of the 30 36 age group, signifying the social importance of growth in career prospects. The 18 -29 age was next in line with growth as a job satisfier decreasing significantly among the 37 44 and 45+ age groups People management is not some esoteric art. Companies that take note of employee aspirations will be able to attract, motivate and retain people but also deliver higher productivity as Engaged Employees are 50% 80% more productive and the key to Employee Engagement is Job Satisfaction.

>>> A MedicinMan Poll to Ascertain Employee Perspectives | MedicinMan August 2012

What do you expect your FLMs and SLMs to be good at? What are you doing to ensure that they gain proficiency in the desired skills?

The Half-Time Coach

A Psychometric Assessment-based Feedback and Feed-forward Program for FLMs and SLMs

1. Management Games

Relearning by Reflection, Feedback by Observation

2. Case Studies 3. Movie Clippings The Half-Time Coach is delivered by Anup Soans, Editor MedicinMan & Author of SuperVision for the SuperWiser Front-line Manager, HardKnocks for the GreenHorn and RepeatRx
Contact: anupsoans@medicinman.net Ph. +91 93422 32949