A Process Map for Maximizing the Impact of Promotional Medical Education Neil Matheson CEO Axis Healthcare Communications LLC CME Planning The goal of all medical education programs is to improve patient care. This goal can be achieved if the participants in the program recognize and accept that they need to change the framework in which they manage their patients — a framework that has been established through formal medical school training, several years of clinical practice, and ongoing discussions with colleagues and respected thought leaders. To understand how to change this framework, we must recognize the principles on which it was built: • Medical school education is based on the “See One, Do One, Teach” principle where students learn in small groups led by a respected thought leader. • Physicians are adult learners and as such they need to decide what they need to learn, when they want to learn, and how they want to learn. • All adults learn in different ways — some are visual learners, some are auditory learners, and others are kinesthetic learners. The most effective education programs consider all these factors and use a mix of formats — reading materials, didactic lectures, and interactive workshops. Changing the Framework Physicians will only change their framework for managing patients if they are confident the change will benefit both them and their patients. That confidence is not achieved through one short interaction but several consistent interactions over time. This critical factor is usually overlooked in the development of medical education programs, which results in isolated one-off events that are not linked to other communications programs targeted to the same physicians. It is therefore a fundamental basic principle that medical education programs must be driven by the brand plan. They must be designed to deliver consistent messages, appropriate to the target audience over an appropriate length of time, to build enough confidence to allow the physician to change his or her behavior. Developing the Road Map The medical education planning process starts with an understanding of the brand’s place in therapy, how it is presently perceived by the target audience, and what the competitors are doing to influence that perception. From this analysis, which will be derived from the brand plan, the educational goals for the brand can be determined, the educational message platform can be developed, and the data that are available to support those messages can be determined. Before testing the messages, the target audiences must be identified so that the messages can be tested with each audience to determine clinical relevance. Once the messages have been tested and approved the next phase is content development. Cutting-edge content is essential to attract attendees, engage them in the learning process, and generate a desire to learn more or enhance the pleasurable learning experience. Involving thought leaders in the development of the content not only engages them in the learning process it also ensures that the content will be delivered by those who “own it.” These thought leaders will be the trainers that train speaker’s bureau members and they must be passionate about the content to motivate the speakers who will ultimately deliver it. For the content to be effective it must be both credible and practical. The best way to determine this is to test the content with the target audiences and then modify it based on the feedback received. Running a pilot program to test the content and format a new educational initiative is a very important step in ensuring the extensive investment is not wasted on a program that doesn’t achieve the educational objectives. After the speaker’s bureau is trained, the final stage is program implementation. A very important aspect of implementation is the development of metrics to evaluate the educational effectiveness of each program. These metrics will help fine tune programs as they roll out as well as improve programs in a proactive manner during the course of their implementation. The timeline for this process is at least four to six months so the planning for new programs should begin early to ensure there is adequate time to develop the content, test it, and effectively train the speakers. In this way the programs will be effective in changing the framework in which physicians are managing their patients such that your brand is used appropriately and effectively. Axis Healthcare Communications LLC, Yardley, Pa., provides a full spectrum of services to support the life cycle of products from Phase II to patent expiration at global, regional, and local levels. For more information, visit axis-healthcare.com.August 2007 VIEW on Medical Education Strategic Development Pathway Educational Needs Analysis Present Knowledge Base “State-of-the-Art” Thought Leader Opinion Trends in the Literature Clinical Practice Cases (Evidence-Based Clinical Pearls) Factors Impacting Success Unmet Medical Need Product Profile — Life Cycle (III/IV) Etiology Pathophysiology Competitor Activities Market Research Positioning Medical Message Platform Educational Objectives Target Audiences (Specialty/Regional Differences) Appropriate Media Format/Distribution Curriculum Conceptualization

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