Evolving HCP access requires a new connected approach to build engagement

Specialty medicines – treatments designed for very small patient populations with complex and rare conditions – are on the rise. In turn, the relationship between pharma field reps and doctors has evolved to enable physicians with the most up-to-date information and resources to treat patients as the need occurs. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved 77 medicines in 2023, half of which had a new active substance never previously authorised. Specialty medicines now account for more than half of global pharmaceutical spending, and this is predicted to rise to 65% in 2025 as two-thirds of the global pipeline is focused on this area.

The trend towards developing highly specialised drugs is reshaping how biopharmas approach commercialisation. Launches are increasingly smaller and more targeted. Identifying and engaging the right healthcare professionals (HCPs) and key opinion leaders (KOLs) in these specific therapeutic areas is critical for a successful launch. This requires deep data insights to pinpoint experts who can effectively advocate for and prescribe these novel treatments.

Real-time industry insights are invaluable in enabling biopharmas to identify the right experts, understand their needs, and engage with them meaningfully. However, Veeva’s latest Pulse Field Trends Report revealed that field rep access to HCPs has fallen back to pre-pandemic levels. Today, only 45% of HCPs globally are accessible to biopharmas compared to 60% eighteen months ago, with half restricting engagement to three or fewer companies. In the UK, HCP access now sits at 25% due to several underlying factors, including increased market consolidation, health system restrictions, growing patient loads, and the increasing diversity and complexity of modern medicine.

Despite this, biopharmas are finding new ways to make the most of their time with doctors. Increasingly, we’re seeing new models that prioritise relevance and timeliness over traditional measures like reach and frequency. Personalisation, real-time communication channels, and relevant content give HCPs what they need when they need it. And, integrated customer touchpoints across sales, marketing, and medical are building high-quality, trusted relationships between field teams and HCPs.

Improving access with digital touchpoints

Physicians are becoming more selective about the companies they interact with. Currently, half of accessible HCPs meet with three or fewer companies, and nearly 30% of those in specialties such as internal medicine, oncology, psychiatry, and urology restrict access to just one company. This selective engagement is putting a greater emphasis on the need for a more strategic and personalised approach to HCP interactions.

Despite these access challenges, doctors are increasingly receptive to digital touchpoints. In fact, in the UK, 79% of accessible HCPs are open to a mix of in-person and video interactions. Email communications are also being used more consistently.

As a result, the relationship between pharma field reps and doctors is evolving to a more service-oriented approach. Field reps play an important role in providing doctors with access to relevant, personalised information as and when required, even sometimes in the moment of care. This means having the ability to share relevant, timely information via digital channels between in-person interactions. Veeva Pulse data showed that when a compliant chat channel is available, HCPs initiate conversations 30% of the time. Field teams respond rapidly to their queries (on average, in just five minutes), and with twice the open rate compared to emails. Rather than cannibalising in-person meetings, digital interactions have been proven to increase the number of total conversations between field reps and HCPs.

A unified approach to strengthen engagement

To navigate access challenges and improve engagement, we’re seeing some field teams unify functions to act as one connected resource across sales, marketing, and medical. This new connected engagement model coordinates touchpoints across channels and roles to continuously build on the last interaction, helping companies overcome access barriers.

As a result, commercial teams are evolving as valuable partners to HCPs. From educating key experts before launch and responding to their needs faster through digital channels, to synchronising field activity with digital advertising, field teams are strengthening engagement to improve treatment adoption.

HCP engagement: Prioritising quality over quantity

The increasing development of specialty medicines such as cell and gene therapies, has led to a rise in smaller and more targeted launches. These launches require deep data insights and precision planning to identify and engage with relevant experts. The complexity of these specialist treatments means that prescribing physicians need access to specific and relevant information faster than ever. As a result, biopharmas are now placing greater emphasis on relevance and real-time communication over traditional metrics such as reach and frequency. Through a connected approach between sales, marketing, and medical teams that builds off the last interaction, biopharmas can build meaningful relationships with HCPs that ultimately improve patient outcomes.