Operator Assistance Helps Pharmaceutical Researchers Gather Information
By Scott Flood
She expertly threads the last suture and asks a colleague to finish the procedure. She scrubs her hands and arms, mentally rehearsing the next surgery on the schedule. Residents scramble for a chance to be in her OR, because she’s one of the region’s most accomplished cardiac surgeons, and never hesitates to share her knowledge.
With just ten minutes before she has to prep for another procedure, she dials the phone number she’s been given. In moments, she’s talking with three top marketing executives from a pharmaceutical company, offering her thoughts on their new clot-busting drug. After a friendly good-bye, she’s on her way back to the OR.
Gathering Data, Respecting Time
The only thing more valuable than her skill and her insight is her time. That’s why Adelphi Research by Design doesn’t take chances when trying to gather her input. They turn to Infinite Conferencing’s operator-assisted business lines to simplify the process.
“We have studies where we need to talk to physicians or nurses or patients from a national sampling,” explains Jan Hyatt, senior field manager for the Doylestown, Pennsylvania division of the Adelphi Group. “The only way to get a big sampling of people from the west, the east, the Midwest, the south, and the north is over the phone.”
Since 1989, Adelphi Research by Design has helped marketing professionals in the pharmaceutical industry make critical business decisions with greater confidence. The company uses a broad variety of both qualitative and quantitative primary marketing research techniques to survey medical professionals, patients, managed care specialists and others involved in healthcare. The techniques they use depend on each assignment.
When direct conversations with participants are needed, these research experts turn to a group of teleconferencing experts.
“We use Infinite Conferencing to set up calls,” she adds. “They actually call the physician, nurse, or patient, whoever it is and have them on the line. Our researchers call in, are connected on the same lines, and do the interviews that way.”
“When pharmaceutical companies hire us, they want to gather information about something,” Hyatt describes. “It could be as simple as how an advertisement is viewed or as important as how a new drug coming on the market affects a patient’s quality of life--anything that affects their business or their products. Once we know what they need, we work with them to determine whether we’ll do an online study, gather information in person, or do over-the-phone interviews.”
Teleconferencing Flexibility
Carving out a few minutes in a busy surgeon or specialist’s day can be very difficult, but interview subjects aren’t the only ones whose time is precious. The research professionals who handle the interviews are often PhD-level experts whose time is in demand.
“When they call in, they want to have the doctor or surgeon ready for them,” says Hyatt. Infinite Conferencing’s operators stay in contact with the interview subjects and notify the researchers as soon as the subject is available. “They dial in and the interview starts.”
Another aspect that makes teleconferencing particularly useful for research purposes is its inherent flexibility. Depending on the nature of the research and the importance of the call, any number of participants may be involved. In addition, the number of people listening in at the pharmaceutical company’s end also varies.
Hyatt says that there are times when as many as 15 client representatives may listen in on a call to a particular doctor, or the feedback may be so important that top executives from the client want to hear what the subject has to say. “Another key piece is that Infinite Conferencing records the call, and they send us a file of the recording,” she adds.
Because of the importance of the calls--and the professional stature of many of the subjects involved--Hyatt says that the way the conferences and everything leading up to them are handled is critical.
“Sometimes we have only one client call in, but that one client is extremely important to us,” she explains. “If they are happy with how they dialed in, if the operator was polite, the sound was good, and they were able to hear the interview, it builds confidence in our firm. Making everything work correctly is key for studies that involve phone interviews.”
“We have used several different companies, and Infinite Conferencing is the easiest, most efficient company we’ve worked with,” Hyatt adds. “It’s extremely easy to set up a teleconference. Compared to the company we switched from, Infinite simplified our workload by 100 percent. It’s like night and day.”
About the Author
Scott Flood is a contributor to ConferencingNews. He can be reached at Scott@BeTuitive.com.
