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Background
According to a 2003 Verispan report, more than one-third of physicians and almost two-thirds of pharmacists who participated in Verispan's latest strategic study, The Changing Hospital Marketplace: Drawing Back the Curtain on Pharmaceutical Promotion, reported that their hospital has imposed restrictions on sales representative visits. Of the 528 physicians who said their hospital had imposed restrictions, 69% believe those restrictions have decreased their interactions with sales reps. Significantly, among those whose hospitals placed restrictions on rep visits, almost 60% of respondents reported making more drug switches because of the restrictions.

Not only is access to hospital-based physicians becoming more restricted, many hospital-based physicians and pharmacists reported a lack of trust in pharmaceutical reps and believed the information they provided was too one-sided.

Arista's Clinical Consultant Group utilizes novel methods, beyond face-to-face detailing, that can help increase access to hospital decision makers. Arista creates live conversations with doctors, ranging from 2-minute teledetails to 20-minute web-based video details to 2-hour peer-to-peer teleconferences. Our 150+ communication specialists and Clinical Consultant Representatives (CCRs) -- who have medical degrees including PharmD, RPh, CRNP, and RN/BSN and a unique combination of medical experience and practical knowledge -- talk live with 100,000 professionals in an average month, and interact with thousands more through webchat, email, and fax.

Some Questions/Topics to be Discussed

1. Why do Pharma companies need to reach hospital-based decision makers and what’s happening with access to hospital-based doctors?
2. Considering the restrictions, what are some novel methods that can help increase access to hospital decision makers? Tell us a little more about phone-based nurse and pharmacist teams. What types of marketing challenges do they help solve?
3. You manage a team of phone-based nurses and pharmacists. Can you describe a specific project that will give our listeners a sense of the work the team does and the results? [Will present a case study]
4. Can you give us an idea how this service is priced compared to field reps?

Greg Lee, RPh
Greg joined Arista in 2005, and is the program manager of the Clinical Consultant Group. He has more then 12 years of pharmaceutical and sales experience and oversees a team of Pharmacist and Nurse Consultants who specialize in providing direct-to-HCP messaging and hospital account management. Prior to joining Arista, he has worked with Caremark Pharmacies, A&P Group Pharmacies. Crozer-Chester Medical Center, and Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia. He is the former chair of American Pharmaceutical Association Academy of Students of Pharmacy Patient Counseling Committee and Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science ASP President. Most recently, he served as a sales manager and procurement analyst for Rosa and Co. He obtained his BS in Pharmacy from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.