Medi-Circle is an e-community platform that aims to redefine collaboration between the pharmaceutical industry and physicians. It provides online tools and forums for physicians to collaborate on medical marketing projects, exchange information and ideas, and communicate directly with pharmaceutical companies. Medi-Circle claims this new model of online collaboration can help optimize communication, save time and costs for both physicians and pharmaceutical companies, and open new opportunities for medical consulting work and market research.
30. Medi-Circle testings: feedback
Exciting! First e-community for medical consultants, ever!
With this new platform we could spare time and efforts!
Time and energy savings while participating at medical projects!
Too many off line meetings are too much time consuming!
Interesting to follow discussions in other domains!
First official communication channel for physicians towards Pharma!
The community is an excellent platform to make coalitions with peers around ideas!
My Network would help my cause: improve contact with GP's that refer to me!
Interesting to use Medi-Circle as communication tool along international trials!
Many colleagues avoid Facebook out of fear to meet patients!
But this platform is well protected!
www.medi-circle.com
Kristiaan Van Woensel: 20 years of pharma industry experience in mutiple marketing & sales assignments at Duphar Solvay, Lundbeck and Lilly; Founder and Business Communication Consultant at The Story House Bart Rubens: 21 years ICT at Manufast-ABP, Founder and ICT manager at Xpressief Geert Everaert: : 9 years as IT-analyst at SGS group , 2 years as IT-manager at ReNa, 2 years European IT support at AG – UNAT, 14 years IT-Consultant at Manufast-ABP, Founder and ICT manager at Xpressief
January 13, 2010: Medi-Circle takeoff!
Historically seen, pharmaceutical industry in Belgium has always been collaborating closely with physicians regarding clinical trials and research about innovative medication. Belgium had built a strong reputation in research and was seen as ‘pilot country’ by global pharmaceutical companies for years. This solid collaboration has been extended in the ninetees towards market research, post-marketing studies and consulting in general. The latest decenium, ‘patient outcome’ has become more and more important in the external communication of pharmaceutical industry. As a result of that, patient programs, educational programs and formations were developed with the support of local medical consultants.
Collaboration between Belgian physicians and pharmaceutical industry has been very solid and stabile over the years.
However, more and more issues do challenge collaboration between pharma and physicians. Increased time pressure in particular makes it difficult for physicians to free themselves midweek in order to attend medical project meetings at Brussels-capital. The most common way of collaboration, through participation at offline meetings, is becoming a true challenge. A fast changing environment handicaps pharma industry to maintain access with its customers. Medical representatives have seen their visit frequency being restricted by physicians, alternative information channels are sufficiently available for doctors through the web, per e-mail and via local courses. Some physicians have lost confidence in pharma industry in general, mainly due to lawsuits in the US.
What looked like a stabile way of collaboration over the years…
… has turned into a huge challenge.
However, a recent survey, conducted by Deloitte(2009), questioning 360 senior executives out of different ‘life science industries’ has demonstrated pharma industry is ready to re-invent itself: 52% made clear that a more closer collaboration with patients, clinicians, academics, regarding ‘health outcome‘ is the most appropriate strategy to achieve efficient commercialization processes in the near future.
These issues motivated Medi-Circle, a team of experienced health care professionals and ICT professionals, to search for an appropriate solution in order to facilitate collaboration between physicians and pharma industry. Medi-Circle’s objective was to emphasize on ‘communication’ between physicians and pharmaceutical industry via a practical channel for both parties! Small market research had demonstrated that a majority of physicians, specialists as well as general practitioners, is still willing to collaborate at medical projects from pharmaceutical industry, as long as collaboration isn’t too much time and efforts consuming.
These issues motivated Medi-Circle, a team of experienced health care professionals and ICT professionals, to search for an appropriate solution in order to facilitate collaboration between physicians and pharma industry. Medi-Circle’s objective was to emphasize on ‘communication’ between physicians and pharmaceutical industry via a practical channel for both parties! Small market research had demonstrated that a majority of physicians, specialists as well as general practitioners, is still willing to collaborate at medical projects from pharmaceutical industry, as long as collaboration isn’t too much time and efforts consuming.
Since the personal computer is a common business tool in daily practice of physicians, it was self-evident to the Medi-Circle team that the world wide web would be the most appropriate and practical communication channel to advance collaboration between these two parties. http://www.medi-circle.com was born!
During an 8 weeks testing period, from October 2009 ‘till December 2009, 26 Belgian physicians were interviewed (face to face visits) about the final stage of www.medi-circle.com. It was their feedback that led to the development of the Medi-Circle 2 version, the one which is currently operational. Since www.medi-circle.com is a start-up, it will evolve over time. Our aim is to continue adapting this e-platform to the needs and the requests of its members in order to leverage communication over the website.
Medi-circle.com is the first Belgian online community for physicians, interested in medical consultancy. Medi-circle.com offers Belgian physicians for the first time in history, a scientific internet forum on the one hand, an e-platform for collaboration with pharmaceutical industry on the other hand. Communication among physicians has been redefined through this closed e-community, as well as collaboration between physicians and pharma industry regarding an improved ‘patient outcome’.
www.medi-circle.com offers physicians a complete e-medium: The 3 Medi-Circle principles, sharing , exchanging and collaborating result respectively in following tools: SHARING: Internet community to facilitate scientific discussions EXCHANGING: New communication channel towards pharma industry COLLABORATING: Online platform for collaboration at medical projects, together with pharma industry Physicians are able to communicate specific needs, usefull information as well as best practices through the scientific internet community(Sharing). The same community supports physicians who have developed medical project concepts. Creators can share their ideas and concepts with peers, can ask for feedback and will be able to make coalitions among medi-circle members(Exchanging. The Medi-Circle team can contact an appropriate business partner within pharma industry in order to develop these concepts into final medical projects. In the past, physicians were lacking a real sound board and potential concepts for medical projects were often stifled in its birth. Through www.medi-circle.com physicians can receive support along their mission(Exchanging). Collaboration at medico-marketing is possible ‘online’ as of today(Collaborating). The Medi-Circle team will execute these projects, being outsourced by pharma industry, together with its medical consultants. www.medi-circle.com offers pharma industry an innovative bond with physicians: The 3 Medi-Circle principles, sharing , exchanging and collaborating enable pharma industry to have following tools at their disposal: SHARING: Internet community to facilitate scientific discussions(restricted only for pharma doctors) EXCHANGING: New communication channel towards physicians COLLABORATING: Online platform on which medical projects can be posted and were one could collaborate together with physicians interested in medical consultancy. Pharma industry is able to post online vacancies and pharma news as well.