Regions
MAIN/REGIONS
regions/
Regions
  1. Americas
  2. Asia & Oceania
  3. Europe
  4. Middle East & Africa
  1. Insights
  2. Events
  3. About
  4. Contact Us
MAIN/search
MAIN/Insights
Insights/
Our Latest Whitepapers

Get the latest insights on our life sciences, healthcare, and medical technology solutions in Asia Pacific. 

Learn More
Blogs, Case Studies & Podcasts

Explore our library of insights, thought leadership, and the latest topics & trends in healthcare.

Discover Insights

IQVIA APAC Insight

"A curation of IQVIA's best thinking on topics and trends driving change, disruption, and progress in the Asia Pacific healthcare market.

Read The Latest Issue
MAIN/Events
Events/
Upcoming Events & Webinars

View our upcoming events and webinars.

Explore The Latest
On-Demand Webinars

Visit our library of on-demand webinars.

Discover Insights

Featured Event

"Unlocking the Future of Consumer Health: A Special Focus on Senior Consumers

Learn More
MAIN/About
About/
Newsroom

Read the latest updates and press releases.

Learn More
Career Opportunities

Improving human health requires innovative thinkers who are willing to explore new ideas and build on successes. Unleash your potential with us.

Search Jobs

APAC FOOTPRINT

"Explore our Asia Pacific locations.

Learn more
MAIN/Contact Us
Contact Us/
Blog
The doctor will see you now…virtually: the foreseeable future of digital SEA HCP engagements
Nick Roberto, Engagement Manager, IQVIA Consumer Health, Asia Pacific
Jun 09, 2021
  • Locations
  • Asia Pacific
  • The doctor will see you now…virtually: the foreseeable future of digital SEA HCP engagements

For anyone who has waited in a doctor’s office, being told that the doctor is ready to see you is an all-too-familiar line. Only this time, the setting is virtual, and company sales reps are not immune to this new practice. Due to COVID-19 restrictions in the past year, company sales reps have had limited face-to-face engagements with Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) and shifted to a more digital approach.

Last year, we drew insights from WellTrack 1 to understand how HCP engagement in Southeast Asia (SEA) was “Same, same but different” (Read here). The latest findings from our Southeast Asia WellTrack 2 study in 2021 has revealed that HCPs want a hybrid form of engagement from healthcare companies as in-person and virtual engagement preferences remain equal.

However, a return to pre-pandemic behaviour with preference for more face-to-face interaction could still be possible. HCPs identified key conditions for them to feel comfortable and safe in engaging with company sales reps in a face-to-face capacity, such as when the COVID-19 vaccine is readily available and FDA-approved and when the COVID-19 trend dies down worldwide and in Southeast Asia.

However, as the pandemic continues to impact the region, virtual engagement with companies is here to stay – at least for the foreseeable future. Given the different modes of online engagement, it is important to understand how HCPs prefer to be engaged virtually. WellTrack offers the latest insights on the types of digital engagements that resonate with them the most:

  • Singapore HCPs show highest preference for online Postgrad/ CMEs with over half of them preferring this type of online engagement from healthcare companies.
  • Thailand HCPs have strong preference for detailing via email with over 60% preferring to receive emails from company sales reps.
  • Malaysia HCPs remain the most partial when it comes to pre-recorded webinars and livestreamed webcasts with 3 in 5 preferring these forms of engagement.
  • Vietnam HCPs also show the most interest in online Postgrad/ CMEs along with detailing via chat platforms with 60% of them preferring to be engaged through these channels.
  • Philippines HCPs can be successfully reached by companies through detailing via video platforms and connecting them with other HCPs in online chat groups created by companies.
  • Indonesia HCPs prefer detailing either via chat platforms or emails as well as livestreamed webcasts.

The pandemic has been a strong inflection point for healthcare companies to re-think the way they engage HCPs. Similarly, engaging pharmacists has also changed, though SEA pharmacists still hold a traditional engagement mindset, click here to learn more about SEA pharmacist engagement. Identifying HCP digital preferences is just the start. WellTrack also investigates the right kind of content and topic for each mode of engagement as well as understanding unmet HCP needs and challenges to provide a more holistic view of this digital journey.

For more information on WellTrack data insights across markets, categories and stakeholders, please feel free to contact us or click here for more WellTrack thoughts and perspectives.

Creating an informed effective HCP engagement strategy is the first step, but it raises the time old question “Is what we’re doing working?” Click here to read about KPI strategy and building to improve.


References
1IQVIA WellTrack Wave 2 Southeast Asia (May 2021)

Contact Us