Insight and oversight: Making the most of virtual platforms in dermatology
Dr. Bruce E Strober, Executive Director, offers insight into how to make the most out of virtual communications with dermatologists, healthcare professionals and patients.
FIDE is our independent expert-led network specialized in providing insight into inflammatory skin conditions. Dr Bruce E Strober, Executive Director delves into healthcare professional (HCP) challenges throughout the pandemic. He discusses the most under-represented areas of dermatology and offers his advice for biopharmaceutical companies looking to create sustainable partnerships with today’s dermatologists.
Pharmafile: What has the impact of restricted one-to-one healthcare professional (HCP) access engagement been on dermatological patient care?
Dr Bruce Strober: We have observed minimal effect — our practice has functioned mostly normally (with appropriate COVID-19 precautions in place) for the past 18 months.
Some restrictions have been placed on the number of pharma reps to keep density down. We’re actually busier than ever with patient care, and allow in-person interaction with pharmaceutical representatives. Truth be told, some restriction on pharmaceutical interaction is positive, as it can be overwhelming to a busy HCP trying to conduct patient care.
Pharmafile: COVID-19 restrictions have also limited knowledge transfer – what effect has this had on dermatological R&D and patient care?
DBS: The lack of in-person meetings has necessitated virtual learnings, which isn’t vastly inferior. However, in-person learning likely fosters more Q&A and discussion that is somewhat blurred by the virtual medium. Patient care likely hasn’t been impacted significantly. The real issue is how COVID-19 has delayed the FDA review process, inhibiting the approval of important new medications for patients in need.