Our recent white papers introduced a practical approach to measuring medical impact and learnings around operational effectiveness, the foundation of the medical impact model.

The next modules in the framework are three enablers: valuable relationships, targeted education, and actionable insights. These enablers involve connecting with the right stakeholders, getting them the right information, and bringing key insights back to the organization.

Although these enablers are essential to monitoring the achievement of your medical affairs organization, they are not an outcome per se. Instead, they help you get to an impact.

Lack of focus, explicit planning, and measurement around these enablers can blind organizations to the cause and effect of their actions. This limits the ability to translate the value of medical affairs across the organization and risks negatively impacting its overall goal of ensuring that science and technologies benefit patients.

This chapter focuses on valuable relationships. While everyone agrees they’re critical, the topic rarely appears in discussions on medical impact. Little attention seems to be paid to structured approaches, including planning and measuring their strength.

Again, we have asked industry leaders to share their perspectives, key learnings, and best practices. We hope this chapter on valuable relationships inspires you to focus on this key enabler and sparks thoughts on how to approach the topic for your organization.

Christoph Bug, MD, PhD, MBA

Vice President, Global Medical

Veeva