GP engagement is not going to get any easier for Pharma companies. That’s according to an Australian Doctor Group survey of 755 GPs. Apparently two thirds of Australian GPs intend to either reduce their hours (43%), leave general practice (10%), or retire in the next 12 months (13%).
With fewer doctors working as GPs, and those remaining feeling overworked and underpaid, there may be less opportunities for reps to see customers. Digital channels may also be less used – when busy it’s easier to skip a webinar or not browse online resources than to cancel a rep appointment. With customers under so much stress it’s more important than ever to understand their needs and how you can best support them.
ADG don’t tell us but I’d like to understand the characteristics of the doctors who are getting out of general practice, and of those who are planning to cut back their hours. How might these characteristics map onto my targeted customers? If I was exploring those survey results, I’d also want to see the difference in responses between GPs in bulk billing and mixed billing practices as well as between those in high socioeconomic and low socioeconomic areas.
With the inverse care law very much a reality I suspect the challenges for GPs in poorer areas are considerably higher. This leads to patients not getting the treatments they need and sales being lost. How can we help our customers to better diagnose and treat appropriate patients?
