Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. has launched a new customer engagement approach designed to better deliver on patient, caregiver and HCP expectations in an evolving healthcare environment. The new model is built around where patients get their care—locally, with the intent to better serve patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers, delivering a higher quality experience that ultimately is focused on improving patient care.

The “ecosystem approach” creates a unified focus among account management, medical, patient access and market access to engage local healthcare systems and identify opportunities to improve the patient experience. Through this matrix model, customers will now experience more coordinated and seamless care with digital-enabled support to bridge care gaps.

In Otsuka’s evolved customer engagement model, a Health Science Advisor (HSA) will engage HCPs through a variety of in-person, virtual and digital tools, offering expanded expertise regarding products and the approved conditions they treat. Otsuka’s Clinical and Scientific Specialists (CSS) will provide deep clinical expertise on-demand and will engage healthcare providers to offer personalized education on disease state, thought leadership and real-world evidence.

These ecosystems are led by Ecosystem Leads and are grouped into regional areas. Regional Leads have significant autonomy to assess unique market priorities and customize decisions that reflect local customer needs. In the future, Otsuka will also shift to drive customer engagement quality, accountability, and cohesion between patients and healthcare providers. Ultimately, it is all about putting customers at the center of everything they do.

The Health Science Advisor will report directly to the respective Ecosystem Lead, coordinating with cross-functional colleagues in Medical (CSSs), Market Access (HSAMs), and Patient Support (PALs) under appropriate guardrails. This individual will serve as the main point of contact/connection to healthcare provider (HCP) customers and should have a wide breadth of expertise, (e.g. able to address complex on-label information based on approved content, able to promote two products (CNS HSAs).

Conducts proactive outreach to HCPs on topics such as:

• Product access: local market payor coverage and co-pay, prior authorization, formulary placement, and availability expectations
• On-Label/Consistent-with-label Info: proactively share information that is on or consistent with the label, including confidently and skillfully handling complex on-label information consistent with approved materials
• 
  Established guidance on patient care: example system protocols, standard of care guidelines, discharge protocols, and published expert opinions (or share menu of options and direct accordingly)

Ability to appropriately connect providers in real time to on-demand CSSs as questions arise

Customer engagement: Personally engage customers through a variety of virtual or digital tools and can direct customers to other colleagues (e.g., CSS) on demand; closes the loop on customer requests, ensuring that they have been met and asking for feedback on quality of engagement

Thought leadership: Facilitate speaker programs; organize local provider groups for discussions on experiences and outcomes with local/regional leaders

Business planning: Elevate opportunities and feedback to ecosystem lead, including local market insights to inform setting of local strategy and business goals; compliantly collaborate with ecosystem team to adjust targeting and call point plans and action on insights collected from customer-facing roles

Qualifications

Preferred

• Previous cross-functional industry experience in commercial life sciences (pharma or biotechnology) or related industry engaging with key healthcare ecosystem players (e.g., payers, health systems), is required
• 4 or more years' experience working in a sales role with HCPs, ideally representing multiple products and working across a complex healthcare system environment
• Clinical nurse or Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) experience highly valued
• The ability to work in an ambiguous environment undergoing transformation is a strong plus
• Proven track record in coaching, training and/or mentoring peers or others as assigned; helping such others to better meet or exceed their goals, targets and other responsibilities
• Proven track record for consistently meeting or exceeding financial and/or other quantitative targets, as well as qualitative goals
• Self starter; ability to seek out relevant information, prioritize, and apply information to solve complex problems in the ecosystem
• Ability to assimilate and communicate complex clinical and product information
• Knowledge of and ability to successfully addressing operational issues in the delivery of healthcare products to patients, such as reimbursement and supply