A message from the chair

One of the key aims of the HCA is to ensure that all its members are as equipped as possible to carry out their work to the highest of professional standards.  We are very aware that, in the wake of both the Health Select Committee inquiry and the revised ABPI Code of Practice, there have been lengthy discussions in member companies around the land on what now constitutes best, and indeed appropriate, practice.  The work of the HCA Standards Sub-Committee in providing practical guidance for members is therefore pivotal and we thought it important at this mid-year stage to provide a special update on progress in this complex area (see the footer of this newsletter for details).

Membership of the HCA brings many benefits, but as from the beginning of July there is a specific new addition.  The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) would like to offer HCA members special discounts on a range of its services and facilities.  The full details of this offering are included at the end of this newsletter.  This is the first time that we've provided such a scheme for members and we look forward to reviewing uptake.

I'm conscious that this newsletter is somewhat longer than usual, but it reflects the level of activity that is now taking place across the various HCA Committees.  My sincere thanks must go as ever to the increasing number of people who are getting actively involved and who work so hard in support of the growing membership.  Thank you also to all who provided constructive feedback on HCA activities as part of the recent benchmarking survey; this is really useful in helping ensure that we really do meet members' needs. 

…and finally, given the confidential nature of the benchmarking survey I don't know the identity of the person who expressed interest in getting more involved in HCA activities - but if you'd like to get in touch directly I'd love to talk to you!

Julia Cook, Chair
01483 281321
julia.cook@stepback-hc.com 

 

Standards update
The conduct of the pharmaceutical industry has come under intense scrutiny in recent years as increasing interest in healthcare has combined with a general loss of trust in governments and business. The April 2005 report of the Health Select Committee documented many concerns and called for greater controls on the activities of pharmaceutical companies, including the methods used to communicate with stakeholders.

No-one would dispute that the pharmaceutical industry - and those organisations that support the industry - should be held to higher account than other sectors. That's why we are tightly regulated by the law and industry codes of practice in every country across the world. The recently strengthened ABPI Code of Practice is an example of the industry's commitment to raising ethical standards and being transparent, through public reporting of transgressions.

These developments are significant for all members of the HCA. We have always had a responsibility to communicate in an ethical way with healthcare professionals, policy makers and, where appropriate, patients. But in a world that seems to set higher expectations every week, what should be the guiding standards for HCA members and how do we define them?

The HCA responded to this challenge late last year with the establishment of the Standards Sub-Committee. The first output from the sub-committee was a decision to produce a set of HCA Principles that captured, in a very concise way, the ethical values of the Association. These will not replace the rules that govern the behaviour of companies and their agencies but would act as a decision-making compass for all members and a clear statement to external stakeholders. A draft of these principles has been produced and will be reviewed at the next HCA Executive meeting and subsequently shared with the membership. 

The launch of the revised and more wide-ranging ABPI Code of Practice has understandably raised questions of interpretation among members. Some have been relatively simple to answer. The answers for others are less clear cut. The HCA Executive has asked the Standards Sub-Committee to consult with key stakeholders, including members, to clarify some of these important points (currently, the sub-committee is focusing on industry interaction with the media).  It is then planned to offer specific help and best practice examples for members.  It is vital that the sub-committee gets this right, both for HCA members and for other stakeholders and much has to be taken into consideration.  Members should not expect these final outputs to be delivered overnight.

Though the HCA membership consultation sent out in April generated little response, the Standards Sub-Committee is still keen to hear from members about specific concerns and questions around implementation of the new Code and other related issues.  Only then can we be sure of meeting members' needs.

The positive impact that HCA members have on patients' lives should not be under-estimated. The accessible and targeted information companies provide helps ensure that patients receive the appropriate treatment and get the most from their medicines. The Standards Sub-Committee is focused on maintaining the standing of healthcare communications, enabling HCA members to continue playing this important role for years to come.

Training update
In response to popular demand a second joint workshop with the ABPI and the Pharmaceutical Marketing Society was held on 3 April 2006 to update pharma communications and marketing practitioners on the changes and anticipated impact of the revised PMCPA Code of Practice. Seventy-four delegates attended the workshop which took place at the Royal College of Physicians.   Presentations were made by Andrew Hotchkiss, Managing Director of Lilly UK; Ben Hayes, Director of Public Affairs, ABPI; Heather Simmonds, Director of the PMCPA; and Jeremy Mean, Information for Public Health Group Manager in the Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines Division (VRMM) of the MHRA.

The overall content of the workshop was rated as good or excellent by 93% of attendees. The two workshops combined reached 221 senior industry personnel and 100% of these said they would recommend the course to colleagues. The collaboration was deemed a great success by all parties and was successful in raising the profile of the HCA and the activities that we are involved with amongst a number of potential new members and important pharmaceutical stakeholders. Through evaluation feedback and discussions during and following the workshops we have gained a valuable insight into members' views and needs regarding the revised Code which will help shape ongoing activities and our programme of work for the coming year.

The ever-popular HCA Media Relations Workshop on 18 May 2006 was well received with 17 delegates representing 11 HCA member companies in attendance. Insights into the competing priorities and pressures on practising print and broadcast journalists were provided by Sharon Alcock and Simon Brooke. All attendees rated the workshop as good or excellent and would recommend it to colleagues. Attendees particularly rated the interactivity of the workshop and the opportunity to discuss and practice effective techniques to cut to the heart of their news story to generate media interest.

Look out for…
…Our forthcoming workshop for senior agency and in-house personnel - Marketing Insights - which will provide a high-level forum for discussion and review of current and anticipated marketing trends and considerations in a demanding and competitive environment where return on investment, partnership and effective working with NHS stakeholders are all key priorities.  

…The next Hot Topics Evening Discussion Forum - an interactive and closed forum for members to get together to debate a topical and often controversial industry issue.

** Free training places **
You can still take advantage of the new pricing scheme that has been introduced to reward member loyalty. Five places on any combination of workshops can be purchased for the price of four and two free places for Hot Topic Evening Discussions are also included in the package.  Please email Lucie Flint for further details.

Further details of all of our courses are available on the HCA website. If you have any feedback or suggestions please contact Julia Harries at jharries@rdcomms.com or Lucie Flint at lucie@medivents.co.uk.

 

Benchmarking update

Agency Survey
The results of the fourth agency benchmarking survey have just been collated.  The momentum behind the survey continues, with a record response of 28 agencies this year, a third of whom have taken part for the first time. 
 
Participants are receiving an in-depth report - covering benchmarked financial, billing, human resource and marketing/new business data, as well as key issues such as recruitment and the impact of the HSC inquiry and ABPI Code changes. In addition, all participants will receive a summary of the findings of the industry survey, and HCA member participants will get an individual report, showing their own agency's data benchmarked against key charts.
 

Industry Survey
The industry survey, tailored to in-house operations and now in its second year, is running in parallel with the agency survey.  Following consultation with industry members, the survey was distributed to the Communications functions of HCA member companies, and non-member top 30 pharma companies, requesting one submission per company. To supplement the results of the written questionnaires, a small number of telephone interviews will be conducted during July, probing specific key issues with senior communications staff.  The participants' reports will parallel those provided to agencies - i.e. the maximum benefit being gained by those who participate and are HCA members.
 
Agency participants' reports are scheduled for July, with Industry reports following in August, and the whole HCA membership will be updated on the findings of the two surveys in an Executive Summary report available in September/October.

Recruitment update
Recruitment roundtable
A roundtable meeting with Recruiters, Industry and Agency representatives took place on 16 May at the offices of  Pfizer in Walton Oaks. The objective of the meeting was to produce guidelines for best practice in the working relationship between Recruiters and their clients. These guidelines are currently in approval and are expected to be circulated to HCA members in July.  

HCA-only recruitment website
In conjunction with Pharmaceutical Marketing, an HCA members-only recruitment portal will go live this summer, hosted via the On The Job section of PM's website: www.pmlive.com.   More information on how this service will work will be issued to members.

We are also exploring all editorial opportunities to profile healthcare communications as a career, and attract potential new recruits.   In the first of these, Jo Filshie, a member of the sub-committee, appeared in The Bridge magazine as an Oxford Careers Network Profile.

 

RoI & Evaluation update
The third RoI Forum meeting took place on 22 May with 10 attendees representing industry and agency.  Agenda items included discussion around the implications of the new ABPI Code for certain activities, where companies might previously have sought to demonstrate RoI but no longer consider it appropriate.  It remains to be seen what policies different organisations implement on this.

Variations around defining RoI were again acknowledged by the Forum in the context of the debate around how the RoI for healthcare communications can be specifically determined.  For example, while the drivers in the boardroom are likely to relate to corporate needs, including sales, factors such as share value and reputation, which are indicators for the long-term health of the business, are likely to be equally important.  Conversely, at a brand/product manager level, the defining criteria for RoI are likely to be far shorter term with their need to demonstrate impact against spend during the course of a programme or financial year. 

As the next step forward, it was agreed that the focus should be the brand/product manager requirement, with a need to build data and experience on the comparative RoI for different communications activities in given situations.  In the longer term, it is hoped that this will be the driver for an evidence base that will allow a more scientific approach to actually predicting potential returns.  Impact measures and definitions were a key theme in discussions.

The key achievement at the meeting was consensus to move forward with a model for measuring comparative RoI built around the cost/impact chart.  This may be used in the context of specific parameters, for example, market growth or share, reputation and awareness. 

Importantly, the Forum identified a significant range of opportunities and approaches for harnessing the tool on a macro and a micro level.  As a result, it was agreed that a pilot study of 20 companies should be undertaken to validate the methodology and the RoI Sub-Committee will undertake this work during the next two months.  If you are an in-house communicator willing to submit generic data around a particular scenario/product, we would love to invite you to take part.  Please do let us know by email to roi@hca-uk.org.

In the meantime, a very successful evaluation training day took place on Tuesday 25 April for 11 delegates ranging from account executives to senior account managers and PR managers.  Feedback on the sessions was excellent with the majority of attendees indicating how much they had learned and how inspired they are to apply this in their work. 

As a result, the sub-committee is considering running a second, similar training day in the Autumn - please register your interest to attend now by emailing lucie@medivents.co.uk.
 
Finally, a review of the current Evaluation Toolkit carried out within respective companies by the sub-committee has reported back.  A proposal for a new electronic format that takes key learnings into consideration is under development and the updated Toolkit is on schedule for launch towards the end of September 2006.

Membership and Marketing update
Since the last newsletter in March, we have welcomed two further organisations to the HCA - Burson-Marsteller and Organon.  This brings the total membership to 55 full members with an additional seven Associate Members.

The Membership & Marketing Sub-Committee is currently developing the HCA's online offering in quite a significant manner and will be able to provide further updates on this in the next newsletter.

RSM special offer for HCA members

NOTE: In order for members to take advantage of these benefits when making contact with the RSM you must quote HCA membership when booking.

1. Discounted corporate library membership of the RSM - the largest postgraduate medical library in Europe with experienced staff, who can perform searches for members.  Offer:  15 months corporate membership for the normal 12 month rate of £1,300.  Call 020 7290 3909 for details or email library@rsm.ac.uk. 

2. Hire of facilities at No 1 Wimpole Street and nearby Chandos House at discounted rates - three lecture theatres, a number of large rooms and 14 break-out committee style rooms at No 1 and a range of “grand rooms” for hire at the beautiful Robert Adam property nearby. Offer:  10% off standard room hire rates available year round PLUS short term seasonal offers. Call 020 7290 3860 for details or email conference@rsm.ac.uk. 

Special August Offer
50% off all room hire rates during August at both Chandos House and No 1 Wimpole Street (Chandos House is open throughout August and No 1 for the first two weeks of August) when also taking catering packages.
AND £10 off day delegate rates at Chandos House during August.
Contact Michelle Dines on 020 7290 3860 or email her at michelle.dines@chandoshouse.co.uk

3. Discount on Bedrooms at Chandos House - Eighteen beautifully furnished bedrooms within Chandos House (www.chandoshouse.co.uk).  Offer: Special rates providing a 17% discount on standard room rates.  Valid now and until October 2006.  All bedroom rates are charged per room, per night and include VAT (at 17.5%) and Continental Breakfast.  HCA Member rates from £90 to £185 per night.  Call 020 7290 3820 for bedroom reservations or email chandoshouse@rsm.ac.uk. 

4. Joining the RSM as an Associate Individual Member, providing a central London base to meet with colleagues, use bar, buttery and restaurant to entertain.  Can also attend appropriate non-clinical Section meetings - over 300 held each year at member rates. Offer: No joining fee (saving £15) and can join until the end of 2006 at this year's rate of £105, which is tax deductible.  Call 020 7290 3930 for details or email membership@rsm.ac.uk. 

 

01-Feb-2007	PharmaTimes Article - The communications hurdle
05-Jan-2007	HCA Benchmarking Activity
21-Dec-2006	HCA 2006 ANNUAL REVIEW
14-Dec-2006	PMLive Article - Not just a go-between
13-Jul-2006	HCA Newsletter - Issue 6
16-Mar-2006	HCA Newsletter - Issue 5
10-Dec-2005	HCA 2005 Annual Review
08-Nov-2005	HCA News Release - Industry Predicts Increased Use of Healthcare PR in the Future – But Issues Still to Be Addressed
03-Oct-2005	HCA Newsletter - Issue 4

Please click HERE to go to the news archive, where you can find all past news.