A message from the chair

The summer has faded, the (probably best ever?) Communiqué awards are a distant memory and thoughts have turned to HCA plans moving into 2006.  As part of this it has been agreed by the Executive Committee that two new Sub-Committees should be formed to address specific issues and needs arising.  These are ‘Recruitment' and ‘Standards' (working titles).  The exact scope of these Sub-Committees is currently being defined but, in essence, the first will look at the key issue of recruiting and maintaining the currently limited pool of healthcare PR talent.  The second will look to establish specific best practice guidance for healthcare communications professionals when working with third parties e.g. patient groups, professional bodies etc., in light of both the Health Select Committee inquiry and the forthcoming ABPI Code of Practice revision. 

If you've ever thought about getting more involved with HCA activities, now may be a good time.  We need people to put themselves forward for both the two new Sub-Committees and to fill vacancies arising on Benchmarking, Membership & Marketing and RoI & Evaluation Sub-Committees.  If you are interested please drop me a line at Julia.Cook@StepBack-hc.com.  We can't guarantee that everyone who puts themselves forward will end up getting the place they would like, but we will do our best for all interested parties.

Finally, I would like to welcome a number of new members to the HCA: Ruder Finn, Meditech Media, Oxford Immunotec and Nick Hicks (Associate Member). 

Training update

“An extremely valuable insight into industry perspectives and an opportunity to discuss significant issues with senior colleagues” was the verdict of one attendee at the over-subscribed Marketing Insights seminar on 2 August 2005.

Rob Wood (Director, Specialist Care Business Units, AstraZeneca) and Daniel Mathews (Partner, Health and Life Sciences, Accenture) discussed topical industry issues ranging from the potential impact of the changing NHS, measuring RoI in healthcare professional relations and drivers of future business, and the role of PR with senior personnel from 10 HCA member companies.  The seminar was chaired by Cherry Wood (Managing Director of Athena Medical PR).

Training calendar:
All workshops take place at Browns' Restaurant in London and are full day sessions unless otherwise indicated.  Further details including course content and information about who would most benefit from attending the workshops can be obtained from Lucie Flint at Medivents (training@hca-uk.org) or via the HCA website:

• Capitalising on the Changing Healthcare Landscape - 18 November 2005
• RoI and Evaluation - 23 November 2005
• Maximising International PR Campaigns - 5 December 2005

Return on Investment
Following ratification at the last Executive Committee meeting, the Evaluation Sub-Committee is re-branding and will now be known as the RoI & Evaluation Sub-Committee!  This is being done to reflect its exciting programme of work to find ways of defining RoI for PR and communications. It aims to report back fully on RoI towards the end of 2005, but in the meantime anyone with an interest in the consultation process is encouraged to contact the Chair, Carys Thomas Ampofo via roi@hca-uk.org as soon as possible.

Benchmarking update
The first industry survey:
The survey was distributed at end of June to marketers, communications professionals and procurement personnel throughout the industry.  A total of thirty completed questionnaires were received around the deadline date, comprising 15 communications professionals, 13 from marketing/sales and two from procurement - providing a good representation.  The Benchmarking Sub-Committee have now reviewed the results and a detailed report will be provided to participants at the end of September, followed by an Executive Summary which will be distributed to the wider HCA membership in early October.  Further recommendations will be made once final results have been fully analysed.

The third agency survey:
A news release highlighting the key findings from the Agency Survey was sent to PR Week, Pharmaceutical Marketing, Pharma Focus and Pharma Times on 8 July.  Coverage subsequently appeared in PR Week and Pharmaceutical Marketing (August edition) and is anticipated in the remaining publications.  The news release (and corresponding coverage) led on the finding that staff recruitment and retention are now the most critical business issues for agencies.  To see the news release click here.