Chris:
0:07
Looking for interesting business and patient success stories. Our Alphanumeric podcast, Make Your Mark, is all about the ways our company, partners, customers, patients, and services navigate the complicated healthcare landscape. Join me your host, Chris Spohr, Senior Director of marketing at Alphanumeric, to hear inspiring stories directly from patients and their care. Learn valuable insights from subject matter experts and hear from some of the brightest on what patient care looks like now and well into the future. Listen now and be inspired to make your mark. Providing a high quality enterprise approach to the external expert engagement process is no easy task. Today we will learn a little bit about what it is and the important role this service plays in helping with the logistics of engaging with key experts at the right time and the right. It is crucial to provide a scalable, easy to use service that allows the experts to focus on all the other important aspects of activity engagements without worrying about operational logistics. We are joined today by Frank Green, senior Director at Alphanumeric to help us understand the importance of having a solid external expert engagement process and the benefits that are provided.
Frank:
1:26
Sure. Uh, Chris, good to talk to. I've been with Alphanumeric for 19 years. In fact, as we record this, today is my 19th work anniversary. It's also my 15th wedding anniversary. So November 17th is, is a date that is very special to me, both personally and professionally.
Chris:
1:47
Well, congratulations, Frank. Yes,
Frank:
1:50
Thank you. Um, so I'm a senior director at Alphanumeric. I've. In that role for about four years. Uh, prior to that, I've done everything from project coordination, project management, program management, service management, and now, as I said, I'm one of the senior directors at the company.
Chris:
2:09
So thank you, Frank, for joining us today to talk about the external expert engagement program we run here at Alphanumeric. I, if you don't mind, could you tell us a little bit about what that means and why is a platform like this so important within life science?
Frank:
2:24
Sure. Um, in most cases, particularly in in the pharmaceutical industry, there's a need to bring on external experts outside the company, experts, whether they are HCPs patients, uh, customer or patient advocates, et cetera, to speak about a particular drug or particular area of therapeutics, say oncology or
respiratory, and what our service is:
2:47
the overall management of that process from start to finish, from engagement of the, of the external expert through, uh, payment to, uh, that expert for whatever service they provide.
Chris:
3:04
Frank, tell us about some of the challenges that face companies finding external subject matter experts today, and also why is differentiation so important?
Frank:
3:14
Sure, so one of the challenges. Particularly in the life sciences space with external experts, is there, there are several laws and regulations, particularly in United States, that govern how and when you need, you should, uh, engage with an expert. Things like are there conflicts of interest? Are, are, is the person credentialed appropriately for that engagement? So what our service provides is that vet. To make sure that that expert is fit for purpose, for the engagement. And then as, as we move through the process, that everything is aligned to both regulations, internal and regulations external, say with the FDA to ensure that they are audit compliant and they are following all legal requirements.
Chris:
4:09
Frank, who benefits from a well implemented and planned out external expert engagement program?
Frank:
4:17
So the, the company certainly benefits from engaging with the expert, but when you have a, a process, a documented process that is being followed from a compliance point of view. Following that process, following that documented process from end to end, and verifying that each step is being followed from a compliance point of view, that also satisfies those regulatory and legal requirements I mentioned earlier. It also gives transparency to the organization to ensure that those policies are being followed and that if there's an audit, that, that, that process is audit ready, um, at a moment's notice.
Chris:
5:02
So overall the external expert engagement program eliminates risk and streamlines the overall process of working with an expert. What steps do you and your team take to finding the right person the right fit for that company?
Frank:
5:18
So in our program, initially it's the business owner who is responsible for identifying the expert. But we, what we do is then look at that expert, as I mentioned before, look at, uh, their credentials, make sure there are no conflicts of interest. We then take a look at the engagement and see what the payment process will be usually a, a, a dollar payment, and verify that that dollar payment, whether it's per hour or per session, is appropriate for the engagement. And document all of those steps to make sure they've been completed.
Chris:
5:58
Thanks, Frank. Um, so overall, where do you see the EEE evolving? Can, can it go global?
Frank:
6:06
Absolutely. In, in fact, the process that we have in place for one of our clients in the US can certainly be adapted to a global, to a, in a global nature because what we're doing is following a documented process. So, part of what we did to start that service was actually document the process, put checks in place to make sure that that process is being followed, making sure that all the relevant, uh, all the relevant regulations were being followed, all the internal, uh, policies were being followed. This is something that every pharma and life sciences company either has or should have, but particularly when it comes to managing the process. That's where that process can be replicated across the globe.
Chris:
6:58
Okay. Frank, if, if possible, we would love to hear a success story of where, you know, finding the right expert created great results for the overall client's needs.
Frank:
7:09
Sure. And, and Chris, thanks for taking the time to, to chat. This has been very enjoyable. Um, so in one, we were brought in, uh, we were brought in by a client to improve their external engagement process before we were brought in, I would call it the Wild West. Um, each therapeutic era had their own processes. They had different vendors for such things as vetting and payments, logistics, things like that. Um, aside from being inefficient, the lack of a consistent process and procedures resulted in delays engagement. Posting event activities such as invoicing, um, things like that. This also caused compliance and audit issues. So what we were asked to do was build this process, build this overall management process. So by bringing all the therapeutic areas and a consolidation of suppliers under our service, through reduction of duplication and other process improve. We found that the end to end time from idea to engagement closeout has been significantly reduced. The compliance issues have been resolved, and most importantly, from a business perspective, it's estimated we've saved this client about $150,000 in hard and soft costs per year. So we're really proud of that.
Chris:
8:34
All right, Frank. Well, thank you number one for, for taking the time today to, to meet with us and, and record this episode. As you probably have heard at the end of each episode, um, we've been asking, um, our subjects, you know, how do you make your mark, obviously here at Alphanumeric, it's a big component of what we do. Ultimately, it is our campaign and our slogan here at at Alphanumeric. But we love to hear the stories about how individuals make their mark and you know, from a personal standpoint, from a professional or both. So Frank, let us know a little bit more about you and how you make your mark.
Frank:
9:13
Sure. Uh, thanks Chris. It's been enjoyable spending some time with you and talking about one of our services. So in terms of making my mark from a personal point of view, I'm involved in several charities. I sit on several boards here in the Allentown area, uh, professionally, and one of the reasons I believe in alpha numeric is I see the value of pharmaceuticals. I saw my father with C O P D have his life prolonged because of medications. My wife is alive today because of breast cancer medications. My mother, who recently passed, survived cancer and lung cancer and was, and I was able to spend quality time with her. My wife and my daughter all spent quality time with her. So I believe in the mission of Alphanumeric in supporting pharma companies, life sciences companies, as they improve the lives of other people. So I'm, I'm proud to work for an organization that brings that to.
Chris:
10:26
Thank you for listening to this episode of Make Your Mark at Alphanumeric podcast. For more information on Alphanumeric, go to www.Alphanumeric.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Thank you, and remember to always strive to make your mark.
0:07
Looking for interesting business and patient success stories. Our Alphanumeric podcast, Make Your Mark, is all about the ways our company, partners, customers, patients, and services navigate the complicated healthcare landscape. Join me your host, Chris Spohr, Senior Director of marketing at Alphanumeric, to hear inspiring stories directly from patients and their care. Learn valuable insights from subject matter experts and hear from some of the brightest on what patient care looks like now and well into the future. Listen now and be inspired to make your mark. Providing a high quality enterprise approach to the external expert engagement process is no easy task. Today we will learn a little bit about what it is and the important role this service plays in helping with the logistics of engaging with key experts at the right time and the right. It is crucial to provide a scalable, easy to use service that allows the experts to focus on all the other important aspects of activity engagements without worrying about operational logistics. We are joined today by Frank Green, senior Director at Alphanumeric to help us understand the importance of having a solid external expert engagement process and the benefits that are provided.
Frank:
1:26
Sure. Uh, Chris, good to talk to. I've been with Alphanumeric for 19 years. In fact, as we record this, today is my 19th work anniversary. It's also my 15th wedding anniversary. So November 17th is, is a date that is very special to me, both personally and professionally.
Chris:
1:47
Well, congratulations, Frank. Yes,
Frank:
1:50
Thank you. Um, so I'm a senior director at Alphanumeric. I've. In that role for about four years. Uh, prior to that, I've done everything from project coordination, project management, program management, service management, and now, as I said, I'm one of the senior directors at the company.
Chris:
2:09
So thank you, Frank, for joining us today to talk about the external expert engagement program we run here at Alphanumeric. I, if you don't mind, could you tell us a little bit about what that means and why is a platform like this so important within life science?
Frank:
2:24
Sure. Um, in most cases, particularly in in the pharmaceutical industry, there's a need to bring on external experts outside the company, experts, whether they are HCPs patients, uh, customer or patient advocates, et cetera, to speak about a particular drug or particular area of therapeutics, say oncology or
respiratory, and what our service is:
2:47
the overall management of that process from start to finish, from engagement of the, of the external expert through, uh, payment to, uh, that expert for whatever service they provide.
Chris:
3:04
Frank, tell us about some of the challenges that face companies finding external subject matter experts today, and also why is differentiation so important?
Frank:
3:14
Sure, so one of the challenges. Particularly in the life sciences space with external experts, is there, there are several laws and regulations, particularly in United States, that govern how and when you need, you should, uh, engage with an expert. Things like are there conflicts of interest? Are, are, is the person credentialed appropriately for that engagement? So what our service provides is that vet. To make sure that that expert is fit for purpose, for the engagement. And then as, as we move through the process, that everything is aligned to both regulations, internal and regulations external, say with the FDA to ensure that they are audit compliant and they are following all legal requirements.
Chris:
4:09
Frank, who benefits from a well implemented and planned out external expert engagement program?
Frank:
4:17
So the, the company certainly benefits from engaging with the expert, but when you have a, a process, a documented process that is being followed from a compliance point of view. Following that process, following that documented process from end to end, and verifying that each step is being followed from a compliance point of view, that also satisfies those regulatory and legal requirements I mentioned earlier. It also gives transparency to the organization to ensure that those policies are being followed and that if there's an audit, that, that, that process is audit ready, um, at a moment's notice.
Chris:
5:02
So overall the external expert engagement program eliminates risk and streamlines the overall process of working with an expert. What steps do you and your team take to finding the right person the right fit for that company?
Frank:
5:18
So in our program, initially it's the business owner who is responsible for identifying the expert. But we, what we do is then look at that expert, as I mentioned before, look at, uh, their credentials, make sure there are no conflicts of interest. We then take a look at the engagement and see what the payment process will be usually a, a, a dollar payment, and verify that that dollar payment, whether it's per hour or per session, is appropriate for the engagement. And document all of those steps to make sure they've been completed.
Chris:
5:58
Thanks, Frank. Um, so overall, where do you see the EEE evolving? Can, can it go global?
Frank:
6:06
Absolutely. In, in fact, the process that we have in place for one of our clients in the US can certainly be adapted to a global, to a, in a global nature because what we're doing is following a documented process. So, part of what we did to start that service was actually document the process, put checks in place to make sure that that process is being followed, making sure that all the relevant, uh, all the relevant regulations were being followed, all the internal, uh, policies were being followed. This is something that every pharma and life sciences company either has or should have, but particularly when it comes to managing the process. That's where that process can be replicated across the globe.
Chris:
6:58
Okay. Frank, if, if possible, we would love to hear a success story of where, you know, finding the right expert created great results for the overall client's needs.
Frank:
7:09
Sure. And, and Chris, thanks for taking the time to, to chat. This has been very enjoyable. Um, so in one, we were brought in, uh, we were brought in by a client to improve their external engagement process before we were brought in, I would call it the Wild West. Um, each therapeutic era had their own processes. They had different vendors for such things as vetting and payments, logistics, things like that. Um, aside from being inefficient, the lack of a consistent process and procedures resulted in delays engagement. Posting event activities such as invoicing, um, things like that. This also caused compliance and audit issues. So what we were asked to do was build this process, build this overall management process. So by bringing all the therapeutic areas and a consolidation of suppliers under our service, through reduction of duplication and other process improve. We found that the end to end time from idea to engagement closeout has been significantly reduced. The compliance issues have been resolved, and most importantly, from a business perspective, it's estimated we've saved this client about $150,000 in hard and soft costs per year. So we're really proud of that.
Chris:
8:34
All right, Frank. Well, thank you number one for, for taking the time today to, to meet with us and, and record this episode. As you probably have heard at the end of each episode, um, we've been asking, um, our subjects, you know, how do you make your mark, obviously here at Alphanumeric, it's a big component of what we do. Ultimately, it is our campaign and our slogan here at at Alphanumeric. But we love to hear the stories about how individuals make their mark and you know, from a personal standpoint, from a professional or both. So Frank, let us know a little bit more about you and how you make your mark.
Frank:
9:13
Sure. Uh, thanks Chris. It's been enjoyable spending some time with you and talking about one of our services. So in terms of making my mark from a personal point of view, I'm involved in several charities. I sit on several boards here in the Allentown area, uh, professionally, and one of the reasons I believe in alpha numeric is I see the value of pharmaceuticals. I saw my father with C O P D have his life prolonged because of medications. My wife is alive today because of breast cancer medications. My mother, who recently passed, survived cancer and lung cancer and was, and I was able to spend quality time with her. My wife and my daughter all spent quality time with her. So I believe in the mission of Alphanumeric in supporting pharma companies, life sciences companies, as they improve the lives of other people. So I'm, I'm proud to work for an organization that brings that to.
Chris:
10:26
Thank you for listening to this episode of Make Your Mark at Alphanumeric podcast. For more information on Alphanumeric, go to www.Alphanumeric.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Thank you, and remember to always strive to make your mark.
