Reps Report Education, Business Acumen Are Key to Gaining Physician Access

CMR Institute releases results from 2011 Student Survey. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) February 09, 2011 - Today's pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical representatives understand the impact and relevance of knowledge and education in navigating a competitive healthcare marketplace. According to the results of the 2011 CMR Institute Student Survey, the ability to provide information to prescribers that aids them in making clinical or business practice decisions ranks as the most important method in gaining access to prescribers.

The survey, which was sent to more than 14,000 current and former CMR students, reports that 91 percent of respondents expressed concern over increasingly limited access to physicians. A majority of respondents perceive knowledge and information as the solution to this growing problem, which they see as key to gaining and retaining access to clinicians while improving credibility and effectiveness. Information on evidence-based medicine and clinical practice guidelines (74 percent), business management (63 percent), and clinical trial data (59 percent) were seen as most valuable to clinicians.

The survey is part of ongoing research designed to gather feedback on market trends, learning preferences, and educational resources from pharmaceutical, biotech, and med device representatives and managers who have used CMR resources to help further their non-brand related education.

"Our student feedback is validation that education of both clinical and business practices is crucial not only to professional success, but also to gaining valuable face-time with prescribers who can implement healthcare innovation for improved patient care," says Cherie Hicks, CPA, President and CEO of CMR Institute. "We know physicians today expect reps to enter the office prepared to discuss their products within the broad context of healthcare. This survey shows that our students are experiencing even higher physician expectations regarding an ability to intelligently and insightfully engage in dialogue about their product from a practice management, as well as a patient outcome, perspective. This tells us that we're on the right track as we continually update our content offerings to include relevant material to meet both needs."

CMR Institute's Student Survey shows that the primary motivators for enrolling in continuing education are career advancement and overall personal effectiveness (75 percent). Respondents reported a personal initiative to advance their careers and increase their effectiveness with clinicians, rather than being required to take coursework by their companies. This represents a dramatic shift from the past five years.

"More and more emphasis is being placed on competency and transparency. Our students are seeing this trend first hand and recognizing that education positions them to be as competitive as possible," adds Hicks.

Within specific subject areas, respondents found CMR Institute coursework to be most important in the areas of: the business of healthcare (98 percent), evidence-based medicine (98 percent), and communicating and understanding clinicians' needs (98 percent). Eighty-five percent said that CMR education helps build personal credibility with clinicians.

To learn more about CMR's educational resources, visit www.cmrinstitute.org.

CMR Institute is the leading independent provider of non-branded education for the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries and has educated more than 150,000 professionals. Founded in 1966 by physicians in response to a need for increased therapeutic knowledge through scientific education, CMR Institute offers professional development and ongoing continuing education for representatives, managers, and other professionals. Its expert content is developed and updated by leading industry experts and distinguished thought leaders from prestigious universities and academic medical centers, and includes key education on science, disease management, ethics, and leadership. CMR Institute's not-for-profit status allows it to continually invest its resources in its library of education to realize its mission, which is to advance knowledge to enhance healthcare. To learn more about CMR Institute, visit www.cmrinstitute.org.

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