Response Turnaround Time Research Articles

Pharma Collaboration for Transparent Medical Information (phactMI™) Benchmark Study: Trends, Drivers, and Value of Product Support Activities, Key Performance Indicators, and Other Medical Information Services: Insights from a Survey of 27 US Pharmaceutical Medical Information Departments.

A benchmarking survey was conducted by the pharmaceutical collaboration for transparent Medical Information (phactMI™) consortium, with the goal to capture insights from the 27 member companies and their medical information organizations. phactMI™ Benchmarking Committee delivered an electronic survey to 27 United States (US) member companies' Medical Information (MI) departments between December 12, 2017 and February 20, 2018. The survey consisted of approximately 300 questions, divided into 9 topics which included multiple choice and open-ended questions about the following categories: medical information support provided based on different product lifecycles, key metrics measured to assess department performance, and other key services provided by medical information groups. The extent of MI product support varied across the lifecycle of a product. Most companies provided MI product support throughout the product lifecycle starting from investigational all the way through mature; however, the extent of activities varied. The top key performance indicators (KPIs) that were reported to senior leadership included response turnaround time (59%) and inquiry volume (48%). Among the 27 companies, 85% noted using customer satisfaction surveys administered via links within written response documents and 52% verbally via the company's call center. Other services with which MI groups noted most involvement included congress booth support (100%), insights/metric reporting (96%), and training the sales force on the MI function (74%). Additional services included payor support clinical pathway submissions (22%), presenting at advisory boards (22%), and competitive intelligence (26%). The results of this survey provide pharmaceutical MI groups with opportunities to consider services or activities that could enhance the support these groups provide to their customers and business partners.

Development and feasibility of virtual molecular tumor board.

e18334 Background: Practicing precision oncology is challenging due to the complex molecular interpretation and its implications in deciding pertinent treatment options. This is addressed by institutional Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) which is presided by all oncology sub-specialists including molecular biologist and bioinformatician, doing a meticulous job in untwining the intricacies but fail to obtain experiences across institutes. Further, meeting of all MTB members is neither always feasible nor accessible for the community oncologists. We hereby offer a virtual formation of MTB that is easily accessible and remotely attended by various experts across institutes, giving their opinion objectively at their ease that can be documented and archived. Methods: Virtual MTB (vMTB), a mobile cloud-based application was developed for both android and iOS platforms. The vMTB process involves submission and review of cases, whereby assigned members can opine blindly and rate different treatment options. Followed by averaging of rating score and then a final recommendation generated by the vMTB case-convener within 7 days, based on clinical context. A pilot study (2 months duration) was carried out where clinical cases bearing molecular information were invited from various oncology centers across India. Results: 21 cases were submitted (19 relapsed refractory, 3 treatment naïve) that included Breast (6), Lung (5), Leukemia/Lymphoma (3), Gall bladder (2), Uterine (2), Urinary bladder (1), GBM (1) and Sarcoma (1) cancers. The molecular query was based on 18 somatic (8 FoundationOne & 10 Others) and 3 germline testing. Cases assigned to vMTB members (~7 members/case) had ~ 6 treatment options/case with a response turn-around time ~4 days. Therapeutic final recommendation(s) were given for all cases with 95% concordance among the members; 6 cases where multiple options were advised, discordance rate was 14%. Additional molecular diagnostic workup was advised in 3 cases. vMTB recommendations including 10 off label treatment options were accepted by majority of the submitting physicians (82%). Clinical benefit was observed in 5 (24%) cases within the stipulated analysis duration. Conclusions: vMTB is a user-friendly, feasible, acceptable mobile solution alternate to MTB for objectively generating clinically meaningful consensus document for complex molecular clinical case scenarios, where guidelines are limited. To best of our knowledge, this is a first smart mobile solution connecting various oncology experts and have an immediate utility for the practicing community oncologists globally.

Assessing the Use of Internet Surveys in the Context of Advertisement Tracking Studies: A Case Study of Tourism Yukon's Winter Promotion Campaign

As interest in the varying applications of Internet technology has expanded in recent years, so have discussions concerning the relative merits of this medium as a credible means for conducting market survey research. Proponents of this form of on-line surveying claim that as the Internet becomes more universally accepted as a means of communication, its utility for survey purposes will be largely related to its ability to conduct some forms of research faster, better, and more conclusively than other more traditional methods of interviewing. Other supporters highlight the approach's potential research advantages with respect to gaining access to especially difficult-to-find populations, its cost effectiveness from a data collection perspective, and its speed of interaction with respondent populations. Conversely, other researchers express more cautionary perspectives and emphasize that Internet survey methods tend to suffer many of the same shortcomings as those associated with more traditional survey methods: inappropriateness for communication with specific audiences, control over sample representativeness, “self-selection” biases and response turn-around time. As with other emerging market survey research tools, there is a need to systematically explore the strengths and weaknesses of these perspectives in the context of specific research situations. This research examines issues of sample representativeness, “self selection” or non-response bias, and appropriateness of the survey techniques in the context of advertising tracking research. It does this by comparing the socio-economic and behavioral traits of Internet and traditional (telephone and mail) survey respondents participating in a tourism advertisement tracking study in Canada.