kols: who are they, where are they, & how do you find them? marc engelsgjerd, md 19 march 2012...

KOLs: Who Are They, Where Are They, & How Do You Find Them?

Marc Engelsgjerd, MD19 March 20122012 SLA PHTD Spring Meeting

Research

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Agenda

KOLs - The Who

KOLs – The Where

KOLs – The How

KOLs – The Pitfalls

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Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs): The Who

Bureau of Applied Social Research,Columbia University

Paul Lazarsfeld, PhD1901-1976

Elihu Katz, PhD1926-

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KOLs: The Who (2)

Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, & Hazel Gaudet, The People's Choice (1944)

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KOLs: The Who (3)

1. Who one is2. What one knows3. Whom one knows

Elihu Katz & Paul Lazarsfeld, Personal Influence (1955)

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Agenda

KOLs – The Who

KOLs – The Where

KOLs – The How

KOLs – The Pitfalls

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Specific biopharma KOL profile depends on context

• Academic luminaries

• Community practitioners

• Basic scientists

• Other healthcare providers (NPs, RNs, etc.)

• Pharmacists

• Patients

• Regulators

• Consultants

• Economists

KOLs: The Where

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Agenda

KOLs – The Who

KOLs – The Where

KOLs – The How

KOLs – The Pitfalls

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1. What am I looking for? Have I adequately defined the specific attributes of the expert(s) that can best serve my needs?

2. Have I found it? Are the experts I have identified truly a good fit for my needs?

KOLs – The How

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KOLs can be found in a variety of ways, ranging from the very informal (and inexpensive) to the very structured (and potentially very expensive). These include:

KOL identification/tracking firms In-house literature searches Expert Networks Personal networks Word of mouth

KOLs – The How (2)

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KOL identification/tracking firms Increasingly sophisticated methods go beyond

standard PubMed searching Natural language processing to maximize relevance Authorship position distinctions May allow longitudinal tracking of sentiment Hard to overcome publication bias May not facilitate actual contact with KOL Can be expensive

KOLs – The How (3)

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In-house literature searches Rapid turnaround Inexpensive Requires bandwidth and expertise Hard to overcome publication bias

KOLs – The How (4)

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Expert Networks Rapid turnaround Many provide turnkey services, including conference

call hosting & scheduling, payment services, etc. Third party arrangement may mitigate some

compliance risks Rely, in part, on self-reported expertise Ranking algorithms may reward promiscuity and lead

to commoditization

KOLs – The How (5)

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Personal Networks/Word of Mouth Rapid turnaround Inexpensive By definition, limited in scope Possibly subject to a variety of biases

KOLs – The How (6)

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Agenda

KOLs – The Who

KOLs – The Where

KOLs- The How

KOLs – The Pitfalls

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Rigorous assessment of expertise can be difficult if not practically impossible in some cases.

KOLs – The Pitfalls

“Dr. Myron L. Fox”

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Experts may have a valuable perspective to share, but if they tell everyone, the impact is

reduced.

KOLs – The Pitfalls (2)

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Being a KOL can be lucrative—sometimes obscenely so—and this incentive, along with the

desire to raise one’s professional profile, can distort objectivity.

KOLs – The Pitfalls (3)

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Financial (or other) incentives may lead to ethical lapses and, in certain cases, jail time.

KOLs – The Pitfalls (4)

Yves Benhamou, MD

Chip Skowron, MD

Marc Engelsgjerd, MDWolters Kluwer inThought phone: 917.699.3619email: marc.engelsgjerd@wolterskluwer.com

Thank You