Implementation and Management of a Reference Library for Commercial Assets
Our highly skilled Scientific Communications team of healthcare professionals leveraged their collected knowledge to help a client streamline and standardize their reference library.
Read our case study below for more information.
Implementation and Management of a Reference Library for Commercial Assets
Med Communications’ expertise in implementing and managing reference libraries helped a client increase efficiency, which resulted in overall cost savings.
Background
Client: A top 20 Pharma client with a plan to implement a reference library and a standardized reference approval process that allows for quick access to compliant references for commercial assets.
Commercial assets typically undergo a meticulous review process, including verification of legal and regulatory requirements for all references to ensure all pieces are well supported. Inaccurate or inconsistent references can cause delays and additional costs. A standardized reference approval process ensures references are accurate and consistent, minimizing review time. A reference library centralizes approved, relevant references that are easily accessible for multiple agencies to track and reuse, thereby streamlining collaboration and improving efficiency and productivity. Med Communications partnered with an existing client to implement and manage a new reference library for their commercial assets.
Challenge
The client’s existing library was difficult to navigate and lacked consistency with no clear standard for the approval of references. Another major challenge was a lack of guidance regarding the types of references submitted for approval and proper formatting, which hindered the review process and potentially compromised compliance. An inconsistent approval process and lack of a designated point of contact led to the presence of outdated and duplicate references, resulting in excessive time spent on review and re-approval. A significant amount of time and training were also being spent ensuring references were aligned with medical, legal, and regulatory requirements.
Solution
Med Communications’ Scientific Communications team assisted the client in implementing and maintaining a reference library with accurate and high-quality references during a transition from global PromoMats librarians. Our team reviewed references to ensure they met approval criteria for use in Veeva and other client-specific guidance documents, returning non-compliant references to owners with clear feedback for revisions. In addition, the team implemented a consistent reference approval process to ensure quality control, accuracy, and alignment with client guidance documents, while meeting legal and regulatory requirements. Managing references in a central library accessible by multiple agencies provided consistency and efficient review and reduced the need for repeated fact-checking. Reference formatting was streamlined to enable easy accessibility and reuse across multiple commercial assets. A designated point of contact was assigned to handle questions and monitor reference approvals. This process ensures that expiring references are regularly reviewed for reapproval, new references are easily added, and outdated references are easily identified and removed. The Scientific Communications team also facilitated training to ensure new references met updated standards and aligned with guidance documents.
Business Impact
Leveraging Med Communications’ expertise and support, the client successfully implemented and continues to maintain a centralized reference library. Our Scientific Communications team helped the client establish an efficient approval process that ensures references remain up to date across commercial assets. This centralized, organized and easily accessible repository of appropriate references has improved the review process, compliance with medical, regulatory, and legal requirements, and streamlined the search and retrieval process. This has led to an overall increase in efficiency and significant cost savings for the client.