Pharmaceutical marketers know that for any given therapeutic category, a relatively small number of physicians influence the prescribing patterns of many other physicians. Identifying these influential physicians is extremely valuable because it facilitates highly targeted promotion, which improves promotional efficiency and effectiveness. Unfortunately, most marketers still rely on either a key opinion leader (KOL) approach or sales force input to decide who drives decisions.

MattsonJack's KeyMD® approach integrates total citing and physician prescribing and clique and dominance relationships to add value to the findings, allowing marketers to more effectively target promotion for the greatest return in the least amount of time. In effect, KeyMD® results in Redeciling™ physicians based on influence, a critical factor − especially in new product launch success.

In a study for a leading pharmaceutical client using MattsonJack's KeyMD® approach, the client's list of 20,000 potentially influential physicians yielded over 5,000 additional physicians with valuable, quantifiable influence on the 20,000. Consequently, these self-reported citations of influence revealed a tremendous opportunity for better-targeted promotion.

Depending on the market, typical studies produce the names of thousands of physicians, who are influential in categories at the local, regional and national levels.

For more information on influential physician identification — MattsonJack's KeyMD® approach — phone (314) 469-7600 or e-mail info@mattsonjack.com.