CMR Institute | Education for Pharmaceutical Representatives, Biotech, & Medical Device Industries

The 21st Century Physician

This course describes demographic trends related to physician practices and the roles of non-physician clinicians and provides an overview of the key issues affecting physician practices today. It describes the roles of the primary care physician and the non-primary care specialist in the 21st century and their needs in terms of managing their practices from a business perspective. It includes a discussion of the 21st century patient population and patients’ reactions to direct-to-consumer advertising, informatics, and the Internet, and how these innovations affect patient/physician relationships. The course also describes privacy issues and the impact of HIPAA regulations. It concludes with suggestions for gaining access to today’s physician and describes partnering opportunities for pharmaceutical company managers and healthcare representatives.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to describe demographic trends of physicians; identify the roles and responsibilities of non-physician clinicians; describe key issues affecting physician practices; describe how healthcare in general and the physician specifically are being influenced by business factors; describe the roles and responsibilities of primary care physicians and non-primary care specialists in the 21st century; describe the changing patient population and patient’s reactions to direct-to-consumer advertising, informatics, and the Internet, and how these innovations affect physician/patient relationships; describe issues related to the aging patient population; describe the effect of HIPAA regulations on physician practices and identify the patients’ rights protected by HIPAA; describe methods to gain access to physicians and identify partnering opportunities for pharmaceutical company representatives and managers.

Who Should Take This Course

Managers, sales representatives, and others who interact with physicians and non-physician clinicians and who would benefit from an understanding of the pressures and issues faced by today’s physician, as well as the complex healthcare environment in which physicians practice today.

Career Applications/Benefits

Successful business relationships between pharmaceutical companies that provide products and services and their customers begin with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the customer’s profile and work environment. Effective managers and healthcare representatives will make certain that their business plans are based on a thorough analysis of these profiles, including the priorities of each of their customers, the pressures and influences that affect their prescribing habits, and most importantly, their individual needs. This course is designed to provide valuable information about how to assess these important needs and how pharmaceutical companies, their representatives, and managers can partner and build strong relationships with physicians. This will allow them to gain access to physicians and partner with them by providing assistance and resources that will help make physician practices more efficient and improve physicians’ ability to meet the health needs of their patients.