Eli Lilly Japan runs more than 10,000 “lunch & learn” meetings every year—by far, this is their predominant vehicle product promotion. However, it’s widely known that doctors tend to be far more interested in the lunch than the learn. As pharmaceutical manufacturers seek to get ahead of the digital curve, the “Virtual Waiting Room” rectifies this by redefining the role and value of medical representatives.

Run entirely from the MR’s iPad, the Virtual Waiting Room replaces the repetitive, linear, hard-sell powerpoint presentation with an interactive, product-unbranded platform that builds relationships with prescribers and establishes the MR’s credibility in a way that could never be achieved before.

Now, the doctor dictates the content and direction of the meeting. He or she chooses the patient, reviewing the chart, and debates the proper course of treatment based on “slice of life” videos. Essentially, it’s a vast “choose your own adventure” controlled by the doctor and moderated by the MR, with no mention of product until the follow-up meeting.

Piloted with Eli Lilly’s orthopedic portfolio, the program is rapidly being rolled out across therapeutic areas, and is being considered for a global rollout as well.

The Virtual Waiting Room recreates and enhances the environment in which the doctor operates. First, the doctor selects one of the patients in the Virtual Waiting Room. Each patient is a candidate for osteoporosis treatment. When selected, the patient stands up, and the doctor views her medical chart.

In real life, the information on the medical chart isn’t enough—that’s why there’s consultation. So the Virtual Waiting Room provides a variety of “slice of life” videos for each patient.

The doctor is then asked an open-ended question intended to spur discussion. For example, how much does your measurement of the patient’s height influence your treatment decision?

With the MR as navigator and moderator, the doctor can move freely from video to video, question to question, or patient to patient within the Virtual Waiting Room.

There is no mention of product until a follow-up visit by the MR.

Because The Virtual Waiting Room is a new communications platform, it’s hard to measure its effectiveness using traditional metrics. At this time, what we have is overwhelmingly positive feedback from both doctors and MRs, and a decision at Lilly to roll out the program across therapeutic areas.

Doctor feedback:

“This is totally new and different from the traditional lunch & learn.”

“I appreciate that Lilly’s willing to try something new. I’m sure that other makers will follow.”

“Because the information was neutral (unbranded), it was easier to me to express my point of view.”

“I’d like to see this format used for other therapeutic areas.”

MR feedback:

“I was surprised because a doctor who never speaks spoke up.”

“This format helped me to identify the key person among the staff.”

“This is totally different from before. More of the doctors were actually interested in what I was saying.”