P: ISSN No. 0976-8602 RNI No.  UPENG/2012/42622 VOL.- XII , ISSUE- III July  - 2023
E: ISSN No. 2349-9443 Asian Resonance

Implementation of Digitalisation In Pharmaceutical Company : A Road Map Analysis On Medical Representative’s Psychological Behaviour At Ranchi District

Paper Id :  17885   Submission Date :  15/07/2023   Acceptance Date :  21/07/2023   Publication Date :  25/07/2023
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Somnath Roy Choudhury
Assistant Professor
Department Of Management
RKDF University
Ranchi,Jharkhand, India,
Baljit Singh Kalsi
Assistant Professor Department Of Management
RKDF University
Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
Amit Jha
Assistant Professor
Department Of Law
RKDF University
Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
Abstract

Digitalisation plays an important role in this globalisation era, which gives revolution for industry. Implementation of digitalisation in pharmaceutical industry gives psychological behaviour changes regarding perception about their jobs. Stressful Med Rep thought implementation of digitalisation they lost their job due to fear factor. Pharmaceutical company offers tab for detailing before doctor and reporting of daily work. Problem occurs induces of tab in digital form create threat for sales person to lose their job. Through digital tracking it creates database of entire portfolio of working and daily work report which leads to reduce false reporting and changes of bluffing become control. Researcher research is based on analysis of psychological behaviour of Medical Representatives on implement of Digitalisation. Researchers have used qualitative and survey methods to justify their objective and try to show the problem and reality of digitalisation. Researchers in their research have tried to find out whether digitalisation is good for society in sales job or not and try to find and problem of real world with solution in favour of medical representatives.

Keywords Implementation, Digitalisation, Pharmaceutical, Medical Representative, Psychological Behaviour.
Introduction

The 21st century is the centaury of digitalization era. The tools and methods of getting developed in technology are changed in this era. Once Steve jobs said that, “I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century will be the intersection of …biology (health, medicine) and technology (digital), a new era is beginning”. Digital technologies have the potential which can help the world’s economy and the society to get developed in all the ways. The growing need of digitization got boosted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic time, when many countries faced complete lock down. Many studies shows that after the pandemic every sector and industry has changed their business strategies. This recent spike of digitalization in the present and in upcoming era has also spread its wings in the working of pharmaceutical sector and radically transformed its operations. As Indian pharmaceutical sector is the topmost R& D based sector it also contributes around 1.72% of the country's GDP. Indian medicines are also preferred globally due to their cost effective and good quality control as per the norms of US FDA and WHO certified. India is one of the top 10 exporters of pharmaceuticals, and its proportion of the worldwide market is growing in comparison to the preceding five years. That’s why it’s very much important for pharma industries to get more digitalized so, they can grow more globally. The researcher tries to explore the impact of digitalization of psychological behaviour of Medical Representative at pharmaceutical industry. The responsibility of MR is to inform physicians, pharmacists, and chemists about the available medications and there clinical usage and dosages. The current sales strategy relies heavily on medical representatives (MRs), who use a variety of strategies to convince doctors to write prescriptions for their products. These prescriptions result in sales, which is essential in a sector where there is little product differentiation. They are personnel responsible for communication between healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical hierarchy. After digitalization the working of MR has also changed, now they using various digital channels, e.g. email, video conferencing and mobile applications, they also create and deliver digital presentations and information on products to healthcare professionals. They also keeping up with the cutting-edge digital technology, such virtual and augmented reality, to increase product communication and improve the customer experience. Patients who believe they are consumers of health services and products are increasingly turning to the internet or other digital technologies to learn more, make decisions, and purchase the items or services they need. In this research the researcher is trying to find out the changes which MR’s are facing in the digitally changed era and there psychology behaviour while using the digital tools. These factors are also arising some serious issue like; are there any job threats to the MR after getting digitalized? Or the policy of CDSCO and DCGI are affecting the jobs of the MR. Answer to this is many healthcare organizations continue to use the outdated system of patient care. They must combine the ancient and the new to be effective. This involves being aware of how their patients interact on social media and the internet. Additionally, convenience is offered by way of a top-notch website with helpful information for individuals to better comprehend their medical concerns. This also have a significant impact on psychological behaviour of the medical representatives.

Aim of study

1. To analyse the psychological behaviour of MR at implementation of digitalisation in Pharmaceutical Company.

2. To analyse the impact of Digitalisation in skill development of medical representative.

3. To analyse the psychological behaviour of Manager towards digital Implementation.

Review of Literature

Hole, Glenn (2021) has revealed that each individual involved in the manufacturing of medicine needs to be aware of their roles. To follow the procedure, employees must receive training on digitization and have their performance reviewed. To make sure that they continue to be effective in ensuring that workers are adequately trained and competent, manufacturers must regularly evaluate their training techniques.  Since people are the core of any organization, their training must be in line with the goals of the business. The assignment of responsibilities and duties is necessary to increase productivity and speed. Depending on each person's aptitude, expertise, and experience, certain responsibilities are delegated to them.

Gadhiya Vidhi et al. (2021) has revealed that an MR's work description has significantly changed. The traditional sales strategy has gradually disappeared. For a multi-pronged approach to be successful, the brand management team, the digital team, and the sales team has needed to collaborate. The new MR will serve as a communication channel and information source for both businesses and medical professionals. We anticipate UCPMP directives. It is necessary for the industry to change how drug advertising is handled, and new technologies can be crucial in this process. Industry experts should anticipate the changes and make plans to handle them successfully. They should also develop strategies to help them take advantage of the difficulties and stay one step ahead of the competition, which also be helpful in the job satisfaction and there psychological behaviour.

Pawar, Amruta (2021) Pharmaceutical businesses, which operate in a highly regulated environment with several restrictions on promotion and marketing, have also gotten involved in online sales. Pharma firms, however, work with items related to people's health, illnesses, and overall survival, in contrast to other businesses. Selling pharmaceutical items is subject to a legislative body's strict oversight. Because individuals are still skeptical of the legitimacy of healthcare items acquired online, the pharmaceutical industry does not actively advertise itself through internet channels.

Parekh Dhara (2016) Digital has grown to be a significant aspect of daily life. A quicker pace of digital era adaptation has been occurring across all industries. The pharmaceutical sector hasn't exactly been able to implement digital marketing, except from the website. Nowadays, many pharmaceutical businesses use e-commerce or social media platforms as their digital marketing tools. This makes it possible for customers to buy things online. While some businesses attempt to comprehend the full worth of digital, others have integrated it into their whole marketing plan.

Prounis (2003) explained how doctors and medical representatives are connected. The symbiotic connection, in the upcoming years, the relationship between pharmaceutical firms and doctors will shift. If the negative perception of MRs is not changed, clinicians and even regulatory agencies may further restrict or stop this interaction. But it's easier said than done, even if there is tension in these interactions, it is impossible to wash it all away at once.

Bhatia Sanjay (Partner, NextPlan) suggested that in a computerized medium, organizations will be effectively ready to cook their substance as per the requirements and preferences of doctors. A vital utility of computerized stages is the huge measure of information produced, organizations can consequently adjust what data works and doesn't work for what specialist. This information can be utilized by the MRs, likewise to frame profiles for their primary care physicians, to take special care of their particular inclinations. Contingent upon their leisure activities and areas of interest, the content might be logical and authentic or customized and non-logical substance. Customized and significant substance will be critical to dynamic commitment. In addition, MRs can gather data during in-person meetings to enhance the digital experience. Permitting logical substance to arrive at a computerized stage will let loose MRs to zero in on unambiguous issues, making a superior information base and creating harmonious associations with specialists.

Analysis

Analysis of Psychological Behaviour of Medical Sales Person At Pharmaceutical Company

A sales manager usually oversees a team of salespeople in a company's sales unit. The sales manager and the team of salespeople are in charge of helping the company's sales unit generate a certain amount of money.

The utilization of advanced network innovation has become more client cordial for patients all over the planet throughout the span of 10 years. In the present digital world, forthcoming patients are currently dynamic accomplices in their clinical excursion. As per the most recent examination, in the previous year 72% of worldwide web clients have looked online for wellbeing data, which has included symptoms, conditions or diseases, treatments, and procedures, among other things. 77% of patients use web search tools to begin their exploration as well as different channels like Online Entertainment.







The Factors Which Impact Psychological Behaviour To Change In Implementation of Digitalization At Pharma Industry Are Depicted As Diagrammatically:

The researcher research is based on qualitative and survey method. Researcher has tried to explore his research through questionnaire. Number of sample is taken 100 from target population i.e. medical representative and other health care professional. Following are the hypothesis which shows the result:  

H0-There is no significant difference between implementation of digitalisation and Psychological Behaviour of Medical representative.

H1- There is significant difference between implementation of digitalisation and Psychological Behaviour of Medical representative.

H0-There is no significant difference between impact of digital and skill development of medical representative.

H2-There is significant difference between impact of digital and skill development of medical representative.

Analysis & Interpretation

Implementation of digitalisation is challenging for Medical for Medical Representative:

Response

No. of Respondents

Percentage



Yes

90

90



No

10

10






Implementation of digitalisation is Challenging for Medical for Medical Representative

Digitization of pharmaceutical  sector will increase the working efficiency of employees

Response

No. of Respondents

Percentage

Yes

70

70

No

30

30

It will be easier to identify the needs of customer with the help of digitization

Response

No. of Respondents

Percentage

Yes

86

86

No

14

14

 

Digitization will boost the Innovation & Creativity in pharma sector

Response

No. of Respondents

Percentage

Yes

79

79

No

21

21

 

Senior employees in pharma sector are having lack of digital knowledge

Response

No. of Respondents

Percentage

Yes

91

91

No

7

7

Neutral

2

2

 

Employee have fear factor regarding loosing job with the implementation of digitization in the Pharmaceutical sector

Findings

1. Out of 100 respondent 90% respondent says that implementation of digitalization is challenging for Medical representative and 10% says it improve technical skills. 2. 80% youngster employee believes that implementation of digitalisation help skill development for knowledge and rest 20% employee believes it will be threat for them. 3. 70% respondents admitted that digitization of pharma sector will increase the working efficiency of employees whereas rest 30% were against this statement. 4. 86% respondents stated that it will be easier to identify the needs of customer with the help of digitization whereas rest 14% stated that it is the personal relations which makes it more convenient. 5. 79% respondents said that digitization will boost the Innovation & Creativity in pharma sector whereas 21% against this statement. 6. 91% respondents admitted that senior employees in pharma sector are having lack of digital knowledge whereas 2% were neutral and rest 7% were against it. 7. 89% respondents admitted that employee have fear factor regarding loosing job with the implementation of digitization in the Pharma sector whereas rest 11% were in support of the digitization. 8. 65% respondents revealed the fact that there is lack of training for successful implementation of digitization whereas 5% were neutral and rest 30% said that there are proper training sessions conducted. 9. 87% respondents believe that digitization has the Less Human Values in comparison to personal human touch whereas rest 13% was against the statement. 10. 91% respondents admit that digitization has a direct impact on the psychological behavior of the medical representatives whereas 9% opposed the fact.

Conclusion

Pharmaceutical sales representatives are typically in the highest stress positions since they play a significant part in assisting an industry in a quickly changing environment to realize a new corporate strategy. To measure the stress levels, the occupational stress index was provided. The study found that by implementing a specific role strategy, organizations can lessen role conflict and role ambiguity. Additionally, the study found that the expectations of medical representatives should be compared to their actual roles, and that their job descriptions and working hours should be taken into account in the context of their overall well-being. If digital marketing once effectively implemented in the pharmaceutical industry, it will assist in lowering marketing expenses by increasing engagement through various channels, giving businesses an advantage. Digital pharma marketing in India still necessitates a lot of trial and error, though. Indian Pharma still has to improve its digital event planning, analytics, and analytics. Setting such a department and giving them all the equipment and training they need would cost a substantial initial investment. If pharma were to develop a new sales and promotion framework that is prepared for the future markets, it would have to start with a self-analysis of its own value chain to uncover potential for teaming up with healthcare professionals. To add value, pharmaceutical companies would need to offer a variety of health management services in addition to the prescriptions. In addition to this pharma industry also conduct some training and stress management sessions for the medical representative and other connected people. As researcher finds some drawbacks in the working of MR digitally, therefore organizations must concentrate on fostering employee psychological behaviour in order for them to be competitive, as it is crucial that medical representatives have a varied range of talents in order for their businesses to be successful. Stress has an indirect impact on an organization's survival since it impacts employees' performance & behaviour. In order to reduce among medical representatives and ultimately contribute to the organization's success, the organization should adopt appropriate tactics.

References

1. Hole Glenn et al., Digitalization in pharmaceutical industry: What to focus on under the digital implementation process, International Journal of Pharmaceutics: X Volume 3, 2021, 100095, ISSN 2590-1567,

2. Gadhiya Vidhi et. al., Medical Representatives: Making the Digital Leap, 2021 IJRAR April 2021, Volume 8, Issue 2, www.ijrar.org, E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138.

3. Prounis, C., 2003. What doctors want. Pharmaceutical Executive, 23(5; SUPP), 12-23.

4. Parekh Dhara, Digital Pharmaceutical Marketing: A Review, Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology, Volume : 9, Issue : 1, ISSN : 0974-3618, 2016.

5. Pawar, Amruta; Role of Digitalization in Pharmaceutical sector, Multi-Disciplinary Journal, ISSN No- 2581-9879, Volume-VI, Issue-I, Jan-2021

6. Goundry -smith SJ, -IT in Pharmacy: an Integeral Approach London Springer Science , 2003.The power of information; putting all of us in control of the health and care information we need .London: Department of Health, 2012.

7. Leonard Lerer, Mike Piper, Digital Strategies in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

8. Pasi Kemppainen. Executive Consultant, Pharma Digitalisation and Sammeli Liikkanen, Chief Digital Officer, Orion Pharma, Topol EJ.Transforming medicine via digital innovation. Sci Transl Med, 2010, 2017.

9. 36. Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang. (Springer Briefs in Digital Spaces) Publisher: Springer. 2014 edition.

*https:/wwwresearchgate.net/ publication/297726227.