If you're leading MSL programs or field force operations in 2025, you're facing a reality that would have seemed impossible just ten years ago. The traditional playbook—drop-in visits, in-person advisory boards, conference booth conversations—is rapidly becoming outdated.
Clinical environments are implementing stricter policies limiting representative visits. The costs and logistical complexity of organizing in-person advisory boards continue to escalate. Meanwhile, HCPs are increasingly comfortable with digital engagement models that respect their time and workflow constraints.
For many smaller pharmaceutical teams the challenges are threefold: limited staff for engaging stakeholders in person, declining reach, and relationships becoming more transactional.
The solution? Updating how you build those relationships, using technology as a force multiplier.
This guide outlines the strategic framework we've developed working with pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare communications companies that have successfully transitioned their field forces to digital-first engagement models that actually strengthen HCP connections rather than dilute them.
Why traditional MSL and rep engagement is failing
The shift away from traditional engagement models isn't just a temporary pivot—it represents a fundamental change in how healthcare professionals prefer to interact with pharmaceutical companies—even in the time since the pandemic further popularized digital solutions.
On-site engagement between field teams and HCPs seems like it gets more challenging every day. Clinical environments are adopting policies that limit or prohibit visits from representatives entirely. Even when access is granted, the five-minute hallway conversation model rarely provides the depth needed for meaningful medical education or relationship building.
Meanwhile, MSLs struggle to coordinate complex advisory boards that require months of advance planning and significant travel budgets, hoping that busy clinicians can align their schedules for a single day. The traditional model creates barriers exactly where you need to eliminate them.
The pattern we see across therapeutic areas:
Traditional challenges and their real world impact
- Limited or prohibited site access > Reduced face-time with target HCPs
- Complex in-person meeting logistics > Months of planning for single interactions
- High travel and venue costs > Budget constraints limiting engagement frequency
- Scheduling conflicts with busy clinicians > Low attendance rates and last-minute cancellations
- Transactional interactions > Shallow relationships that don't drive behavior change
Without a systematic approach to digital engagement, field teams find themselves increasingly disconnected from the HCPs who matter most to their therapeutic area success.
But here's what we've learned working with teams who've made this transition successfully: digital engagement doesn't weaken relationships—when done strategically, it strengthens them by providing more consistent, convenient and valuable interactions.
The modern HCP engagement framework
Successful digital transformation in field force engagement requires more than just replacing in-person meetings with video calls. It demands a complete rethinking of how, when and why you engage HCPs throughout their decision-making journey.
The framework we help pharmaceutical teams implement operates on three core principles:
1. Accessibility over availability
Instead of competing for HCP availability during busy clinic hours, create accessible resources and discussion forums that fit into their existing workflows. HCPs engage when it's convenient for them, not just when your field schedule permits.
2. Continuity over campaigns
Rather than episodic interactions separated by months of silence, establish ongoing dialogue through virtual discussion boards and resource libraries that maintain connection between formal meetings.
3. Value over volume
Focus on delivering genuine medical education and peer learning opportunities rather than maximizing the number of brief interactions.
Core components of digital-first HCP engagement
Synchronous virtual advisory boards
Modern advisory boards don't require everyone to be in the same physical location—they require everyone to be mentally engaged in solving the same clinical challenges.
Virtual ad boards enable pharmaceutical teams to host synchronous online advisory boards that deliver the relationship-building benefits of in-person meetings while eliminating travel logistics and scheduling complexity.
Virtual meetings can allow your team to:
- Reach a broader geographic reach without travel constraints
- Improve attendance rates due to reduced time commitment
- Capture insights with built-in recording and transcription capabilities rather than having to manually consolidate data
- Allow groups to review and collaborate on a single document in real time without having to consolidate everyone's notes or worry about version control
- Allow hosts to conduct surveys during or after the meeting
Asynchronous discussion forums
Between formal advisory board meetings, HCPs need platforms for ongoing dialogue about evolving clinical challenges, emerging data and practical implementation questions.
Virtual discussion boards provide space for continuous engagement without requiring synchronized schedules. HCPs can contribute insights, ask questions and learn from peers on their own time—whether that's between patients, during lunch breaks or while reviewing cases at home.
We've seen these asynchronous discussions generate insights that never emerge during time-constrained formal meetings, as clinicians have space to reflect and build on each other's contributions.
Digital resource libraries
Modern engagement platforms provide multilingual, searchable resource libraries that HCPs can access whenever clinical questions arise, providing a more convenient alternative to static, emailed PDFs. They also allow hosts to make document version updates and new research available instantly, which leaves less room for mistakes such as moderators sending the wrong link or HCPs missing an email.
These libraries can include:
- Updated clinical data and study results
- Patient case studies and treatment algorithms
- Practical implementation guides
- Peer-reviewed publications and abstracts
- Interactive decision-support tools
Advanced analytics and reporting
Digital engagement generates data that traditional models never captured, such as HCP engagement patterns, content preferences and discussion themes. This intelligence enables more targeted follow-up, personalized content delivery and strategic relationship prioritization.
Implementation strategy: the three-phase approach
Phase 1: Foundation setting (months 1-3)
Objective: Establish digital engagement infrastructure and begin transitioning high-value interactions online.
Key activities:
- Identify target HCP segments and their engagement preferences
- Set up branded digital engagement portals
- Migrate essential resources to accessible online libraries
- Train field teams on digital facilitation best practices
- Launch pilot programs with engaged HCP advocates
Success metrics:
- Platform adoption rates among target HCPs
- Digital resource utilization patterns
- Field team confidence with new tools
- Initial engagement quality feedback
Phase 2: Relationship building (months 4-9)
Objective: Deepen HCP relationships through consistent digital touchpoints and valuable content delivery.
Key activities:
- Establish regular virtual advisory board cadence
- Launch asynchronous discussion forums around key clinical topics
- Develop HCP-specific content pathways based on engagement data
- Implement feedback loops for continuous program improvement
- Scale successful pilot approaches across broader field teams
Success metrics:
- HCP participation consistency in digital forums
- Quality and depth of clinical discussions
- Relationship strength indicators
- Content engagement and sharing patterns
Phase 3: Optimization and expansion (months 10+)
Objective: Leverage insights from digital engagement to inform broader medical strategy and commercial planning.
Key activities:
- Apply AI-powered analysis to identify emerging clinical themes
- Use engagement data to inform medical education priorities
- Identify common HCP engagement preferences
- Integrate digital insights with traditional market research
- Expand successful models to additional therapeutic areas
Success metrics:
- Strategic insights generated from HCP discussions
- Impact on medical information requests and responses
- Integration with broader medical affairs objectives
- ROI measurement across digital engagement initiatives
Technology requirements that actually matter
Not all digital engagement platforms serve pharmaceutical field teams equally. At a minimum, the technology infrastructure must support healthcare-specific compliance requirements—such as HIPAA and Sunshine Act reporting—and be designed to streamline MSL ad board workflows in line with regulatory standards.
Essential platform capabilities:
- HIPAA-compliant infrastructure > Enables clinical case discussions and sensitive data sharing
Desirable platform capabilities:
- Integrated contract management > Tracks required documentation and manages Sunshine reporting
- Multi-language support > Supports global distributor networks and diverse HCP populations
- Built-in analytics > Provides insights into engagement patterns and content effectiveness
- Great mobile experience > Accommodates HCP preferences for mobile-first interaction
- CRM and reporting integrations > Complements existing field force workflows
Common implementation challenges and solutions
Challenge: HCP digital adoption resistance
Some healthcare professionals remain hesitant about digital engagement platforms, particularly those comfortable with traditional interaction models. Teams may express concern that HCPs won't know how to use virtual technology or will be uncomfortable with features like chat functions and video meetings.
Solution
The reality is that virtual meetings have become ubiquitous—nearly everyone has attended a video conferenced personal or professional meeting. Even when working with wildly diverse audiences, including patients who aren't in professional contexts, technical support questions are rare. Start with HCP advocates who embrace digital tools and can model engagement for their peers. Provide multiple engagement options rather than forcing digital-only interactions initially. A consistent platform with familiar look and feel helps participants quickly become comfortable with the technology—whether logging in for surveys, discussion boards or meetings, they see the same messaging, header and interface, eliminating the barrier of switching between disparate tools.
Challenge: Limited field resources
It’s no secret that small to mid-sized pharmaceutical companies often lack the widespread field coverage that a larger company might be able to muster:
"They're sort of short of field resources, both on the Medical Affairs side and on the commercial side, because they haven't commercialized their product yet. They don't have a sales team that's working in the field and sort of building relationships. And those medical science liaisons, they might have a couple, but they don't have widespread coverage to be able to work on a day-to-day basis, face-to-face with some of those key clinical contacts."
— Amy Ravi, CEO, ExtendMed
Without large teams of medical science liaisons who can engage clinical contacts face-to-face at congresses and in offices, companies may struggle to build the stakeholder relationships necessary for successful product launches.
Solution
Virtual engagement platforms enable small, localized headquarters teams to reach target audiences across multiple segments and geographic regions cost-effectively. Companies can identify target stakeholders through congress attendee lists, early trial investigators and list providers, then establish regular engagement contracts—such as quarterly touchpoints combining synchronous meetings and asynchronous discussions—without requiring extensive travel or field staff expansion.
Challenge: Budget and time constraints
Smaller companies operating on tight budgets need to establish market presence with prescribers, address insurance coverage concerns and build patient awareness—all while still in pre-launch phases. Traditional in-person advisory boards require months of planning, significant travel budgets and extensive coordination that smaller teams cannot sustain.
Solution
Virtual engagement reduces both time and financial barriers. Companies can start building critical relationships during the crucial year- to year-and-a-half before launch, when they need to transition from Phase III clinical trials to investigator-initiated research and begin reaching out to patients. This allows teams to hear stakeholder hesitations early—such as concerns about monthly diagnostic testing coverage—and pivot their planning process to address these issues before launch, rather than waiting for annual conferences or investing in elaborate in-person events.
Challenge: maintaining engagement consistency
One-off meetings or siloed interactions aren't sufficient to build deep awareness and trust. Multiple touchpoints to fully understand a new product, explore concerns and assess risks are needed—but coordinating frequent in-person meetings with busy clinicians is impractical.
Solution
Establish ongoing engagement through quarterly contracts that include multiple interaction formats: two to four synchronous virtual meetings per year for relationship-building and guided discussions, combined with asynchronous discussion boards where participants can contribute at midnight, first thing in the morning, or whenever convenient. This multifaceted approach allows clinicians to get to know the company and connect with peers over time, creating deeper relationships than traditional episodic engagement.
Challenge: Technology integration complexity
Pharmaceutical organizations often have complex IT requirements and approval processes that delay platform implementation. Teams worry about compliance requirements, system integration and training needs.
Solution
Work with engagement platform providers who understand pharmaceutical compliance requirements from the ground up—offering HIPAA-compliant infrastructure, integrated contract management, Sunshine payment reporting and dedicated implementation support. Look for platforms designed specifically for the healthcare space that complement existing workflows rather than requiring wholesale replacement of established systems.
How Health Expert Connect™ powers modern MSL engagement
ExtendMed's Health Expert Connect™ platform was designed specifically to address the unique challenges pharmaceutical field teams face in building and maintaining HCP relationships digitally.
Our platform provides:
- Unified engagement hub: Single point of access for all study resources, communication tools and collaborative workspaces that fits seamlessly into HCP workflows.
- Flexible meeting models: Support for both synchronous virtual meetings and asynchronous discussion forums, allowing HCPs to engage when and how it works best for their schedules.
- Advanced content management: Multilingual resource libraries with sophisticated search capabilities and automated content updates.
- Integrated compliance: Built-in contract management, documentation tracking and Sunshine payment reporting without system-switching.
- Built-in analytics tools: HCP engagement pattern, content preference and discussion theme tracking to help field teams understand which resources drive the most value and which HCPs are most engaged with specific topics.
- AI-powered insights: Automated transcription and analysis of engagement activities to identify common themes and strategic insights across multiple discussions.
We don't just build technology solutions—ExtendMed has years of experience working with pharmaceutical industry partners to provide recommendations that lower costs and improve efficiencies across engagement programs.
Success story: Scaling pre-launch engagement for a small pharma company
A small pharmaceutical company preparing to bring its first drug product to market faced a challenge familiar to many emerging life science organizations: the need to rapidly generate pre-market product awareness among clinicians and other key stakeholders without the budget or staff to execute engagement at scale.
The challenge
Unlike larger pharmaceutical companies with established product portfolios and sizable medical science liaison teams, this company had minimal field resources on both the medical affairs and commercial sides. Without widespread coverage to engage clinical contacts across multiple segments and geographic regions, the company needed to leverage its small, localized team and tight budget to build stakeholder relationships before product launch.
The team identified multiple stakeholder segments requiring engagement: international opinion leaders guiding clinical trials, community specialists who needed education about the disease state and patients who could provide critical perspectives on treatment challenges. Each group required regular, meaningful interaction—not the once or twice yearly engagement that traditional approaches would allow with their limited resources.
Our solution
Using ExtendMed's Health Expert Connect™ platform, the company established quarterly engagement contracts with each stakeholder group. These contracts included a mix of two to four synchronous virtual meetings each year, combined with asynchronous ongoing engagement via discussion boards that participants could access on their own time.
The virtual format enabled the team to host synchronous discussions that delivered rich, personal experiences while allowing clinicians to connect with peers across geographic boundaries. Through patient advocacy networks, the company identified and engaged patients early in the development process—gathering insights that directly influenced both medical and commercial strategies while the drug was still in development.
Results:
- 2-3x increase in stakeholder engagement across all segments compared to what would have been possible without a virtual discussion platform
- Early patient insights that directly impacted product launch strategy and messaging
- Proactive identification of insurance coverage obstacles, enabling the market access team to build compelling cases to insurers well before launch
- Company leadership confirmed that this engagement capability directly impacted both the quality and speed of the stakeholder insights that influenced their product launch decisions—achievements that would have been impossible with their limited staff and budget using traditional engagement methods.
Your next steps
Healthcare professionals are already embracing digital tools in their clinical practice. The question is whether your field force engagement strategy will meet them where they are.
Immediate action items:
- Assess your current engagement model: Identify which HCP interactions could be enhanced through digital channels without losing relationship quality.
- Survey HCP preferences: Understand how your target healthcare professionals prefer to engage with pharmaceutical companies and what digital tools they already use professionally.
- Pilot digital engagement: Start with a small group of engaged HCPs to test virtual advisory boards and discussion forums before full-scale implementation.
- Train your field teams: Invest in digital facilitation skills that enable MSLs and representatives to build stronger relationships through online channels.
- Choose the right platform: Select engagement technology designed specifically for pharmaceutical compliance and HCP workflow requirements.
The pharmaceutical companies that successfully navigate this transition will build stronger, more strategic relationships with healthcare professionals while reducing engagement costs and expanding their reach. Those that don't risk finding themselves increasingly disconnected from the clinical communities they're trying to serve.
Ready to Transform Your MSL and Representative Engagement Strategy?
