Drug Information Journal - March 2009 - (Page 128) 128 MEDICAL INFORMATION Whitehead, Lomma, Tran, Miao, Pikalov needed. Good communication is essential, especially for conflict resolution. In some cases, conflict might be inevitable and even useful to improve the functioning of the team (eg, updates to the medical review process). Many conflicts could be avoided by utilizing timely conflict resolution training and proactive communication (eg, updates on upcoming changes, new internal guidance, proposals). TEAMWORK It is important to stay flexible and keep a spirit or mindset of working together with no competition because the partnership changes with time. Staff turnover will occur as current valued team members change positions to pursue new career opportunities within each company and new team members are brought in for training. In addition, the responsibilities of the team shift as SOPs and other processes are updated. Each company’s team has individual goals as well as a shared set of objectives for the joint alliance team. It is important for the teams to work together to achieve these goals and reach compromises when needed. Team members are encouraged to support new team members as they are learning the medical information functions, partnership practices, and processes. Team members need to encourage and support each other to strive toward a fully functional alliance team. OPPORTUNITY Keep the medical information partnership evolving with new opportunities. In our case, our product had the possibility for multiple indications, and we have worked together on 12 indications in six years in three different disease states. To achieve these goals, we share reports and presentations describing the product (eg, previous year metrics, following year objectives, updates, goals). This material is also discussed for setting new objectives because the metrics needed by one company are the same needed by the other company. The significant volume of new clinical information presented a challenge for medical information teams on both sides of the alliance. Timely reaction led to joint development of internal educational programs to ensure comprehensive understanding of data and uniform interpretation of results. DISCUSSION Medical information is critically important for the functioning of the overall health care system as well as the pharmaceutical industry. The function of a medical information department within a company pertains to answering questions regarding a product and providing fair, balanced information to help health care professionals make treatment decisions that ultimately impact patient care. It is important that this high standard is not lost when two departments are joined in an alliance. We have analyzed the interactions and procedures within our alliance and have concluded that several factors are key: good communication, teamwork, and flexibility in working together. Regular communication between team members in the alliance is critical for success. Each medical information department team member should introduce himself or herself to a counterpart and project leaders in the partner company, and establish regular communication with a counterpart including sharing of appropriate information via email, teleconferences, and inperson meetings to foster good communication. It is also important to share roster lists with pertinent counterparts and team members from your partner company as you do in your own company so that you know whom to contact in other departments. In addition, it is important to keep in mind that an alliance partnership is a dynamic relationship. Shifts in responsibilities and staff turnover occur during the stages of the product life cycle. Be prepared to adjust responsibilities or functions throughout the stages of an alliance. We concluded that conflicts do occur and how they are handled will determine the success of the alliance. These conflicts should be addressed early by identifying the situation and sources, understanding each point of view, discussing differences, and agreeing to resolve the problem together. These discussions can
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