Virtual academic detailing (e-Detailing): A vital tool during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues its course in 2020, telehealth technology provides opportunities to connect patients and providers. Health policies have been amended to allow easy access to virtual health care, highlighting the field’s dynamic ability to adapt to a public health crisis. Academic detailing, a peer-to-peer collaborative outreach designed to improve clinical decision-making, has traditionally relied on in-person encounters for effectiveness. A growth in the adoption of telehealth technology translates to increases in academic detailing reach for providers unable to meet with academic detailers in person. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has used academic detailing to promote and reinforce evidence-based practices and has encouraged more virtual academic detailing (e-Detailing). Moreover, VA academic detailers are primarily clinical pharmacy specialists who provide clinical services and education and have made meaningful contributions to improving health care at VA. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and physical isolation orders, VA academic detailers have continued to meet with providers to disseminate critical health care information in a timely fashion by using video-based telehealth. When working through the adoption of virtual technology for the delivery of medical care, providers may need time and nontraditional delivery of “evidence” before eliciting signals for change. Academic detailers are well suited for this role and can develop plans to help address provider discomfort surrounding the use of telehealth technology. By using e-Detailing as a method for both familiarizing and normalizing health professionals with video-based telehealth technology, pharmacists are uniquely poised to deliver consultation and direct-care services. Moreover, academic detailing pharmacists are ambassadors of change, serving an important role navigating the evolution of health care in response to emergent public health crises and helping define the norms of care delivery to follow.

Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives in the United States and China: The Need for Professional Public Space

“…Indeed, interacting with physicians electronically is not new as e-detailing occurred as early as 20 years ago [8]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, video conferencing has been more widely used, and e-detailing has been accepted by more health professionals and pharmaceutical companies [46,57]. Similar to office visits, current e-detailing is mainly via video conferencing between a physician and a PSR.…”

“You’re on mute”—lessons learned with virtual academic detailing

“…Early indications are that many services will use a hybrid of in-person and virtual sessions. 2 Where in-person visits are efficient and preferred, they will be offered. Where logistics or preferences suggest that in-person visits are not suitable, the availability of a virtual alternative will help to expand the reach of many services.…”

“…To maintain relationships while reducing physical presence, many academic detailing services across North America were compelled to adopt Internet-hosted virtual meetings, also called electronic detailing or e-detailing, a previously explored but historically underutilized platform for academic detailing sessions. 1 , 2 The need for rapid transition has resulted in lessons that may inform how academic detailing services choose to utilize this mode of communication going forward ( Table 1 ).…”

Academic Detailing to Increase Prescribing of HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis

“…One challenge for EHE will be increasing PrEP prescribing in regions with relatively fewer patients who could benefit from PrEP, especially if these regions are rural and thus require significant time for travel by academic detailers. In the general literature on academic detailing, interest in virtual academic detailing as an approach to enhance the reach of the intervention has been described, 89−92 including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 93 but this adaptation has not been rigorously evaluated. NaRCAD has initiated an e-Detailing toolkit collecting current practices (https://www.nar cad.org/e-detailing.html), but formally testing this approach would provide important insights for engaging clinicians outside of major urban centers even after COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions are lifted.…”