Pharmaceutical Call Centers: Their Value and 9 Ways to Select a Partner

Lou Shapiro

My experiences with healthcare communication companies have focused on utilizing call centers to support physicians’ practices, hospitals, and pharmaceutical/biotechnology/medical device companies.

There are many services call centers can provide. In particular, call centers provide pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with additional resources to reach healthcare providers and patients, as well as answer questions from these important audiences.

Some of the newer applications for pharmaceutical call centers are…
• Boosting patient recruitment and referral for clinical trials
• Providing tele-detailing support to healthcare providers
• Increasing patient adherence to treatments and clinical trials

My Top 9 recommendations for a selecting a call center partner for your clinical trial recruitment, physician tele-detailing, and patient adherence program needs…

1. Identify companies with an established track record in providing call-center support to the pharmaceutical/biotech/medical device and healthcare industries. Research the services they provide, and ensure they match with your needs

2. Understand staff backgrounds and experiences. What is the educational background and training of a typical operator? Do they have nurses, pharmacists, and physicians on staff to handle calls? If so, typically when do these individuals interact with callers? Based on your program specifications and goals what are their staffing recommendations?

3. Evaluate processes and work flow. Each service provider will have a workflow for how their calls are managed, as well as how their interactive voice response (IVR) system operates. Ask to see these documents and for an explanation on how these documents would be established and used in your program

4. Ask about metrics for measuring service levels and abandonment. Service levels measure the percentage of calls answered in a certain amount of time. Abandonment refers to the number of callers exiting the call queue before speaking with a live operator. Which metrics are most relevant to you depend on your program design and goals

5. Understand the quality assurance programs the service provider has in place. Successful service providers will have clearly defined programs that include formal documented call monitoring, peer-to-peer call monitoring, self-audits, and mock audits. Additionally, understand how this information is provided back to the operators and what on-going training is provided

6. Understand the technology the service provider uses, whether it is validated or not, and whether the system can be integrated with your customer relationship management or adverse reporting systems

7. Ask about compliance with FDA regulations and codes. The applicable FDA regulations are highly dependent upon your program goals and needs. Take the time to understand which regulations apply to your program. Ask the service provider which ones they comply with

8. Know the locations of the call centers. If operators are used from outside of the US, understand the types of services they provide, what languages they are fluent in, and their training on US regulatory and compliance issues

9. Understand hours of operation. Do these complement your program’s needs?


Call centers are an extension of your company and brand. Call centers provide an effective and efficient way to build relationships, answer questions, deliver content and create “good will” for the company and product. I encourage you to take the time to thoroughly research and evaluate potential service providers.

Have you used a pharmaceutical call center? What areas do you feel are most important in selecting a partner for your call center needs? Please share your questions and comments.

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