From Fragmented to Connected: Unlocking the Power of 360° HCP Engagement
At Fierce Pharma Week 2025, Stacey Rivkin took the stage to address one of pharma’s most persistent challenges: despite having more data than ever before, medical and commercial teams still operate with an incomplete picture of the healthcare professionals (HCPs) they engage with daily.
Stacey Rivkin, SVP of Commercial Strategy & Enablement at H1, brings over two decades of experience spanning both sides of the industry equation. Before joining H1, she worked in medical affairs roles where she experienced firsthand the frustrations of fragmented HCP engagement. Her career journey—from MSL in the field to leading global medical strategy at companies like Merck and Boehringer Ingelheim—gives her a unique perspective on why the industry continues to struggle with this fundamental challenge.
Her presentation at Fierce Pharma Week highlighted both the cost of this fragmentation and the transformative potential of getting it right.
Why Partial Visibility Limits Pharma Success
Rivkin recalls moments from her career that underscore this persistent gap. As an MSL, she once arrived at Yale to meet with the Chief of Cardiology, only to learn that multiple executives from her own company were scheduled with the same KOL the next day—unbeknownst to her. Later, while leading global medical strategy, she fielded repeated calls from MSLs asking who she was meeting with, only to admit: “I don’t know. That information isn’t visible to me.” In some cases, global R&D and medical teams engaged the same KOL within hours of each other—without realizing it.
"That’s that whole concept of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, and it’s so important to KOL relationships that were able to establish that trust that when we don’t have that coordinated view, we really aren’t able to be that person that, for that mutually beneficial relationship."
These aren’t just operational inefficiencies; they are moments that weaken credibility with HCPs. Without a complete view, organizations cannot build the trusted, mutually beneficial relationships that move science forward.
What a 360° View Really Delivers
Creating a complete view of HCP engagement extends far beyond data consolidation—it fundamentally alters how organizations establish relationships with key opinion leaders. According to Rivkin, true 360° visibility requires three critical elements:
Holistic data integration
Combining what a KOL looks like externally (publications, congress presentations, clinical trials, treatment patterns) with what they look like internally (engagement history, collaborations, ongoing research, advisory roles).
Cross-functional coordination
Ensuring medical, commercial, R&D, and operations teams all have visibility into touchpoints to prevent duplications and align strategy.
Actionable intelligence
Enabling teams to use insights in real-time to plan congress meetings, schedule interactions, and advance engagement strategies.
But the real power lies in what this enables. When teams have complete visibility, they transform from reactive responders to strategic partners. Instead of showing up to meetings with outdated bio-books or incomplete context, they arrive informed about the HCP’s latest research, their history with the company, and their current role across multiple therapeutic areas. This level of preparation not only improves efficiency—it also builds the credibility and trust that KOLs expect from their industry partners.
The impact extends beyond individual interactions. With unified visibility, organizations can identify collaboration opportunities they previously missed, eliminate coordination gaps that damage relationships, and ensure their most valuable KOLs receive coordinated, strategic engagement rather than fragmented touchpoints.
Technology as the Connector
The data is already there—buried across CRMs, publication databases, clinical trial management systems, event management tools, and Outlook calendars. The challenge isn’t data availability; it’s connectivity.
Technology platforms like H1 have evolved to bridge these silos, creating the unified intelligence hub that pharma teams have long needed. When properly connected, these disparate systems can deliver fresh, real-time data updated daily through user-friendly platforms that work for everyone from field MSLs to C-suite executives. Organizations gain comprehensive congress coverage that eliminates blind spots at critical events, while out-of-the-box planning tools streamline everything from scheduling to approvals and compliance.
From Insights to Impact
When Rivkin’s team worked with a top-10 pharmaceutical company to implement unified HCP engagement, the results demonstrated the tangible value of connected data. The transformation wasn’t just operational—it was strategic.
The organization eliminated the time-consuming process of creating PowerPoint bio-books that become stale by the time they reach conferences. Instead of medical affairs teams spending hours copying and pasting information from multiple sources, they could access comprehensive, real-time HCP profiles at the press of a button. As Rivkin noted, this shift meant teams could focus their energy on work that truly creates value rather than administrative tasks.
The company achieved trusted relationships by engaging with HCPs from a position of knowledge and respect. Medical directors and field teams could walk into meetings fully informed about both the KOL’s external profile and their complete history with the company. This preparation translated into more meaningful conversations and stronger partnerships.
As Rivkin emphasized, the transformation goes beyond saving time: “Saving time doesn’t just mean less effort. It means our teams can focus on work that truly creates value.”
The Future of HCP Engagement
Organizations that achieve unified HCP engagement will define the next generation of stakeholder relationships in life sciences. The key lies in connecting external intelligence with internal engagement data to create actionable insights that drive every interaction.
H1 bridges this gap by integrating your CRM data with our comprehensive external HCP insights, updated in real-time, including publications, clinical trials, social media activity, congress presentations, and treatment patterns, all on a single platform. This connection transforms fragmented touchpoints into coordinated engagement strategies that build trust and deliver results.
Because when we see the whole picture, we can create relationships that truly advance medicine.
Ready to connect your data and transform your HCP engagement? Request a demo today.
