Thought Leadership

Community Experts

The Critical Importance of Community KOLs

The 'community KOL ecosystem holds vital importance when it comes to engaging with healthcare professionals (HCPs) in specific geographies. Unlike traditional Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), community experts possess a distinct set of qualities and experiences that make them influential within their ecosystems. While global KOLs may provide some insights into HCP behaviour on a larger scale, it is the community experts who truly understand the national and local challenges that shape their respective regions.

One of the key distinctions between community experts and KOLs lies in their ability to engage not only with HCPs but also with patients and prescribers, who rely less on academic journals and conferences for information. Many HCPs attend large conferences to stay updated, but there is an even greater number who do not have this opportunity. These HCPs often turn to community experts as trusted sources of knowledge, seeking guidance on the latest therapeutic advancements and management approaches.

Imagine a scenario where a community expert attends a major conference and then brings back valuable messages and ideas to share within their ecosystems. These well-informed experts play a critical role in providing summaries and education to their peers and trainees. They actively participate in local and regional network planning and protocol development, ensuring that the patient journey remains at the forefront.

Access to HCPs and patient groups is greatly facilitated by community experts due to the trust they have established within their communities. This trust significantly influences the behaviour and treatment preferences of HCPs and patients alike. In a modern healthcare landscape where patients are empowered to take charge of their own journeys, it becomes essential to shift the focus away from relying solely on "KOLs who publish lots of papers and speak on international stages" to community KOLs and experts with hyper-local influence and impact at a community level.

In addition to their role in knowledge dissemination, community experts also serve as valuable advocates for their ecosystems. They understand the intricacies of local healthcare systems, including reimbursement mechanisms, regulatory policies, and patient access barriers. This in-depth knowledge allows them to address the specific challenges faced by HCPs and patients within their communities, advocating for changes and improvements that can have a direct impact on patient outcomes.

Moreover, community experts serve as conduits for effective communication, facilitating dialogue and collaboration between various stakeholders. Their hyper-local influence enables them to provide valuable feedback to pharmaceutical companies, helping to shape the development and launch of new therapies and interventions that better align with the needs of their communities.

Successfully identifying such community experts requires an appreciation of all the above factors. Rather than relying solely on academic and bibliometric outputs from syndicated databases, it is essential to gather insights directly from HCPs to find the community KOLs/experts to whom they look to for guidance and leadership. The credibility established within the HCP audience by the community expert is the only accurate metric to truly identify community experts with true impact and influence.

By leveraging the insights and expertise of community experts, you can ensure that your strategies and initiatives are tailored to the unique challenges and needs of specific regions. Tailoring medical affairs activities by involving community experts who have the trust and respect of their local networks and by integrating them into your medical plan allows for more meaningful connections with HCPs and patients, ultimately fostering an environment where the best possible care can be provided to those who need it most.

In recognition of the importance of community KOLs, organisations are increasingly incorporating them into their medical affairs strategies by investing in programs that identify and engage community experts, recognizing their unique perspectives and the value they bring to the table.

For more information on identifying community KOLs/experts, talk to us or visit VMLY&R - KOL Insights.

Keywords: KOL identification, KOL mapping, Community KOLs, community KOL identification, community KOL mapping, KOL engagement