Sarah Foster, Enterprise Website Global Marketing Director, Eli Lilly and Company
Sarah Foster did not only lead a team that created a solution never before done at Eli Lilly, but she ultimately launched something that may help to more quickly and accurately diagnose Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Appropriate diagnosis of AD is challenging and complex. Amyloid imaging data from previous clinical trials showed that in 27% of cases, the diagnosis was wrong. One major driver of these inaccurate diagnoses is the number of diagnostic steps that are inconsistently followed. Additionally, only 60% of primary care physicians conduct a cognitive assessment; and just 25% conduct the necessary structural scans during the diagnosis process. In addition, there is a very low level of awareness of advanced diagnostics, which can provide evidence of amyloid pathology and increase diagnostic clarity.
So, Sarah led the launch of the Amyvid MedSims project, a proprietary Medscape offering that provides case-based education through a patient simulation platform in which physicians make their own clinical decisions and receive real-time clinical guidance. Physicians apply clinical knowledge and critical thinking through the simulation’s four core sections: 1) Case Introduction/Patient History; 2) Patient Interviews; 3) Tests; and 4) Diagnosis.
Lilly is the first pharma company to leverage this platform in a branded manner. And through the platform, Lilly will be able to track decisions physicians make when assessing a patient presenting with mild cognitive impairment and gain insights into why they make those choices, while delivering branded awareness of Amyvid. So far, MedSims outperforms traditional pharma website metrics with a bounce rate in the 30s, an average of 22 minutes spent on the site, and more than seven pages viewed.
