Global Survey Reveals "Key Opinion Leader" (KOL) is the Most Commonly Used Term by Pharmaceutical Industry

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Medical Science Liaison Society (MSL Society), the only 501(c)(3) non-profit organization exclusively dedicated to advancing the global medical science liaison (MSL) profession, has released the results of a first-of-its-kind global survey among MSL and Medical Affairs professionals regarding the most common term used to describe the physicians and other health care providers, whose opinions are highly regarded, and who influence other physicians.

The survey included 473 respondents from 54 countries and consisted of Executive Management/VP's of Medical Affairs, Manager/Director of MSLs, Medical Science Liaisons, Medical Advisors, and MSL trainers. Respondents also identified their company type as either Large pharma, Medium pharma, Small pharma, Biotechnology, Contract MSL Organization, CRO, Diagnostic Company, or Medical Device.     

A key finding from the survey is that 60 percent of respondents from pharmaceutical companies reported that their company uses the term Key Opinion Leader (KOL).

Other key findings include:

• 62 percent of respondents from all company types reported that their company uses the term Key Opinion Leader (KOL). This was followed by External Expert (8 percent) and Thought Leader (7 percent).
• 42 percent of all respondents thought that Key Opinion Leader was the most appropriate term. This was followed by Thought Leader (14 percent) and Medical Expert (13 percent).
• 63 percent of all respondents thought that the healthcare industry should use a single universal term.

Dr. Samuel Dyer, CEO of the MSL Society, stated: "While there is considerable discussion within the MSL and broader Medical Affairs community of whether Key Opinion Leader is the right or best term to use, this survey reveals for the first time that the majority of companies utilize the term KOL, and the second most common term is used by a very small percentage of companies." 

Dr. Dyer also added: "It's clear from the data that not only is KOL the most commonly used term, but the largest percentage of respondents also reported that it is the most appropriate term."

The full survey findings are available on the MSL Society website.

Contact: [email protected] 

SOURCE Medical Science Liaison Society

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