NPI-level competitive field intelligence identifies, at the individual healthcare provider (NPI) level, which competitor sales forces are having face-to-face interactions with a brand’s HCP targets and how frequently - delivered close to real time rather than months after the fact. Signal-IQ was built specifically to provide this information with timeliness at an NPI-level.
The Current Blind Spot & Consequences
Sales and marketing teams track their own rep interactions with HCPs in detail, call by call, through their internal call files. What they cannot see is how competitor sales teams are engaging those same HCPs in face-to-face encounters, at what intensity, and how that competitive pressure changes over time.
A pharma director published an article in the 2017 PMSA Journal stating that “For sales and marketing teams, having a deep understanding of competitors’ level of interactions with HCPs across channels of influence gives a huge competitive advantage. But there is not a timely source of information.” Every team knows this information could be valuable if timely, but no one looks for it in the marketplace.
The default fallback, CMS Open Payments, is the only broadly available public data source on HCP-industry interactions. CMS is too dated to inform tactical commercial decisions; the most recent CMS Open Payments data available at any given time is frequently 12-18 months old and information is not curated.
How NPI-Level Competitive Field Intelligence Works, at a High Level
NPI-level competitive field intelligence is built from anonymized cell phone mobility data, which is rich but inherently noisy. Turning that raw data into usable signals requires extensive AI, geolocation algorithms and tailored business rules. Our proprietary algorithms have been developed under a privacy-by-design framework and have shown a high degree of convergence with client internal call data substantiating its validity.
The Signal-IQ white paper provides more details on the approach and applications of this offering.
What NPI-Level Competitive Field Intelligence Reveals
NPI-level competitive field intelligence covers two different views of the field: a historical baseline spanning several months and up to a year, and a live view refreshed every two weeks. Together, they’re designed to answer which specific HCP targets are being reached face-to-face by competitor sales teams and how intensely. This information is the basis for custom KPIs such as competitor pressure and competitive vulnerability indices delivered through client dashboards.
NPI-Level Competitive Field Intelligence vs. CMS Open Payments
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CMS Open Payments |
Signal-IQ: Competitive Field Intelligence |
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Data lag |
~18 months |
Retrospective baseline + updates every 1–2 weeks |
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Update cadence |
Annual |
Weekly or bi-weekly |
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Use cases |
Understanding of historical details inferred with competitors at NPI level from Sunshine financial reporting |
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How Commercial Teams Use NPI-Level Competitive Field Intelligence
- Counter-detailing triggers for next-best-action recommender systems, explored further in How Signal-IQ: Competitive Field Intelligence Adds Precision - Counter-Detailing When It Counts
- Dynamic call plan reprioritization, adjusting reach goals for HCPs based on actual (not assumed) competitive pressure
- Earlier detection of competitive pushes and vacant territories, informing brand and marketing science teams
Learn More
Signal-IQ: Competitive Field Intelligence is ZoomRx’s NPI-level competitive field intelligence offering. Download the Signal-IQ white paper for details on the approach and applications of this offering including methodology, blinded case studies and custom KPI examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
