Chris: 0:07
Looking for interesting business and patient success stories, our Alphanumeric podcast Make Your Mark is all about the ways our company partners, customers, patients, and services navigate the complicated healthcare landscape. Join me your host, Chris Spohr, Senior Director of Marketing at Alphanumeric to hear inspiring stories directly from patients and their care. Learn valuable insights from subject matter experts and hear from some of the brightest on what patient care looks like now and well into the future. Listen now and be inspired to make your mark. Hello and welcome to this episode of Make Your Mark an Alphanumeric podcast. Joining us today is Dr. Christina Nixon, senior Director of Medical and Scientific Services at Alphanumeric and one of the newest team members to join Team Alpha. Christina is an expert in her field and has a wealth of knowledge and experience working with some of the most challenging and prominent brands, including one of the major Covid 19 vaccine launches. She comes to us today to offer insights into the important role that medical communications plays in life sciences, and the challenges that we will see well into the future. Welcome Christina.


Christina: 1:28
Yeah, so like you said, I'm Christina Nixon. I'm the Senior Director of Medical and Scientific Services here at Alphanumeric, and, you know, by training, I, I'm a molecular biologist and I have extensive experience in vaccines and immunology, but really at my core, at my heart, I'm, I'm a science communicator and, and that's what I'm passionate about, is really turning medical communications and every piece of information that I come across into a story, making sure that it really is relatable for, for those, the intended audience. And I think that at Alphanumeric I have an opportunity to, um, to really work with some really incredible people and to create something new and different and really further that mission of science communi.


Chris: 2:12
All right. Well, let's start off first with, with the basics, you know, medical communications. If, if you could just kind of define for us ultimately what that means. So what, what role does it play, essentially? Who does it affect? And why ultimately isn't important?


Christina: 2:30
A good question, and I think that, you know, we've talked about this before, that medical communications can kind of be hard to define if you're not in the middle of it. Um, but it really is what it sounds like. It's a way to convey scientific information. That's related to health and medicine. And I almost think of it as a bridge between the clinical scientists, the investigators who are in the, the really in the, in the meat and the nitty gritty of, um, of their process and their product. And it's the bridge between those folks and the people who will be benefiting from the treatment or using the treatment. So the HCPs and the patients, it's bringing that information and that technical information about the therapy. To the people who will use it, that. That's the heart of Medcoms.


Chris: 3:17
Well, Christina, I'm glad that you mentioned healthcare providers and patients. Explain to us how crucial it is to create content that is clear and concise.


Christina: 3:27
Yeah, so I mean, as you can imagine, these clinical scientists doing their good work are really in the, in the weeds with the, with their therapeutic in their disease area. But, and they could have the best product in the world, they could have the most amazing treatment in human. Um, but if no one understands it or what it does or who it can help, then really what good is it? What's, what's the point? Um, and really the reality is that there isn't a perfect treatment. Every treatment has a set of parameters. It has limitations, it has benefits, and you have to find the right set of, of those parameters within the disease type, the symptoms of that patient, and really the outcome from the data. To kind of match those two people together. So there, that's what communications is doing. Medical communications is taking care of, is, is matching those people. And I, in my career so far, I haven't come across a treatment and I can't think of one in human history that doesn't have a risk benefit profile, um, of some sort. So some risks that go with the varied benefit. And they all have a mechanism, mechanism of action that is really, it's just nuanced. So it's important for all the communications around those therapies to really be clear and direct and accurate to capture all of those nuances and make sure that the right patient with the right safety profile and the right benefit profile, that that's all matching up.


Chris: 4:52
So taking a complex subject matter and making it understandable, it really truly is an art form. What process do you take in order to be successful?


Christina: 5:05
Yeah, so every writer, every communicator has a, has a different process. And you know, it's, it's interesting that you call it an art form. I've never really considered myself an artist. Um, but you're right there, there is a process to this and there you have to be intentional of when you're, you doing medcoms. But I think for me, the process really is ultimately about removing jargon. So finding the plainest language that I can, whenever possible, to provide a clear definition, um, so that it's understandable to my intended audience. Um, one useful technique that I try to apply is a metaphor. So is there something that I can. Link this concept to that most people are familiar with without it sounding hokey. Um, you know, for instance, like if you wanna talk about a cell signaling pathway, maybe you could try talking about how a letter routes through the postal service, um, or a vaccine. You could use the idea of security guards protecting a building from a break in. But really the most difficult part is translating the technical and scientific concepts, um, is not to lose those details, not to bring it down so far or, or make it so plain or obscure. It so far in those metaphors that you, um, that you're no longer accurate. It's really the accuracy is, is the most important part. So you're, you're right, that good medical writing really should be considered an art because it is really difficult to convey a concept to your target audience. Make sure that they understand it and actually walk away from that communication with the information they need. Um, Because ultimately they're really making an incredibly important decision that's going to affect their health or, or the health of someone that they love. Honestly,


Chris: 6:46
for me, I, I believe very strongly in that being in art form. You know, my, my background is in marketing and design, and it's easy to put the, you know, uh, a categorization towards what I do as an art form. I wouldn't be able to do what I do without content and content that's, that's created to convey a message, you know, in a variety of different forms and consistently and concisely, and that makes an impact. So for me, there's no doubt what you do is an art form. So the visual impact is huge, especially with the variety of channels, mediums, and technology that we have at our disposal. Do you change your approach to content development depending on the channel? Or are you able to create content that can be used across a variety of different deliverables in channels?


Christina: 7:39
So I think the answer to that question is, is yes. Uh, you know, I do change my approach to content development depending on the primary channel that's gonna be affected. And you're right, those visual elements are really important. They make the, the piece appealing, they make them more likely to be interacted with, and it really provides another layer of, of education in the way people learn. But I think there is a way to make a piece that has a base, that has those visual elements, has the accuracy, and make it consistent so that you can then modify it across different types of deliverables. And, you, you end up with a, a streamlined piece of content that can be, be deployed in multiple different ways. So, you know, I think that the visual element, regardless of the platform, it has to be relevant. And so I've seen a lot of medical communications pieces that someone throws in a, an icon that doesn't really make sense for what you're talking about. They're, they're just trying to add something. They're trying to add something for people to look at. But if it isn't relevant, if it doesn't add to the story, And add to the information. Um, it's not useful and it, it shouldn't be there, in my opinion. Best pieces, what the best visual elements are. They work together and then they don't, It doesn't matter how you're delivering it, what type of delivery or distribution platform you're using, because the visual element and the content are so, they're so well linked together that you can't really have one without the other. So I always try to approach the visual when I'm, when I'm discussing it with somebody like you know, like you Chris, I approach it as part of the story and I, I like to write out that part of the story and make sure, I like to write all the, the words down and make sure that I have all the content there, but then start to look and really talk to the graphic designer about what parts of these could be brought to life with that visual.


Chris: 9:35
And in your experience, do you see, I mean, every, like you said, I mean every writer goes about the process differently.


Christina: 9:43
Every medical, um, professional sees things a little bit differently, um, and, and how they plan things out. Especially when it comes to different channels and developing for different channels.


Chris: 9:55
Do you see there being challenges, um, to, for, you know, more of a universal approach to developing content to use across all those channels? Like I know that you have a great experience in terms of developing for, you know, different digital mediums and print, um, and publications. Um, but do you see it as a, a challenge or a struggle?


Christina: 10:20
Of course. I mean, I think anytime you're adding a layer of complexity that there, that adds a challenge. Um, but I think there is the base there that you can find the visual element that can work across all those platforms and then, then you can add the details and the extras for each specific platform that really makes that visual pop for that, for that piece.


Chris: 10:42
Um, so I think it, it goes back to the basics that if the, if the layer is there, if the value is there and the content is correct and accurate, you have a good base that you can then spread across those different types of platforms. And plus working with the designers can be a pain in the butt. Right?


Christina: 11:00
Yeah.


Chris: 11:00
Yeah. You know, all the back and forth. There can be really at a lot of time. So Christina, how important is, is it to know your audience and to adjust based off of data and analytics?


Christina: 11:16
So it's probably the second part. You know, I, I think that having your content accurate and correct is, is the most important part. But knowing who you're talking to is the second most important because if you, um, if you haven't gauged your audience correctly and you don't understand what they wanna know and how they learn, then it doesn't matter how good your content is, it doesn't matter how pretty the visual element is or how much it adds, you're gonna miss the mark completely. Um, so I, I think it's really important to understand who you're talking to, um, what their education level is in that disease state, what they already know. So you, you can use, you can use data that you have about those, those populations. There's so much information now on social media and different platform. That it's easy to get information about your audience, and I, I think it, a good medical writer will look at those things, um, to understand the demographics of their target audience and their needs and desires. And then really to leverage the type of platform, the type of technology that they wanna use, um, to consume that information. So, you know, we're starting to see different generations of patients and HCPs are, are using different platforms. So I think it's important to know who you're talking to and how they're getting their information.


Chris: 12:33
So I know in our day to day we hear, uh, a lot about AI or artificial intelligence. I think we hear that every day. Um, you know, people are asking about it. They're talking about it a lot. AI is, is, is really kind of the, the talk of the town. Um, you know, as to. Is doing and what it can be doing, you know, in, in the future. That, that, that's a, a very broad topic, obviously, but I'd love to ask you personally, like what, where do you see ai, where do you see it playing a role in terms of medcoms overall?


Christina: 13:09
Yeah, so I, I, I've thought a lot about this. Where, where can Medcoms interact with artificial intelligence? You know, frankly, where do I want it to interact with it? I, I think there's all sorts of ways that it could in the future and probably ways that I can't imagine. Um, I, I recently heard about emotional AI where the, the AI can understand your emotions and if you're angry with it or happy about it, and frankly, I want my Medcoms AI to be stable. I want it to not have emotions. I want it to just gimme my information. So, um, right, right now I really see AI playing the biggest role in just helping patients and HCPs find the right pieces of information, uh, and getting that information to them faster. Because if they can get the precise information faster that they're looking for, uh, really it's gonna help them make decisions about their health, uh, more quickly. And there are so many different options for the way that we consume our information. So the more I think that an artificial intelligence can be combined with search bots or can help you get to that, to that content that you need to make those decisions, that's the way that we're gonna improve patients' lives with a combination of AI and medcoms.


Chris: 14:20
What are the challenges that you see facing Medcoms now and also into the future?


Christina: 14:28
Uh, so, um, we were kind of touched on one challenge already, just. There's so many different ways that people are interacting with their medical information and their medical content, um, and everybody wants it in the way that they want it. So I think that's the biggest challenge right now for facing Medcoms is just ensuring that, um, healthcare providers, caregivers, patients, can find what they need and they're, they're getting it in the way that they want to get that information. Beyond that Medcoms has, has been facing several other challenges, particularly as we settle into some new rhythms post covid. Um, during the height of the pandemic, we learned that information can come at a very, very fast rate, and it's not always been peer reviewed or gone through those rigorous, uh, review processes that we in the medical world have always been used to. And those processes were put aside in the interest of public health and the interest of getting things to folks faster while still trying to make sure that it was done in a safe and proper way. Um, but it really did move up the pace. And so, kind of coming into the new world now and finding a way to find the middle ground, how can we make sure that those regulatory processes that we've always been used to, that are tried and true, are still happening, but that we can still get information out in the most efficient way possible. And so what are these alternate processes of information and, and how are they gonna settle in? I think that remains to be seen, and Medcoms is gonna have to continue to adapt, uh, to that. And then, you know, the other, the other challenge I think in the future and, and now that we're facing is, how social media has impacted what medical communications can do and can say in that, that world and, and honestly, I think we could probably do a whole podcast, Chris, on, on social media and Medcoms.


Chris: 16:18
Yeah, no, I, number one, and I agree with you a hundred percent, it's, I mean, in our, one of our previous episodes, we obviously hit on tikTok specifically. Um, and the role that we're starting to see TikTok play in terms of, um, you know, healthcare providers being, having access and utilizing it, patients going to it, um, to, you know, tune in to those. Um, and I just dated myself by saying tune in, um, to, you know, doctors on that platform. Um, so. I, think it's just, it's, it's incredible to see the, the power, especially of social media. Um, because as I mentioned in that previous podcast, you know, the, the days of old where, you know, someone would go to that local physician and they would be the trusted resource, um, for all medical needs, uh, is now on a social media platform essentially.


Christina: 17:10
Um, and it's, it's interesting to see how we've kind of almost come full circle. Um, it's just on a digital platform. Yeah, no, very true. And, and you don't, we're, we're losing a little bit in who, uh, you know, who's giving the information, right? So just as you were saying, you know, you, you used to go to your doctor and get that information only from that one source, and now you have, you have a world of sources to get that information from.


Chris: 17:37
So as you're aware, um, obviously one of the big campaigns that we recently launched here at was our Make Your Mark campaign. Um, you know, as I've asked every single one of our, um, our subjects, um, over the last three episodes, um, you being our fourth now, um, is how they go about making their mark. Um, and you know, it's obviously for me, like I said before, in previous episodes, a variety kind of. Honestly of, of, or just a, a hybrid of both professional, uh, and personal. Um, and, uh, you know, I think that I, we all would love to hear how you go about making your mark.


Christina: 18:16
Yeah. So I, I think this has been a fun, it's been a fun part to think about for me. Um, I think Medcoms is gonna continue to change and grow, uh, as the world does. But the one consistent piece for me has always been the ethics and the accuracy that that have to be the underpinnings of medical communications. Um, and I think that's where I make my mark. Telling a story about a disease or the new therapy and how the, how the life of that patient is gonna be impacted. That's the creative and compelling and the fun part of this job. But I think really the most important is that accuracy. Making sure that the stories we're telling are fair and balance, portrayals of risks and benefits, um, and that they're following all of the regulations and guardrails. You know, they're, they're the guidelines. So I make my mark by ensuring that what we're producing is high quality, truthful, balanced content that makes it out into the world. And the fun part is making sure that it tells a story too.


Chris: 19:15
Well, number one, I wanna say again, welcome to the team. Um, we're, we're so happy to have you part of the Alphanumeric family. Um, and obviously number two, wanna thank you for, you know, taking time outta your busy day today. Um, and I know you have a, a very full schedule, so we appreciate you making the time to, to record with us and we'll talk to you again. Thank you for listening to this episode of Make Your Mark an Alphanumeric podcast. For more information on Alphanumeric, go to www.alphanumeric.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Thank you and remember to always strive to make your mark.