Pharmaceutical Physicians and Crisis Management

Product crises are inevitable for companies that make medical products. Crises can stem from many sources, including new clinical data or reports about a product, tampering or counterfeiting, or quality issues. The processes for managing such crises have been well defined, stemming originally from the principles derived from how the Tylenol® tampering was managed by Johnson & Johnson in 1982. Pharmaceutical physicians have a central role to play in helping to manage pharmaceutical crises. For example, they serve as the central coordinator of the medical aspects of a crisis; they play a role in communicating with the media and with medical and other audiences; and they bring an essential medical perspective to the management team. Pharmaceutical physicians can also play an active role in helping their companies take steps to avoid a crisis from occurring.