Getting to know the OPEN Health L&D team

Get to know the OPEN Health Learning & Development team. Today, Aniket Parikh, Senior Medical Writer, speaks to Dr Tyler Ray, Medical Advisor, OPEN Health Learning & Development.

1.  Tell us a bit about your background

I am a medical doctor with 8+ years of clinical and non-clinical working experience. During my professional career, I have consulted across multiple healthcare industries (government, private and not-for-profit). My working experience has allowed me to develop an in-depth understanding of the medical affairs, learning and development, and healthcare digital analytics sectors.

I am driven to help educate, analyse and improve healthcare processes, services and patient outcomes through learning and development techniques, evidence-based communication principles and clinical methodologies.

2.  Have you noticed any change in the medical affairs sector over the past few years?

Prior to joining OPEN Health, I worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a Medical Science Liaison (MSL). I think it is an exciting time to work in the medical affairs industry. Changes in technologies and the evolving regulatory and economic landscapes in healthcare have highlighted the strategic importance and relevance of medical affairs teams in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

I believe that the role of the MSL role will increasingly focus on advising on evidence earlier in the life cycle of a product. MSLs and their teams have a great understanding of the science and data requirements of healthcare decision makers; therefore, utilising these insights earlier when planning a product evidence roadmap will help the industry solve the unmet needs of healthcare providers. In addition, we are seeing a shift in the role of MSLs to not only communicating clinical data, but also relating the evidence to their stakeholders to demonstrate further product value.

Importantly, product value should not always be viewed monetarily in this setting. The MSL role, and industry in general, is moving towards a more ‘patient-centric’ approach, and thus demonstrating product value through patient value, example experience, outcomes and access to treatments is extremely important.

3.  So, what led you to a role in L&D?

As I mentioned earlier, one of my personal and professional values is to improve healthcare processes, which ultimately improve patient outcomes and can save lives. My favourite quote from Nelson Mandela is “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Therefore, helping to design and develop programmes that improve the learning and development needs of medical affairs colleagues will improve scientific knowledge exchange and enhance healthcare providers’ understanding of innovative treatments that will benefit their patients.

4.  What has been the best part about being a member of the OPEN Health L&D team so far?

The best part of the OPEN Health L&D team is the unique blend of members from multiple professional backgrounds. I believe that the professional experience of our team provides our clients with a consulting expertise that produces best practice solutions for the programmes we develop.

5.  What do you feel you bring to the team?

My medical background allows me to understand how clinicians think and what their needs are, whereas my experience as an MSL helps me to highlight what the training and pharmaceutical needs are, thus allowing me to view things from both angles. I feel I can use my experience to really make the materials we produce as relatable and relevant to our clients as possible. I also hope that my positive and good-natured attitude helps bring fun and laughter to the team, which I think is really important, especially in the current climate!

Get in touch

If you would like to know more about how OPEN Health Learning & Development can work in partnership with you to execute your internal training needs, please do get in touch