Defining and Communicating Medical Affairs Impact: The MedImpact Model

Medical Affairs teams still struggle to show what their work changes. In a 2024 global survey by the Medical Science Liaison Society, 92% of organizations measured MSL performance by the number of KOL engagements, yet only 3% of 1,023 respondents rated their current KPIs as very effective (Dyer et al., Pharmacy, 2025).

In this Acceleration Point webinar, Scott Thompson (CEO, Acceleration Point) and Linda Traylor (VP, Head of Global Medical Excellence, Acceleration Point) present the MedImpact model, drawn from Acceleration Point’s work with more than 30 Medical Affairs teams. The MedImpact model is Acceleration Point’s framework for describing Medical Affairs value in three separate parts: impact (the outcome or change that Medical Affairs activities lead to), contribution (what a specific team adds toward that change), and execution (whether the team delivered what it committed to do). Linda Traylor explains how to translate a medical strategy into specific clinical behaviors, how to track HCP mindsets as leading indicators, and how to build a scientific journey that follows the patient journey. Scott Thompson shows how context turns familiar contribution metrics into a story leadership can follow. Linda Traylor then connects execution to priorities, capacity, and capabilities, building on Acceleration Point’s earlier session on Field Medical capacity planning. If your team is still reporting activity counts and hoping they speak for themselves, this is the session to watch.

What You’ll Learn

• The MedImpact model separates impact, contribution, and execution, because mixing execution metrics with the impact those activities are meant to have makes the Medical Affairs value story hard to follow.
• HCP mindsets are leading indicators of the beliefs behind clinical decision-making, and they should be mapped to specific clinical behaviors, structured around the core scientific narrative, baselined, and tracked longitudinally.
• What an HCP believes and why the HCP believes it are separate measures, and tracking both over time reveals distinct profiles such as early adopters, variable believers, and HCPs whose behavior does not match their stated belief.
• Shifting HCP beliefs is a team-level outcome, so individual MSL metrics should reward consistent, accurate data capture rather than movement on a belief scale.
• Field Medical contribution can be reported as a data story: the prioritized HCP universe, the share with an active relationship, engagement on each scientific pillar, measured alignment by topic, and the reasons behind that alignment.
• Execution depends on clear priorities, realistic capacity, and the capabilities (materials, training, and processes) Field Medical teams need to do the work.

FAQ

What is the MedImpact model?
The MedImpact model is Acceleration Point’s framework for describing Medical Affairs value in three separate parts: impact, contribution, and execution. Impact is the outcome or change that Medical Affairs activities lead to. Contribution is what a specific team adds toward that change. Execution is whether the team delivered what it committed to do. Scott Thompson explains that communication breaks down when execution metrics are mixed with the impact those activities are meant to have.

How can Medical Affairs teams measure a change in HCP beliefs?
Linda Traylor describes three steps for measuring HCP mindsets. First, map each belief statement to the specific clinical behaviors the medical strategy supports. Second, structure belief statements around the categories of the core scientific narrative, such as unmet need and mechanism of action. Third, baseline each belief and track it longitudinally. As Linda Traylor puts it, “You can’t measure a change in something unless you know what the baseline level of that is.”

How do Medical Affairs teams reduce observer bias when MSLs report HCP beliefs?
Linda Traylor recommends two practices. Do not tie individual MSL performance metrics to moving an HCP up a belief scale, because that creates pressure to inflate ratings. Run regular team calibration exercises in which MSLs categorize real insights together until they interpret each rating level consistently. Bias cannot be removed entirely, but these steps improve the consistency and accuracy of belief data.

Why are interaction counts not enough to show Medical Affairs value?
Interaction counts show activity, not whether that activity changed scientific understanding. In the webinar, Scott Thompson notes that 986 MSL interactions in a year says little on its own, while knowing that 84% of prioritized KOLs know the data, compared with 16%, gives the same activity a clear meaning. A 2024 Medical Science Liaison Society survey of 1,023 Medical Affairs professionals found that 67% consider MSL performance difficult or very difficult to measure accurately.

Should Medical Affairs connect its impact to prescriptions?
No. Scott Thompson states that “we can’t and we shouldn’t be correlating directly to scripts.” The MedImpact model instead frames Medical Affairs impact around changes in scientific understanding, belief alignment, and evidence-aligned clinical practice, measured separately from commercial metrics and in a compliant way.

About Our Speakers

Scott Thompson is CEO at Acceleration Point. Scott Thompson has worked with Medical Affairs and Field Medical teams for more than 15 years, supporting them through insights, operations, and systems. His work focuses on making Medical Affairs teams’ work easier and helping them measure and communicate impact.

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/medical-excellence/

Linda Traylor is VP, Head of Global Medical Excellence at Acceleration Point. Linda Traylor brings more than 25 years of industry experience, including work as an MSL, a Field Medical leader, and an executive over Medical Affairs. She moved into Medical Affairs consulting before joining the Acceleration Point leadership team.

Connect with Linda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-traylor-76a467a/

About Acceleration Point Webinars

Acceleration Point webinars bring Medical Affairs and Field Medical leaders together to share practical insights, emerging strategies, and real-world perspectives on the challenges shaping the industry. Each session is designed to support the professionals driving scientific exchange, field medical excellence, and Medical Affairs transformation.

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