Medical Excellence Across Field Teams | Acceleration Point | Resources

Medical Affairs professionals are increasingly recognized as the strategic bridge between scientific innovation and real-world application. Lori Long, Field Based Medical Excellence Lead at Sanofi, is at the forefront of this shift. With 25 years of experience, Lori recently moved from leading a single field medical team to overseeing medical excellence across seven therapeutic areas. Lori joined Acceleration Point Co-CEO Scott Thompson on OnPoint: The Medical Excellence Podcast, sharing strategies for creating consistency, engaging Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), and fostering innovation across Medical Affairs.

Key Takeaways

Medical Excellence is the practice of harmonizing processes, data, and standards across field medical teams while allowing each therapeutic area to address its own needs.
Lori Long oversees medical excellence across seven therapeutic areas and 12 field teams at Sanofi.
A unified dashboard system gives senior leadership a consistent view of field medical activity and supports data-driven decisions.
Engaging KOLs across the full therapeutic lifecycle, from pipeline to late stage, keeps medical strategy aligned with real clinical needs.
Piloting new approaches in one therapeutic area before scaling them helps balance innovation with organizational consistency.

Medical Excellence is the discipline of standardizing how field medical teams operate, from data dashboards to KPIs to medical value stories, so an organization can act cohesively without losing the flexibility each therapeutic area requires.

What Is the Role of Medical Excellence in Scaling Innovation?

Medical Excellence, as Lori describes it, is about more than standardizing processes. It is about enabling teams to reach their potential while staying strategically aligned. In her role, Lori focuses on harmonizing critical elements like data dashboards, key performance indicators (KPIs), and medical value stories across teams. This ensures that while each therapeutic area keeps the flexibility to address its unique challenges, the organization as a whole moves toward shared goals.

One of Lori's key initiatives has been creating a unified dashboard system for field medical teams. By addressing foundational inconsistencies, the dashboard system lets senior leadership better evaluate field medical activities and their impact, making data-driven decisions more efficient.

How Do Field Medical Teams Partner with KOLs for Strategic Alignment?

A cornerstone of Lori's strategy is working closely with KOLs. These relationships provide valuable insight into healthcare trends and help align medical strategies with the needs of the medical community. Lori emphasized the importance of engaging KOLs throughout the lifecycle of therapeutic areas, from pipeline products to those nearing the end of their lifecycle.

“Collaboration with KOLs isn't just about gathering insights; it's about building trust and creating a shared vision that aligns with medical and organizational goals,” she noted.

This collaboration is particularly important in shaping the medical value story, a framework that communicates the impact of Medical Affairs in a consistent yet flexible way. By incorporating KOL feedback, field medical teams can make sure their strategies resonate with real-world clinical needs.

How Do You Balance Innovation and Consistency in Field Medical Teams?

As Lori works to scale medical excellence across Sanofi's organization, she faces the challenge of balancing innovation with consistency. Each therapeutic area, ranging from rare diseases to mainstream treatments, has distinct needs, yet all share a common goal: advancing patient care through effective Medical Affairs strategies.

Lori uses a collaborative approach to address this balance. By engaging Senior Directors and Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), she fosters an environment where teams share best practices and learn from one another.

One example is piloting innovative solutions in specific therapeutic areas before scaling them across the organization. This method allows for experimentation and helps ensure proven strategies are implemented effectively across teams.

What Are the Challenges of Leading Medical Excellence at Scale?

Lori candidly acknowledged the challenges of her role, particularly the scale of Sanofi's operations. Coordinating across 12 field teams and seven therapeutic areas requires constant communication and prioritization.

To stay connected, Lori holds regular meetings with senior leaders and MSLs, along with advisory councils that gather input from the field. She also works closely with Sanofi's global medical excellence team to align U.S. efforts with broader organizational initiatives.

“It's like turning a cruise ship,” Lori explained. “Change takes time, but by staying connected and prioritizing effectively, we can make meaningful progress.”

Her advice for others in similar roles is to focus on building trust, staying flexible, and communicating the “why” behind organizational changes. These principles have helped her drive alignment and engagement, even in the face of resistance to change.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Medical Excellence

As the pharmaceutical industry continues to evolve, Lori sees significant opportunities for Medical Affairs to lead in adopting new technologies, particularly in the digital and AI spaces. She highlighted the potential of generative AI tools to enhance data analysis, streamline workflows, and provide actionable insight for field medical teams.

Her focus on personal development in areas like digital innovation reflects her commitment to staying ahead of industry trends and keeping Sanofi a leader in Medical Affairs.

Conclusion

Lori Long's work at Sanofi shows what Medical Excellence looks like in practice. By harmonizing processes, supporting innovation, and building relationships with key opinion leaders, she is helping shape how Medical Affairs operates across field teams. Her story highlights the value of balancing consistency with flexibility, building trust, and adopting new approaches to deliver real-world impact.

For more insight into Medical Excellence and the role of KOLs in advancing healthcare, subscribe to OnPoint: The Medical Excellence Podcast.

To learn how Acceleration Point can support your field medical team and Medical Affairs operations, Connect with our team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Medical Excellence in Medical Affairs?
Medical Excellence is the practice of standardizing how field medical teams operate, including data dashboards, KPIs, and medical value stories, so an organization can work cohesively while each therapeutic area keeps the flexibility to address its own needs.

How does a unified dashboard support field medical teams?
A unified dashboard system removes foundational inconsistencies across teams and gives senior leadership a consistent view of field medical activity, which makes data-driven decisions more efficient.

Why is KOL engagement important to Medical Excellence?
Engaging KOLs across the full therapeutic lifecycle keeps medical strategy aligned with real clinical needs and helps shape the medical value story with real-world clinical input.

How can Medical Affairs balance innovation with consistency?
Piloting new approaches in a single therapeutic area before scaling them lets teams experiment while making sure proven strategies are applied consistently across the organization.

What role will AI play in the future of Medical Excellence?
Lori Long sees opportunity for Medical Affairs to adopt digital and AI tools, including generative AI that can enhance data analysis, streamline workflows, and surface actionable insight for field medical teams.

Medical Excellence Across Field Teams: Insights from Sanofi