---
title: Mapping the Cardiology Decision Ecosystem to Accelerate Therapy Adoption
description: A global pharmaceutical company recently developed a novel cardiology drug. See how IDR Medical's international medical marketing research supported them
---

[Case Studies ](https://info.idrmedical.com/case-studies)

# [Mapping the Cardiology Decision Ecosystem to Accelerate Therapy Adoption](https://info.idrmedical.com/case-studies/2020/06/case-study-9)

 Written by [IDR Medical](https://info.idrmedical.com/case-studies/author/idr-medical) | Jun 17, 2020 11:00:00 PM

## **The Challenge**

Our client, a global pharmaceutical company, had launched a novel cardiology therapy across Europe and North America. While clinically superior, uptake varied widely by market.

The core challenge was that a long-established, low-cost generic remained the default standard of care. Despite its clinical limitations and the burden of frequent point-of-care monitoring, it benefited from entrenched prescribing habits, mature reimbursement pathways, and strong provider ecosystems — creating powerful inertia against switching to the new therapy.

Key questions included:

- Where could the new therapy realistically displace the generic — and where would resistance remain entrenched?
- Could digital infrastructure (EMRs and cardiology IT systems) be used to drive prescribing and guideline adherence?
- Which providers and technology partners controlled access to prescribers and patients?
- What partnerships could unlock faster and more sustainable adoption?

** **

## **Our Approach**

**1. Strategic Alignment**

We worked closely with the client’s global and regional leadership teams to define the commercial priorities, pressure-test assumptions, and align the research around the decisions they needed to make — including market prioritisation, partnering strategy, and route-to-market design.

This ensured the research addressed not only clinical adoption, but also commercial feasibility.

**2. Market & Ecosystem Mapping**

Across three priority global markets, we conducted a structured investigation of the cardiology decision ecosystem, including:

- Internal stakeholder interviews
- Key opinion leader (KOL) interviews
- Desk research and vendor interviews covering EMR and cardiology information systems

This created a detailed view of:

- Where and how prescribing decisions were being shaped
- Which IT platforms controlled cardiology workflows
- How fragmented or concentrated access to prescribers was by segment

**3. Insight-Led Strategy Development**

An interim synthesis phase translated the early findings into targeted hypotheses and stimulus for in-depth clinician testing.

This allowed us to refine:

- Market segmentation
- Partner shortlists
- Conceptual models for using decision support and digital pathways to drive adoption

**4. End-User Clinician Market Research**

We conducted in-depth research with cardiologists and primary care physicians across hospital, office-based, and GP settings to understand:

- Current prescribing behaviour for the target indications
- How EMRs and cardiology systems influence treatment decisions
- Attitudes to clinical decision support
- Reactions to alternative partnership and activation models

This provided the final validation layer for the commercial strategy.

## **Deliverables**

The project delivered a comprehensive strategic foundation, including:

- A map of EMR and cardiology IT penetration across hospital, office cardiology, and GP settings
- Market share and positioning of major EMR and cardiology system vendors
- Legal and regulatory constraints around clinical decision support
- Provider attitudes toward third-party integrations and pharma partnerships
- Detailed physician workflows for the target indications
- Prescribing behaviour by care setting
- Response to digital decision support and therapy prompts
- Concept and strategy testing, including strengths, weaknesses, and barriers to adoption

## **Impact**

By combining market structure analysis, digital ecosystem mapping, and deep clinician insight, we enabled the client to:

- Identify where digital decision support could materially change prescribing
- Prioritise markets and segments with the highest commercial leverage
- Select the right EMR and cardiology IT partners
- Design a partnership-led growth strategy to accelerate adoption of the novel therapy

Following the final global workshop, the client initiated formal engagement with selected platform partners and launched a structured partnering programme — directly informed by the insights and strategic frameworks developed through the project.

This allowed them to move from slow, fragmented uptake to a scalable, ecosystem-driven growth model for their cardiology franchise.

[View full post](https://info.idrmedical.com/case-studies/2020/06/case-study-9)

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