Medical inquiry lifecycle stages and role responsibilities
Key Takeaway
A medical inquiry moves through five stages in order: Draft, Signed, Submitted, Assigned, Responded. The sales representative signs first, then clicks "Submit" to move the inquiry to the MSL queue and hand it to the medical team.
A medical inquiry is a formal record of a healthcare professional's (HCP's) question or concern. A sales representative captures the inquiry. A Medical Science Liaison (MSL) answers it. Inquiries can cover medical questions, adverse events, or quality complaints. Each inquiry moves through five stages. User roles control who can do what at each stage, so commercial staff collect the request while medical staff own the answer.
The five lifecycle stages
A medical inquiry moves through five stages in order. The sales representative drives the first three stages. The MSL drives the last two.
| Stage | Driven by | How the inquiry gets here |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Sales representative | Default stage for a new inquiry |
| Signed | Sales representative | Click "Add Signature" and accept on the "Review & Sign" window |
| Submitted | Sales representative | Click Submit, which moves the inquiry to the MSL queue |
| Assigned | MSL | Click "Assign Inquiry" to take ownership |
| Responded | MSL | Click "Move Status to Responded" to submit the response |
Signing comes before submitting. After the inquiry is signed, the sales representative still has to click Submit, because submitting is the step that moves the inquiry to the MSL queue and hands it to the medical team.
Priya is a sales representative. She visits Dr. Okafor, who asks whether a product can be used in patients with reduced kidney function. Priya creates a Case for Dr. Okafor's account and saves a medical inquiry, which starts in Draft. She adds the question, the product, and Dr. Okafor's preferred response mode, which is email. She reviews the details, clicks Add Signature, and accepts, so the status becomes Signed. Then she clicks Submit, and the inquiry moves to the MSL queue. Tomás, an MSL, reviews the queue and clicks Assign Inquiry, so the status becomes Assigned. He records an answer, attaches approved materials, and clicks Move Status to Responded. Priya then sends the answer to Dr. Okafor by email and plans a follow-up visit.