By William Ford, MD
For decades, advisory boards have been a fundamental way for life sciences companies to engage with healthcare professionals and key accounts. These boards were designed to gather clinical insights and build relationships that could influence commercialization strategies. Historically, the model relied on occasional interactions. For example, a company might gather a group of providers once or twice a year to present data and then move forward.
However, that approach is no longer effective. In today’s environment, which is characterized by rapid innovation cycles and changing customer expectations, the traditional advisory model has become inadequate. Annual or semiannual meetings can no longer keep pace with clinical needs or the deeper strategic alignment required to drive value. What is emerging instead is a model based not on epi-sodic transactions but on continuous engagement. This is a strategic approach that advances year-round value creation between life sciences companies and their key customers.
The decline of the traditional advisory board
Three forces are driving the decline of the traditional advisory model. First, regulatory scrutiny has intensified. Organizations must demonstrate that advisory engagements are legitimate, insight driven, and compliant with anti-kickback and Office of Inspector General (OIG) guidelines that prohibit offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving any-thing of value to influence the referral of services or items covered by healthcare programs. A single annual event no longer meets the clear documentation standards required by compliance teams.
Second, medical innovation has accelerated. Therapies and real-world evidence evolve at unprecedented speed. Label expansions, new data sets, and competing products require timely insight collection. Episodic feedback cannot drive timely decision-making.
Third, healthcare professionals expect more. Strategic customers no longer want to be observers in product discussions. They want a voice in shaping patient journey considerations and healthcare system alignment. Strategic account management in life sciences must respond to this new reality.
Continuous engagement and the spoke-and-wheel model
Continuous engagement is the future. In place of annual advisory gatherings, companies are adopting advisory structures based on constant interaction and recurring value exchange. The Prime Meridian Group calls this the spoke-and-wheel model. In this format, multiple small peer groups or pods, i.e., the spokes, engage regularly through virtual or live meetings. A strategic hub coordinates overall direction and aligns internal stakeholders. Rather than a single static advisory meeting, the company sustains insight capture and partnership throughout the year. This approach supports strategic alignment at multiple levels. It creates ongoing collaboration between the company and the advisor. It also opens opportunities for peer-to-peer learning among providers and accounts. This is a hallmark of modern strategic account management. Each engagement is part of a broader relationship journey.
Advisory pods as insight engines
The best continuous engagement programs treat advisory pods as insight engines. These pods meet quarterly or more often, and each interaction builds upon the last. Meetings are structured around real-world scenarios. Instead of static data presentation, the format encourages providers and key account leaders to solve case challenges, share clinical experiences, and co-design program elements.
For example, an advisory pod in chronic care may begin by identifying barriers to patient onboarding. Later sessions may focus on testing revised messages or designing new patient support workflows. The company applies feedback after each meeting and shares the results at the next. Advisors see direct evidence that their contributions matter.
This builds loyalty and produces insights that are more actionable than those generated in traditional advisory settings.
Proven experience across life sciences
The Prime Meridian Group has operationalized this structure across numerous therapeutic areas including neurology, rare diseases, oncology, and diagnostics.
In one oncology program, advisors collaborated through eight virtual meetings over two years. They helped refine clinical care algorithms and guideline interpretations for community providers. This contributed to increased clinical confidence and stronger brand integration at launch. In another example, a rare disease manufacturer used continuous engagement pods to uncover operational challenges at specialty pharmacies that were causing treatment delays. Based on pod feedback, the company redesigned distribution protocols and implemented clinician-facing support tools, which strengthened patient access within six months.
In both cases, success was rooted in continuity. Advisors remained engaged not just for compensation, but because they saw their work shape real outcomes. The organization in turn built stronger relationships and accelerated impactful decision-making.
Strategic account management principles at work
This continuous engagement model is directly aligned with core strategic account management principles, especially those emphasized by the Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA).
Insights are not collected and shelved. They are applied into the engagement cycle in a way that advances outcomes for both the company and strategic customers. Advisory pods allow the collection of diverse perspectives while maintaining consistency at the program level. The hub structure ensures that internal teams act upon insight quickly and consistently.
Finally, continuous engagement creates a transparent record of value generation. It demonstrates that the relationship is not transactional but strategic, and customers trust what they can see.
Five lessons for strategic account professionals
Whether in life sciences or another industry, these les-sons can strengthen strategic customer engagement:
- Consistency is essential. One-time meetings cannot support strategic planning. Regular engagement builds accountability and insight momentum.
- Create communities, not committees. Advisory pods create peer networks that foster deeper input than isolated meetings.
- Apply insights through action. Feedback is only valuable when it drives change. Show advisors how their input affects decisions.
- Focus on co-creation. Invite your customers to help solve problems, not just to observe them.
- Build compliance into the process. Continuous engagement gives visible evidence of ethical intent, which strengthens regulatory posture and relationship trust.
Conclusion: The future is continuous
The traditional advisory board delivered value in its time. But in the current environment, life sciences companies need something more dynamic. Continuous engagement structured through a spoke-and-wheel model helps organizations develop strategic customer relationships.
At the Prime Meridian Group, we believe this shift is not simply a tactical change, but rather it is a strategic evolution. Advisory boards are not disappearing. They are transforming. The future will belong to companies that understand this truth. A strategic account is not a single interaction. It is a continuous relationship built on partnership and shared learning. And in the end, it is not the meeting itself that matters. It is what happens between the meetings.
The article was originally published in the 2026 Winter issue of Velocity.
Dr. William Ford is a Chief of Hospital Medicine and the Founder of the Prime Meridian Group, a consulting firm that offers unique solutions to healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, including advisory board solutions, educational training, sales meeting training, and e-learning solutions. Connect with him on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/william-ford-md-mba-89a5325 or email him at wford@theprimemeridiangroup.com.
