The "Elevate" by MAPS Podcast

Even with tighter budgets, our mission in Medical Affairs doesn’t change — we are here to advance science, support patients, and ensure the safe and effective use of our medicines.  What does change is how we focus our energy. This moment is about clarity where we must prioritize the work that protects compliance, safety, and strategic impact, and pause the things that are valuable but not essenti...

Step inside the future of Medical Information as we unpack what it really takes to move AI from a “black box” to audit-ready, trusted, and defensible. While AI systems are probabilistic, regulators expect transparency, explainability, and reproducibility. In this episode, we break down why human oversight is critical and how they directly impact patient safety, regulatory compliance, and credibili...

This podcast brings the data behind the poster (which can be found on the MAPS Knowledge Center: https://medicalaffairs.org/knowledge-center/) to life, exploring insights from a double-blind survey of 10,000+ healthcare professionals on how Medical Information is delivered by the Top 10 global pharma companies. It highlights that two out of three HCPs find Medical Information relevant and that it...

MAPS Chief Medical Officer Charlotte Kremer sits down with Dr. Bjorn Oddens, Senior Vice President, Value and Implementation at Merck, for a candid conversation on the career-defining moments, hard-won lessons, and mentors that shaped his path — plus his view on where Medical Affairs is headed over the next decade.  About the Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) The Medical Affairs Professi...

Drawing on philosopher C. Thi Nguyen's concept of "value capture" (the way metrics can quietly supplant the goals they were meant to measure), this podcast explores how the wrong scorecard doesn't just fail to capture Medical Affairs' (MA) value, it can actively distort it — diverting energy and resources away from what matters most. We'll discuss why the path forward...

Join Dr. Aarathi Cholkeri-Singh, Executive Director & Chief Medical Officer – North America, Karl Storz and Veeva experts for a practical discussion on establishing and scaling a high-impact medtech medical affairs function, even during hiring freezes. We’ll share real-world strategies for navigating EU MDR requirements and building diverse teams that drive clear business value across various...

Welcome to Episode 4 of the SciTech Critical Evaluation of Literature and AI Series: “Smarter Summaries, Better Decisions: AI Across Medical Affairs" Medical Affairs teams handle a flood of scientific data, so how can AI help turn complexity into clarity? Join experts from the MAPS Scientific & Technical Knowledge Domain to discover how AI tools evaluate evidence for diverse functions, fr...

Welcome to Episode 3 of the SciTech Critical Evaluation of Literature and AI Series: “Humans + AI: Making Sense of Scientific Papers at Scale" AI can read hundreds of scientific papers in minutes, but can it truly understand them? Join experts from the MAPS Scientific & Technical Knowledge Domain to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping literature review in Medical Affairs. In...

Welcome to Episode 2 of the SciTech Critical Evaluation of Literature and AI Series: “Literature Never Sleeps: Staying Ahead Without Burning Out" Literature never sleeps and neither do the challenges of keeping Medical Affairs teams up to date. Join experts from the MAPS Scientific & Technical Knowledge Domain to discover practical strategies for managing the deluge of data. We’ll explore...

Welcome to Episode 1 of the SciTech Critical Evaluation of Literature and AI Series: “Evidence Unlocked: Separating Gold from Gravel" Not all evidence is created equal, so how do you separate gold from gravel? Join experts from the MAPS Scientific & Technical Knowledge Domain for a fast-paced session designed to simplify critical appraisal for busy professionals. In just a few minutes, yo...

In the final part of this 3-part series, experts from the MAPS Leadership and Management Domain wrap up their discussion on understanding change. How does it impact our teams, and how can our leaders guide their teams through change? Through this episode, Medical Affairs professionals may gain a better understanding of why change feels so hard right now and learn about what we can do to support ea...

Medical affairs teams are implementing AI tools to take advantage of the transformative efficiencies they bring, and successful AI adoption requires responsible AI governance, including managing copyright risk.  In this podcast, Lauren Tulloch, Vice President and Managing Director, CCC, addresses the unique challenges facing medical affairs professionals whose daily work with scientific articles a...

In Part 2 of this 3-part series, experts from the MAPS Leadership and Management Domain continue this discussion on understanding change. How does it impact our teams, and how can our leaders guide their teams through change? Through this episode, Medical Affairs professionals may gain a better understanding of why change feels so hard right now and learn about what we can do to support each other...

Building and demonstrating medical impact is becoming a central priority for organizations seeking to deliver meaningful outcomes for patients, healthcare systems, and society. But what does it take to design, implement, and sustain an effective impact framework within a medical affairs setting? In this podcast, we bring together medical leaders who have successfully navigated this journey in thei...

As Medical Affairs teams face rising content volumes, tighter timelines, and increasing complexity, many leaders are asking the same question: Can AI meaningfully improve the MLR review process—and if so, where do we start? In this practical, scenario-based session, members of the MAPS Medical Governance and Compliance Domain will explore high value GenAI use cases and where it can supplement huma...

Health misinformation is a critical threat to global public health. It erodes confidence in vaccines and medicines, fuels pandemic denialism, promotes unproven treatments, and undermines public health efforts. Medical Affairs sits at the centre of this challenge. We have a clear ethical responsibility to ensure patients make informed, evidence-based decisions about their care, and to equip healthc...

On today's MAPS "Elevate" episode, we'll deep dive into how Medical Affairs professionals can strengthen their business knowledge, expand their influence across organizations, and position themselves for executive leadership. Through personal stories and practical advice, our speakers reveal how. through working with and absorbing business acumen, they are helping people become...

Learning Objectives: After listening to this episode, the audience will be able to:   Describe how a Medical Affairs organization prioritized and implemented AI use cases to address HCP needs through faster, more intuitive, conversational engagement with medical content. Identify key considerations for scaling external-facing AI solutions in Medical Affairs, including compliance, governance, and l...

How can Medical Affairs Professionals connect teams, harmonize processes, and enable consistent, high-quality scientific communications? In today's podcast episode, experts from our Medical Information FAWG explore what it really means to build a truly global medical information function to reach customers across the regions.

For years, patient involvement in drug development was limited to trial participation and post-approval education. But things are evolving. Patients today aren’t just participants—they actively co-build the healthcare ecosystem. In today's podcast episode, experts from the MAPS Scientific & Technical Knowledge Domain dive into a topic that’s transforming clinical development: Patient enga...

In the first episode of our series on innovation in Medical Affairs, we focused on the mindset that allows ideas to flourish and on why innovation matters at all. So where do we go from here... How do we move from ideas to implementation? How do we build systems that make innovation repeatable, measurable, and scalable? In today's podcast episode, experts from the MAPS Leadership and Manageme...

Medical Affairs is evolving faster than ever. It demands not only execution, but imagination. In fact, innovation in Medical Affairs isn't just needed. It's already happening, and we have the responsibility to guide it with intention. In today's podcast episode, our speakers explore the foundations of innovation and how having an innovative mindset can help fuel a curious and collab...

Join us for a fun look back at the top publications of 2025 — and info your publications team can use to find success beyond only impact factor and citations in 2026.

In this podcast, lead by members of the MAPS Business Knowledge Domain, our experts will: Recognize marketing terminology and implications for Medical Affairs activities Identify the relevance of market analysis for business decision-making Define the importance of competitor analysis and forecasting in marketing and sales Recall the value of cross-functional perspectives in decision-making Outlin...

This three-part podcast explores how Medical Affairs leaders can navigate and lead through disruption with clarity, structure, and resilience. We explore how to construct and lead an agile, cross-functional crisis team. From defining roles to ensuring aligned decision-making across Medical, Regulatory, and Commercial functions, this episode emphasizes rapid coordination, internal trust, and shared...