Blog · Data quality and reconciliation · Pharma
Why reach and frequency numbers drift when the call plan changes mid-cycle or calls are logged against prescribers who are not on it, how to keep plan versions with dates so every call is measured against the plan in force, and how to report off-plan calls as their own line rather than losing them.
Reach and frequency should be stable numbers: targets called, calls made, against a plan. They drift for two reasons that have nothing to do with the field force. The plan changed mid-cycle and only the new version was kept, or calls were logged against prescribers the plan never listed and were silently dropped. This guide sets out the two rules that fix both.
A call plan is not one list; it is a sequence of lists, each in force from a date. When the plan is revised, the old version is kept, and each call is measured against the version in force on the call's date.
| Version | Effective | Targets | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| v1 | Cycle start | 87 | |
| v2 | Week 6 | 91 | 6 added, 2 removed after practice moves |
A call in week four on a target removed in v2 counts toward v1's reach. A target added in v2 is on the plan from week six, and its frequency attainment is measured against the calls planned for the remaining weeks. Nothing vanishes, nothing appears unreached for weeks it was not there.
Every call in the export matches a target on the plan version in force, or it does not. The ones that do not are off-plan. They are counted per rep, valued where the prescriber's potential is known, and shown as their own line.
calls in export = matched calls + off-plan calls + calls with no prescriber identifier
The third bucket is a data problem: calls logged against a practice or an account rather than a prescriber. Count them; get the identifier onto the call.
One rep, plan revised in week six.
| Bucket | Calls | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Matched, v1 targets | 71 | Weeks 1 to 5 |
| Matched, v2 targets | 89 | Weeks 6 to 10, including 4 on added targets |
| Off-plan | 14 | 9 on one prescriber removed in v2, still being called |
| Unidentified | 3 | Logged against a practice |
| Total | 177 | Equals the export |
The nine off-plan calls on a removed target are the district manager's conversation: either the removal was wrong, or the rep has not accepted it. Without the off-plan line, those nine calls would have disappeared and the conversation would never happen.
Only the latest plan kept. The most common failure and the reason cycle numbers are reworked on the last Friday. Keep versions.
Effective date missing. A version without a date cannot be applied to calls. Every version has one.
Off-plan dropped. Reach looks better, and a rep working a private list is invisible. Count them.
Identifier absent. Calls that cannot be matched to a prescriber are not off-plan; they are unknown. Report them separately and fix the logging.
With versions kept and off-plan shown, the same call export produces the same reach and frequency on any day of the cycle, and the Friday rework disappears. Covirage keeps plan versions and reports the three buckets on every file. The pharma page describes the setup, and the reach and frequency guide covers the measures themselves.
Because a plan revised in week six replaces the plan the first five weeks were called against. Calls on targets that were removed vanish from the denominator and the numerator; targets added look unreached for weeks they were not on the plan. The cycle's reach and frequency change without a single call changing.
Not necessarily. Some are opportunistic and valuable; some are a rep working a personal list instead of the plan. The point is that they are visible, counted and valued, so the district manager can tell which.
Calls in the export equal calls matched to a plan version plus off-plan calls plus calls with no prescriber identifier. Every call lands in exactly one of the three, and the report shows the three counts.