An interview with Per Öberg from Medhouse AB
The Nordic life science markets are often described as mature, transparent, and highly regulated. But for Medhouse, they represent something more: a real-world laboratory for the future of commercial execution in pharma.
As part of the Global Alliance Pharma Solutions, Medhouse contributes deep Nordic execution expertise to a global network of life science partners. In this interview, Per Öberg shares how changing market dynamics are reshaping commercial models, why many digital initiatives fail, and how Medhouse turns digital ambition into measurable commercial impact.
What we see very clearly is a structural shift. Organizations are downsizing, sales forces are getting smaller, and at the same time the cost per customer interaction is increasing. Fewer customer-facing professionals are engaging with fewer healthcare professionals.
At the same time, healthcare professionals have changed. They don’t necessarily want more in-person visits, and they don’t need them in the same way as before. Information is more accessible, expectations are higher, and relevance has become the deciding factor for engagement.
Add to that reimbursement pressure and a strategic focus on highly specialized indications like rare diseases, oncology, and hematology, and it becomes obvious: traditional field force models alone are no longer sufficient.
In our experience, digital doesn’t fail because of technology. It fails because of ownership and relevance. We see three recurring issues. First, digital often sits somewhere between sales, marketing, IT, and analytics. When no one truly owns it commercially, impact suffers. Second, tools don’t change behavior. Roles, KPIs, incentives, and daily workflows must change with them. And third, relevance is often underestimated. Healthcare professionals are not digitally resistant, they are relevance-driven.
When digital becomes generic or disconnected from the reality of the customer, engagement drops immediately.
For us, digital is not a channel, a platform, or a toolbox. It’s a commercial capability.
That capability needs to be designed, governed, and measured with the same rigor as any other part of the go-to-market model. We are very close to execution across real Nordic markets and real brands, and what we often see is a gap between digital investment and commercial impact.
Our job is to close that gap.
The Digital Account Manager, or DAM, addresses structural blind spots in traditional sales models. There are customers who are difficult or inefficient to reach physically. There are geographies where in-person coverage simply doesn’t make sense. And there are product life cycle phases where frequency and education matter more than physical presence.
The DAM is not a digital version of a sales rep, and it’s not a call center role. It’s a fully commercial role, accountable for defined customer segments and measurable commercial outcomes. The goal is not activity for activity’s sake. The goal is to build relationships, create relevance, and move customers forward in their journey.
Because digital cannot operate in isolation. A Digital Account Manager who is not integrated into the broader commercial ecosystem will fail. At Medhouse, DAMs work with aligned segmentation, shared objectives, and transparent collaboration with field sales.
From the customer’s perspective, there should be one coherent experience. It should never feel like you are interacting with separate commercial functions. It should feel like one integrated team, where every interaction adds value.
We don’t believe in vanity metrics. Open rates and click-through rates can be useful signals, but they are not outcomes. Our KPIs focus on commercial progress: qualified interactions, movement to next steps, reach within priority segments, and contribution to broader brand objectives.
Importantly, KPIs evolve over time. Early on, the focus might be reach and activation. Later, it shifts to depth, quality, and impact. This applies whether we are supporting a highly specialized oncology product or a broader launch scenario.
Within the Alliance, Medhouse represents Nordic execution excellence. The Nordics are among the most digitally mature healthcare systems globally. They are transparent, data-driven, and open to new engagement models. That makes them ideal for piloting innovative commercial approaches.
Our role in the alliance is to translate global strategies into reliable, compliant, and measurable execution in the Nordic markets. At the same time, what we learn locally can be scaled and adapted globally through the network.
It’s a very powerful combination: global frameworks and innovation, combined with deep local expertise and execution capability.
We don’t sell theory. We deliver execution. We recruit, onboard, manage, and continuously optimize digital and hybrid commercial roles in live market environments. That gives us a very pragmatic understanding of what works and what doesn’t.
Digital initiatives are not “set and forget”. They require governance, coaching, and constant optimization. Our focus is always on maximizing perceived value for the customer, not maximizing activity.
In the end, digital is not an end in itself. It’s a means to build stronger customer relationships and achieve measurable commercial outcomes. That’s how we see modern commercial design, and that’s why these models are here to stay.
Per Öberg holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has been active in the life science industry since 1994. He began his career at Roche and went on to co-found Medhouse in 1999. From 2001 to 2024, he served as Managing Director of the company. Since December 2024, his full focus has been on business development and the continued international growth of Medhouse.
Together with Medipartner, icon Group AVANZIA PHARMA good healthcare group and BI Pharma Medhouse is part of the Global Alliance Pharma Solutions.
As Global Alliance Pharma Solutions we unite specialized partners across Europe and Latin America with deep local expertise and international ambition to create solutions that truly work.
As Global Alliance Pharma Solutions we unite specialized partners across Europe and Latin America with deep local expertise and international ambition to create solutions that truly work. Our mission is to deliver best-in-class, tailormade and professional go-to-market expertise. This is always in close collaboration with the healthcare community, the Life Science sector, patients and their caregivers.
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