ABSTRACT
Opinion leaders are independent clinicians or scientists, who are men or women of integrity, and there is a danger that companies can become obsessive and regard them as company property. Putting established opinion leaders on various types of presentation courses often proves worthwhile for both the leader and the sponsoring company. The leaders improve their skills, and are thus of greater benefit to the company, which itself benefits from the closer links and improved 'warmth factor'. Potential opinion leaders may be developed by the establishment of competitive fellowships and scholarships, such initiatives allowing future opinion leaders to rise to the surface. A key function of an advisory group is the development of a positioning statement, and this is particularly relevant when a product has conflicting data. Journalists, reporters and editors are just as much opinion leaders in the medical media as doctors are within the medical profession.
