A sunscreen enquiry can start with a simple question about SPF and end in an adverse event, quality complaint, or product recall. Is your Medical Information team equipped to recognise the difference and escalate it appropriately?
Sunscreen may be a familiar everyday product, but for pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies marketing sunscreens in Australia, the questions, safety reports, and quality concerns behind the bottle can be anything but simple.
With spring underway and Australians spending more time outdoors, now is the time for sponsors to ask: Is our Medical Information capability ready for the next seasonal surge or unexpected product issue?
Australia has a unique relationship with sunscreen. High UV exposure, strong consumer awareness, and widespread year-round use mean that sunscreen products are an important part of the everyday skincare routine.
Most therapeutic sunscreens supplied in Australia are listed medicines on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) and are regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for safety, quality, and efficacy. But what happens when enquiry volumes suddenly increase, a consumer reports a potential adverse event or product quality issue, or a recall generates hundreds of questions?
Is your Medical Information team ready?
A simple sunscreen enquiry can contain important safety information. A consumer may contact your team asking:
“I still got sunburned after using your sunscreen. Is this normal?”
What appears to be a straightforward product enquiry may contain information that needs to be identified, documented, and appropriately escalated to Pharmacovigilance.
Other enquiries may relate to:
- Skin reactions or other adverse events
- Accidental exposure or misuse
- Use in children
- Product quality concerns
- Changes in colour, texture, or smell
- Suspected batch issues
- SPF or product performance concerns.
Every enquiry needs to be assessed, not simply answered
What may appear to be a routine question can have implications for patient safety, product quality, regulatory compliance, or consumer confidence. Identifying and appropriately escalating these signals helps sponsors manage risk and protect both patients and the brand's reputation.
The value of an effective Medical Information function lies in recognising when a seemingly routine question contains information that needs to reach Pharmacovigilance, Quality, Regulatory, Medical, or another relevant function.
When a recall changes everything
A product recall can transform Medical Information demand almost overnight.
Consumers, pharmacists, healthcare professionals, and retailers may suddenly need answers:
- Is my product affected?
- Is my batch impacted?
- Should I stop using it?
- What should I do if I have already used it?
- Could my reaction be related to the product?
- How do I get a replacement or refund?
Without a scalable Medical Information capability, a sudden increase in enquiries can place additional pressure on Medical Information, Pharmacovigilance, Quality, Regulatory, and Customer Service teams.
But volume is only part of the risk. Inconsistent responses, missed adverse events, improperly handled product quality complaints, or delayed escalation can create additional compliance and patient safety concerns.
Is your MI model ready to scale with demand?
As Australians spend more time outdoors during the warmer months, sponsors should consider whether their Medical Information model has the flexibility to respond to changing enquiry volumes.
The time to plan for increased demand is before the phones start ringing.
Historical enquiry data can help identify seasonal trends and recurring questions, enabling teams to proactively prepare FAQs, approved responses, training, and resourcing before demand increases.
Medical Information can be your early warning system for emerging risks
Early visibility of emerging trends allows sponsors to investigate potential issues sooner, protect consumers, maintain confidence in their products, and respond more effectively to evolving risks.
By capturing and analyzing trends across enquiries, sponsors can identify potential safety, quality, or product performance concerns earlier, enabling timely investigation and helping to support patient safety, regulatory compliance, and consumer trust.
For example, multiple enquiries about:
- Unusual product appearance
- Separation or changes in texture
- Skin reactions
- Product performance
- A particular batch
One enquiry may be an isolated question. A pattern of similar enquiries may warrant further investigation.
Medical Information can help identify emerging patterns early, capture the relevant information, and ensure it reaches the appropriate internal function for assessment.
Today's consumers expect rapid answers and often share product concerns publicly before contacting a company directly. This means Medical Information is no longer simply a reactive support function. It plays an increasingly important role in helping sponsors identify emerging risks, coordinate responses, and maintain consumer confidence.
Why preparedness matters more than ever
Consumer expectations have evolved. People expect fast, accurate answers and are increasingly likely to share product concerns publicly through online reviews, forums, and social media channels.
At the same time, sponsors must manage increasingly complex safety, quality, and regulatory requirements while coordinating responses across multiple internal functions.
This means Medical Information is no longer simply a reactive support function. It plays an important role in helping organisations identify emerging issues, coordinate responses, and maintain confidence in their products.
Is your Medical Information capability ready?
Preparing for unexpected demand requires more than additional headcount. Sponsors need clearly defined processes, cross-functional alignment, and visibility into emerging trends before they become larger issues.
For sunscreen sponsors, the question shouldn't be:
“How many enquiries do we normally receive?”
It should be:
“What happens when something goes wrong?”
Do you have:
✓ Trained Medical Information professionals?
✓ Clear AE identification and PV escalation processes?
✓ Product Quality complaint workflows?
✓ Recall-specific enquiry management?
✓ Approved, consistent responses?
✓ Seasonal capacity planning?
✓ Enquiry trend monitoring?
✓ Clear links between MI, PV, Quality, Regulatory, and Medical teams?
If the answer to any of these is unclear, now is the time to review your Medical Information model before the next recall, safety concern, or seasonal surge.
Whether managing seasonal fluctuations in demand, supporting product recalls, or strengthening escalation pathways, sponsors need a Medical Information model that can adapt as circumstances change.
Commercial Eyes provides Medical Information solutions designed to support both business-as-usual enquiries and periods of increased or unexpected demand.
Our team supports sponsors by helping with:
- Medical enquiry management
- Adverse event identification and escalation
- Product quality complaint identification and escalation
- Recall-related enquiry support
- Approved response management
- Enquiry categorisation and trend analysis
- Flexible resourcing to support changing demand
Don’t wait for a recall to test your Medical Information capability
Sunscreen may be an everyday product, but the risks associated with safety concerns, quality issues, and recalls are anything but routine.
The organisations best prepared to respond are those that have invested in scalable processes, clear escalation pathways, and strong cross-functional collaboration before they are tested.
Commercial Eyes can help sponsors strengthen their Medical Information capability, so they are prepared for everyday enquiries as well as the unexpected.
Talk to our team about strengthening your Medical Information capability before the next seasonal surge, safety concern, or product issue puts it to the test.