We are a boutique provider of HCP and patient insights through social listening.
Through a combination of proprietary software, custom data curation, and pharma experience, Essential HCP analyzes the social conversations among key groups — including HCPs, patients and caregivers, patient advocates and advocacy organizations, and even investors. We provide practical insights to life sciences businesses, from the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world to the smallest pre-clinical biotechnology firms. We also work directly with pharma-focused market research and communications agencies.
Our Experience
Essential HCP was founded by two veterans of insight development through online conversation analysis.
Our Focus
Essential HCP focuses exclusively on life sciences and health care. Understanding cohorts including HCPs, patients, caregivers, and advocacy groups is our specialty.
Our Clients
Clients range from the biggest global pharmaceutical companies to pre-clinical biotechnology companies, as well as agencies and investors.
Our Technology
Collection and analysis of millions of online discussions is aided by the use of proprietary technology, developed in-house and customized to clients’ unique objectives.
Leadership
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Kirsten Recknagel
For over 15 years, Kirsten has delivered consumer insights through conversation mining—both among consumers and healthcare professionals. As CEO of MotiveQuest, a pioneering boutique social listening firm (acquired by LRW, now Material), she developed a particular love for and expertise in the pharmaceutical space, blending patient and HCP perspectives to build full pictures of complex healthcare decision-making.
Kirsten received an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and is a former Research Director at Gartner, the global tech strategy firm. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she can often be found hitting a tennis ball—or taking far too many photos of her cats.
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Brook Miller
Brook brings a career spent at the intersection of data, technology, and business. He was formerly CTO at the social insights company MotiveQuest (acquired by LRW, now Material), where he spearheaded innovative approaches to understanding online behavior. Prior to that, he spent seven years at Intel in product strategy and marketing roles. Then in 2021, Brook joined the faculty at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, where he teaches courses on data-driven innovation.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Brook lives in Portland, Oregon, and can often be found snowboarding, hiking, or walking his dog, Luna.
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Chris Fahy
With 20 years in the insights world, Chris has spent most of his career at market research firm LRW / Material before teaming up with longtime colleagues Kirsten and Brook. While Chris’ love for crafting and telling stories is a natural fit for quick-turn Online Anthropology (where the stories are just waiting to be told), he also has decades of experience designing thoughtful narratives via more traditional Quant and Qual for a wide range of healthcare clients, from payors to pharmaceutical companies.
Chris holds a BA in Economics from USC and calls Los Angeles home, where he lives with his wife and two kids. He’s also a devoted Tottenham fan—the less said about that, the better.