Alignment story: ZIP code vs MSA in US geography - 07/24

In 2016, while working as a pharmaceutical consultant, I encountered the concept of using ZIP codes for alignment. ZIP stands for Zone Improvement Plan, and there are approximately 41.6K ZIP codes in the USA, corresponding to 19K cities and ultimately linking to 55 states, federal districts, and major territories. Pharma sales reps create equal potential territories based on ZIP codes and healthcare provider (HCP) or healthcare organization (HCO) potential.

Recently, I learned about MSAs as an alternative to ZIP codes for alignment. For rare diseases, patient data is available at the MSA level. An MSA is a formally defined region comprising a city and its surrounding communities, linked by social and economic factors and with a minimum population of 50,000. Online resources provide ZIP-to-MSA mapping.

Fortunately, many 3rd party alignment software tools, such as AlignMix, AlignStar, TerrAlign, Maptive, eSpatial, Salesforce Maps, CallProof, LLC, Geopointe, offer features for MSA level alignment. 

Additionally, there’s another related term: Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA). It consists of a U.S. county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one core (urban area or urban cluster) with a population of at least 10,000, plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration. Notably, CBSA and MSA are exclusive of each other. 

Follow me on LinkedIn