Understanding changing perceptions of value in the NHS

The client was looking to help a newly formed team to improve their understanding of how value is perceived across the NHS by different key stakeholders. Their overall aim was to understand how the team could deliver value for the NHS in new ways whilst better supporting clinicians in the implementation of clinical guidelines.

The client initially asked if we could facilitate four advisory boards over the course of a year. Our NHS Insights & Interaction team recommended a different approach, which would enable the team to gain more timely insights and a much broader range of perspectives, by drawing on our wide network of NHS associates.

The team first attended an experience day in Newcastle, where they visited a number of primary care sites to meet clinical and operational NHS staff in their own environment.

The plan had then been to run a 1-day live workshop to understand guideline implementation. However, social distancing measures brought in with the pandemic saw us quickly re-design this into two virtual sessions facilitated by our internal specialists and with speakers from our network of NHS associates.

We then ran a series of three remote advisory groups, all virtually, where the team were able to put their questions to a consistent group of NHS decision-makers. This allowed for the development of themes to establish a greater level of understanding of key issues.

Finally, we ran another virtual workshop where the team worked to develop new value propositions, alongside NHS Associates and in light of the insights and perspectives we had gathered through all the elements of this project.

Over the course of the programme, the team gained insights from a range of roles relevant to their therapy area, including PCN Clinical Directors, CCG Commissioners, Clinical Pharmacists, and Integrated Care leads

We brought this team the latest insights into their NHS customers’ environments, how they perceive medicines and how they perceive value. This has helped the team to identify who to engage with, as well as when and how, in a more effective and perceptive way.

We received highly positive feedback from the team following each stage of the programme.

Whilst four advisory boards, as the client initially requested, would have opened a window into the NHS, the programme we designed enabled the team to gain a much deeper and broader understanding of their NHS customers.

The flexibility of this programme enabled us to schedule sessions to meet the evolving needs of the team’s market access strategy in real time. We were able to arrange interactions with the right people in the NHS just when the team needed to hear NHS perspectives in order to inform their approach.