AD-vice: Harnessing Data to Drive Change

Curated by: Aanchal Gupta, Program Coordinator, NaRCAD

Tags: ADvice, Evaluation, Data
 
In this edition of our AD-vice series, we explore the importance of data collection, program evaluation, and leadership buy-in for AD programs. Gathering and analyzing data not only helps in understanding the challenges faced by clinicians, but also in driving meaningful change by demonstrating the impact of your detailing efforts. Read insights from experts in the field on planning and executing your AD program evaluations.

PRACTICE TOOLS & STRATEGIES FOR DATA COLLECTION

• "For a resource-constrained department, having that one-page Word document that allows detailers to chart their interactions is more than enough data. Charting for just five minutes after a detailing visit about everything that took place becomes a wealth of information. You can also use an Excel document to input data from provider surveys." -Kristefer Stojanovski, PhD, MPH, San Francisco Department of Public Health

 

• "When I’m detailing on one topic, I’m always thinking about future topics by gathering data from providers so that I can better understand their challenges. I ask providers their biggest concerns and I’ve been really surprised at how ready they are to share gaps in resources and information."

            -Jacki Travers, PharmD, Pharmacy Management Consultants

• "For every campaign, we conduct an initial and follow-up visit where we assess providers’ practices. This allows us to see if there has been a change in practice from the initial to the follow-up visit. Additionally, we rate what providers intend to adopt in terms of the key recommendations, supporting tools, and resources. We also collect a large amount of qualitative data because it's also critical to gain a more complete picture of the campaign’s success, especially when reporting on barriers, access, and materials." -Michelle Dresser, MPH, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

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MAKING THE CASE TO LEADERSHIP & FUNDERS

• "It’s important to track a mix of quantitative and qualitative data, and the critical components that should be tracked are the outcomes and the process of detailing. Data is absolutely critical for getting leadership buy-in, especially if it can tell a story." -Kristefer Stojanovski, PhD, MPH, San Francisco Department of Public Health

 

• "It’s always been useful for us to evaluate and publish our results, especially when we approach the government for more funding. While we can’t do every campaign as a research project, I’ve been working on evaluating a campaign we did on diabetes and also a study on the impact of group visits vs. 1:1 detailing." -Harald Langaas, MPharm, MPH, KUPP - RELIS

 

• "It would be a strong statement if someone was able to go to leadership with a story about how providers have changed their practices. Using concrete results and showing leadership that detailing is making a change is extremely helpful for buy-in." -Kristefer Stojanovski, PhD, MPH, San Francisco Department of Public Health

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IMPACT & VALUE OF EVALUATION 
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Key Insights from Melissa Christopher, PharmD & Mark Bounthavong, PharmD, MPH, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing Services
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• "Measuring program work builds a case not just for the success of one academic detailing intervention, but for the success of future programs--a case for sustainability. Evaluation measures the quality of a program, analyzing results to look at a program’s impact, and allowing for process improvement adjustments to be made to streamline efforts and strengthen that impact. Evaluation cannot be optional, especially when lives are at stake."

 

• "Leveraging results from well-designed evaluation is essential for academic detailing interventions to illustrate success, share value, and provide stakeholders and community members with a clear ‘Yes!’ in answer to their overarching question: ‘Was the investment worth it?’"

 

• "We encourage other academic detailing programs to prioritize program evaluation as we have at the VHA—no matter the size of your program, if you’re thinking, ‘we can’t afford to do program evaluations,’ we stress that you can’t afford NOT to do them."

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For additional information, check out our AD Evaluation Toolkit for guides on planning an evaluation intervention, adaptable surveys, detailing visit tracking sheets, and more!
 
Best,
The NaRCAD Team