Curiosity, Community, and Creativity: 3 Key Questions to Ask BEFORE You Begin Detailing

Critical topics our community is working on. (NaRCAD's Annual Community Survey.)

Bevin Amira, Deputy Director, NaRCAD

To say that health disparities are rampant is not new information to any of us in the field of improving patient outcomes. Our community of educators have much to think about as we prepare to meet with clinicians who care for patients across a spectrum of care needs, patients whose care access correlates directly to their socioeconomic status, the diseases and conditions they're dealing with, and whether or not they feel able to trust that their care providers really DO care about their needs. 

Can patients afford the prescriptions we're encouraging clinicians to offer? Are the patients who need cancer screenings most able to find transportation to a clinic? Will patients fear being shamed or unheard about their experiences and needs? "Health disparities" and "social determinants of health" aren't just trendy phrases that we should be conversational in--they're lenses through which we MUST consider every key message we deliver within every detailing intervention we implement.


How do we do this and do it well, especially when things feel more urgent than ever? It may seem counterintuitive, but our first piece of advice is to hit the PAUSE button. That's right--at NaRCAD, we're urging clinical educators to pause, zoom out from clinical care, and make sure you're looking at these three key areas:

-THE PATIENT VOICE: What do patients in my community want and need? (How will I know?)

-MY COMMUNITY'S IDENTITY & STRENGTHS: What is the community already doing around this issue?
  
-BEING A STRONG COMMUNITY PARTNER: How can I connect my detailing work to other community initiatives to maximize impact and forge community bonds?

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These questions must be considered before you detail if you want to have a sustainable, positive impact. While our field is a niche area, quality improvement cannot happen in a bubble. Our work is only as strong as our ability to think about the entire chain of relationships that exist, all the way down to the patient who is receiving the care the evidence says they should be receiving. 

As we move into the year ahead, we're more dedicated than ever to helping you all ask these nuanced questions and recognize that even programs with low resources can find ways to incorporate patient reflections and community buy-in into their campaigns. We're here to teach you how to navigate these areas with care, curiosity, and passion--because each one of us became invested in healthcare improvement out of a sense of dedication to patients receiving the best care possible. 

Join us, and keep telling us what you want and need. We'll be hosting more community conversations, strategy sessions, check-ins, one-to-one role plays, trainings, convenings, and connections to other experts in the field, inviting you all to share what you've experienced as you work creatively to improve care.

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