purple rectangle

Leveraging the Delphi Method to generate quantitative and qualitative data

Posted: 28th January 2025
Categories: Uncategorised

Navigating Complexities in Evidence Generation: 

Leveraging the Delphi Method to generate quantitative and qualitative data

 

In today’s pharmaceutical landscape, professionals in medical affairs and market access are navigating unprecedented challenges. These include aligning clinical evidence with payer requirements, addressing gaps in treatment guidelines, and building robust, stakeholder-accepted frameworks for decision-making. Amid these complexities, generating high-quality evidence that resonates with diverse audiences is paramount. The Delphi Method has emerged as a critical tool to meet these needs, offering structured, consensus-driven insights for strategic planning and impactful healthcare decision-making.

 

The Delphi Method: A Tool to Address Uncertainty in Evidence Generation

 

The Delphi Method is a structured communication technique designed to gather and synthesize expert opinions. It is particularly useful in addressing areas where evidence gaps, clinical uncertainty, or inconsistent recommendations exist. By engaging multidisciplinary experts in an iterative, anonymous process, the method aims to achieve consensus, often defined as at least 75% agreement among panellists.

For medical affairs and market access teams, the Delphi Method offers unique advantages, including the ability to generate quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously. This dual data approach provides a nuanced understanding of challenges, enabling better alignment of clinical evidence with regulatory and market demands.

 

Generating Quantitative and Qualitative Data with the Delphi Method

 

Quantitative Insights to Support Clinical and Payer Decisions

The Delphi Method collects quantitative data through structured surveys, which often include:

  • Numerical Ratings: Evaluating the likelihood of outcomes or importance of specific interventions.
  • Scales and Rankings: Prioritizing treatment options or assessing levels of agreement.
  • Estimates: Providing projections, such as prevalence rates or cost data for health economic models.

For market access, this quantitative data is indispensable in building health economic arguments, estimating country-specific disease burden, and addressing payer demands for value-based pricing.

 

Qualitative Insights to Address Underlying Barriers

The qualitative component of the Delphi Method captures context-rich feedback from experts. By analyzing open-ended responses, researchers uncover:

  • The reasoning behind expert opinions.
  • Potential implementation barriers, such as logistical or systemic challenges.
  • Emerging trends or risks that may not be apparent through numerical data alone.

Incorporating qualitative insights can strengthen arguments for treatment adoption by addressing concerns about real-world feasibility and identifying pathways for overcoming challenges in implementation.

 

 

Challenges and Opportunities in Healthcare Applications

 

Why Combined Data Matters

Medical affairs and market access professionals often face scrutiny for relying on either purely quantitative or qualitative approaches. The Delphi Method’s strength lies in its ability to integrate both, enabling professionals to:

  • Track consensus quantitatively (e.g., agreement on treatment guidelines).
  • Understand the qualitative rationale (e.g., why certain recommendations face resistance).

For example, a Delphi study on treatment guidelines for rare diseases might quantify agreement on a treatment algorithm while highlighting qualitative barriers, such as limited clinician awareness or cost considerations.

 

Applications in Medical Affairs and Market Access

How the Delphi Method Helps

Example: Addressing Gaps in von Willebrand disease care management

Medical affairs professionals working in rare diseases can face challenges such as inconsistent diagnostic criteria and limited awareness among healthcare providers.

Using the Delphi Method:

  • Quantitative Data: Establish agreement on the need for coordinated care, diagnostic pathways, and preferred treatment algorithms.
  • Qualitative Data: Identify barriers to implementing treatments, such as lack of recognition of disease in women.

 

Conclusion: A Strategic Tool for Today’s Challenges

 

In a landscape where evidence generation and stakeholder alignment are critical, the Delphi Method stands out as a strategic asset. It allows medical affairs and market access teams to navigate uncertainties, close evidence gaps, and deliver actionable insights to drive clinical and market success. By combining quantitative rigor with qualitative depth, the Delphi Method empowers pharmaceutical professionals to influence change across healthcare systems effectively.

 

At Triducive, we specialize in delivering consensus-led evidence that supports change. With over a decade of experience and more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, we’ve helped transform evidence into action for healthcare systems worldwide.

Let’s partner to address your evidence challenges. Get in touch today!