Using the Delphi approach for decision-making in healthcare
In today’s complex healthcare environment, the need for informed, evidence-based, and context-driven decision-making has never been greater. As innovation progresses rapidly, medical knowledge advances, and healthcare systems evolve, professionals are often faced with difficult decisions, especially in areas where empirical data is lacking. The Delphi approach has emerged as a powerful tool for generating consensus-led evidence to support informed decision-making in various healthcare settings. Capable of producing both qualitative and quantitative data simultaneously, the Delphi method is now widely used by professionals working across healthcare, informing decisions throughout a product’s lifecycle, from local to global scales.
The Delphi Approach in Healthcare
The Delphi technique is a structured method used to gather expert opinions and reach consensus on complex issues through an iterative process. It is particularly useful when existing evidence is limited or conflicting. Developed by the RAND Corporation in the 1950s and widely used across various industries including healthcare.
The panel of experts involved in a Delphi study must have specialized knowledge in the relevant field, ensuring a comprehensive view of the issue. Increasingly, patient and caregiver perspectives are also incorporated into Delphi studies. For example, the Delphi approach was used to build reported outcome quality indicators (QIs) for the treatment of patients with intermittent claudication (IC), consisting of international vascular specialists, patient representatives, and registry members.
The Delphi approach involves multiple rounds of questionnaires, allowing experts to provide their input and refine their opinion based on anonymous feedback. During rounds of a Delphi consensus, experts provide their opinions through questionnaires that include both closed-ended questions and qualitative feedback. The responses are compiled, summarized, and sent back to the panel, allowing experts to review and reconsider their input. This iterative process continues, refining the group’s opinions until consensus is reached. Ultimately, the panel provides data to address the research question.
Benefits of the Delphi Method in Healthcare
The Delphi approach offers several advantages for healthcare decision-making. One key benefit is its ability to generate expert consensus, even when data is scarce or existing evidence is unclear. By bringing together a diverse group of professionals with specialized knowledge, the Delphi method ensures decisions are informed by a broad range of insights. Additionally, the anonymous feedback process minimizes individual biases, reducing the influence of dominant voices and fostering more balanced, objective decision-making.
The Delphi approach also facilitates faster consensus-building compared to traditional research methods, which is particularly valuable in fields like oncology or infectious diseases, where new treatments and therapies are constantly emerging. Finally, the method can be employed to promote global collaboration by gathering experts from various regions, ensuring that recommendations are comprehensive and relevant to diverse healthcare systems and patient populations, enabling change on a global scale.
Applications of the Delphi Method in Healthcare
The Delphi approach has broad applications in healthcare decision-making:
- Clinical Guideline Development: When existing guidelines are outdated or insufficient, the Delphi approach can be used to generate expert consensus on best practices. This is particularly valuable in fields like oncology, cardiology, and rare diseases, where new treatments and technologies frequently emerge.
- Defining new or optimal approaches: When variation in approach exists or requires better definition the Delphi approach can help clarify best practices or define new standards for care delivery.
- Policy Formulation: The Delphi method can help inform healthcare policy. Experts from clinical, administrative, and regulatory sectors collaborate to develop policies that address critical issues such as drug pricing, insurance reimbursement, and healthcare access.
- Prioritizing Healthcare Research: The Delphi approach can help identify and prioritize areas for research and development. By bringing together experts from various fields, they can align on the most urgent healthcare challenges and allocate resources accordingly.
- Training and Education: The Delphi method can be used to develop training programs for healthcare professionals, ensuring they stay up-to-date with the latest practices and treatments in their respective fields. Expert input helps shape curricula that are both relevant and comprehensive.
Widely recognized by peer reviewers, published Delphi studies have the power to serve as foundation upon which to build targeted communications campaigns to ensure that decisions are implemented in real world settings. Read our article to learn more about how Delphi campaigns can foster real change in healthcare.
The Growing Importance of the Delphi Approach in Healthcare
Healthcare systems worldwide face mounting challenges from rising costs to increasing disease burdens.
The Delphi approach has gained significant traction with teams working in healthcare, both in commercial and non-profit organizations because of the:
- complexity of healthcare needs
- focus on value-based care
- rise of personalized medicine and emerging therapies:
- need for collaboration (across geographies and across health system stakeholders)
The Delphi approach is a key tool in addressing healthcare’s complex challenges. By generating expert consensus, it supports clinical decisions and policy development. Through global collaboration, the method ensures decisions are relevant and informed, helping improve patient outcomes and healthcare systems worldwide.
Ready to employ the Delphi Approach for your research?
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.
We’d love to partner to address your evidence challenges. Get in touch today with our expert team.