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Delphi panels

Delphi Panels

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What a Delphi Panel Delivers

When clinical-trial data is thin, uncertain, or impractical to gather, a Delphi panel gives rigorous, publishable expert consensus to act on. Triducive designs and facilitates Delphi panels for pharmaceutical teams, Medtech, and non-profit organisations to define best practice, align stakeholders, and build the evidence base behind a decision.

The Delphi method is a structured consensus technique that gathers and refines the informed judgments of experts through several rounds of questionnaires. Participants respond anonymously, review controlled summaries of the group’s feedback, and reconsider their views until a predefined level of consensus is reached. The method produces practical, consensus-led evidence.

Why use Delphi Panels?

Healthcare professionals increasingly face complex decisions driven by rapidly evolving evidence, emerging therapies, personalised medicine, rising costs, and variation between healthcare systems.

The Delphi method can generate credible and actionable recommendations when conventional evidence is scarce or unclear. It brings together diverse expertise across disciplines, organisations, and geographical regions while avoiding many of the biases associated with face-to-face consensus meetings.

Its key benefits include:

  • Generating consensus where evidence is limited
  • Combining quantitative and qualitative data
  • Reducing individual and group bias
  • Supporting efficient consensus-building
  • Enabling multidisciplinary and global collaboration
  • Producing publishable evidence that can support real-world change

The Delphi method offers a valuable way to align clinical evidence with regulatory, policy, and market requirements.

It can help teams:

  • Define the unmet need associated with a condition
  • Establish treatment suitability criteria
  • Develop and promote best-practice recommendations
  • Support policy changes and implementation
  • Generate evidence for publications and communications
  • Build alignment among clinicians, payers, policymakers, and other stakeholders

Published Delphi studies can provide a strong foundation for targeted communication and advocacy programmes, helping translate expert recommendations into real-world clinical and policy change.

By supporting clinical decisions, policy development, research prioritisation, and global collaboration, the Delphi method can help improve patient outcomes and strengthen healthcare systems worldwide.

Wondering if you should embark on a Delphi study to support your plans? Take our 2-minute test to find out.

steps delphi technique

How We Run a Delphi Panel

Our Delphi panels follow a structured seven-step process, managed end to end so your team does not have to hold the moving parts together.

  1. Define the problem – we articulate the issue and the objective of the study precisely, focusing on where trial data is absent, fragmented or contested.
  2. Independent facilitation – Triducive acts as the independent facilitator throughout, structuring the process and protecting the anonymity that gives the results their credibility.
  3. Develop the statements – with a core steering group we craft clear, unambiguous statements for the panel to judge, grounded in evidence gaps.
  4. Select the expert panel – we recruit a diverse, knowledgeable panel across specialties and geographies, scaled to the project.
  5. Launch the questionnaire – the first round is distributed securely, and experts respond anonymously so every view carries equal weight.
  6. Analyse the results – we test responses against defined consensus thresholds and revise the statements for the next round, repeating until the panel converges on clear, evidence-based positions.
  7. Communicate the results – we compile the report, take the consensus into peer-reviewed publication and amplify it to the stakeholders who need to act on it.

Most panels run end to end in 7 to 9 months.

Why Triducive

70+ Delphi studies published in peer-reviewed journals. Publication is the point, not an afterthought. Our consensus work has appeared in journals including the Journal of Hospital Infection and the Chinese Medical Sciences Journal, giving clients a citable base for changing practice.

10+ years delivering Delphi consensus in healthcare. We have designed and facilitated consensus across disease areas, clinical, surgical and health-management questions – for national, regional and global programmes.

Trusted by leading healthcare organisations. We deliver for commercial (pharma, medtech), public (medical societies) and charitable (patient groups) organisations, working with KOLs worldwide.

End to end, from design to publication. One expert team scopes the question, recruits the panel, runs the rounds, analyses the data, and turns the agreed consensus into peer-reviewed publications and communication campaigns that drive change.

doctors looking at a tablet
Infectious Diseases
Helping to define the clinical patient cohort for a new antibiotic treatment in a conservative and cost-restrictive market
Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism
Helping to establish best practices for managing Hyperkalaemia in chronic kidney disease and heart failure patients
Close-up Of Diagnosis Incontinence Word And Medical Composition On Paper
Urology
Helping to define the care pathway activities required to support the optimal management of overactive bladder

Hear From Those We've Worked With

“This now provides clear focus in an area that has been confused for a long time”
Microbiologist, Germany
“This will add to the evidence base that will inform future practice across the the EU”
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Italy
“A great support to transform future surgery across the EU”
Chair, ETST

Our Experts

Our Programme Directors design and facilitate every panel.

E Lassman
Emily Lassman
Program Director
Rebecca Hornby
Program Director
Dal Singh
Program Director
Tim Warren
Managing Partner
Nick Williams
Managing Partner
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FAQs

How long does a Delphi panel take, end to end?

Most run in 7 to 9 months, depending on panel size, the number of rounds and your publication goals. Triducive manage the whole process – scoping, recruitment, analysis, manuscript and dissemination – so timelines stay predictable.

How many experts sit on a panel, and how are they recruited?

Panels are built to represent the question, not a fixed number. From focused groups to hundreds of experts. We recruit across specialties, geographies and roles so the consensus reflects a genuine balance of perspectives.

What do we get at the end?

An aligned, citable consensus statement or set of standards, plus the report behind it. A defensible evidence base for educating clinicians, payers and policymakers on what needs to change.

Can the results be published in a peer-reviewed journal?

Yes. We have published over 70 Delphi studies in peer-reviewed journals, and we build panels with publication in mind from the scoping stage.

When should we use a Delphi panel rather than an advisory board or another method?

Delphi panel suits questions where evidence is limited, fragmented or contested, and where you need a defensible, publishable position rather than a discussion. For other formats, see our work on nominal group technique and advisory boards.

Can you run global or multi-country panels?

Yes. We regularly design multi-region panels and work with KOLs worldwide – see designing global Delphi panels.

What is the Delphi method and why is it used?

The Delphi Method is a structured, iterative technique for reaching consensus among a panel of experts through successive rounds of anonymous questionnaires with controlled feedback. It is used where clinical-trial evidence is limited, contested or impractical to gather; in healthcare it generates citable, level 4 evidence to support best practice, guideline development and policy.

How many rounds does a Delphi panel involve?

Usually two or three. Rounds continue until statements either meet the pre-specified consensus threshold or have been refined and tested without reaching it. The exact number depends on how quickly the panel converges.

What is a consensus threshold, and what level is typically used?

The level of agreement, set in advance, at which a statement is judged to have reached consensus. A commonly accepted threshold is ≥75% agreement. Setting it before the study begins is what keeps the result honest.

Is the Delphi method a recognised source of evidence?

Yes. It generates level 4 evidence and is regularly published in peer-reviewed journals, and it is widely used to support clinical guideline development and health policy.

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Testimonials

“This will hopefully transform patient care in the UK”
Consultant Respiratory Physician, UK
“I would like to express my deep gratitute for your team’s wonderful achievements”
Professor in Cardiovascular Immunology, South Korea
“They understand the scope of the work and what we are trying to achieve with what we're doing”
Professor of Pulmonary Medicine, Canada
“In my experience, you have done the most outstanding work”
Project Manager, Global Healthcare Company, Japan
“There is now so much weight of opinion that payers don’t have any reason to say 'no'”
Brand Director, Global Pharma Company, EU
“This will add to the evidence base that will inform future practice across the the EU”
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Italy
“A great support to transform future surgery across the EU”
Chair, ETST
“This now provides clear focus in an area that has been confused for a long time”
Microbiologist, Germany
“We remember how unusually excellent you were in this project”
Global Medical Affairs Director, Global Pharma Company, UK
“A great piece of work”
Patient Organisation Leader
“They’ve managed to facilitate a publication in a really high impact journal that's gonna make a difference to the management of patients, not just for clinicians like me in the UK but also around the world”  
Professor of Renal Medicine, UK
“What a fantastic job you have all done”
Haematologist, UK

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