Measuring return on investment in medical education

Introduction

Challenge Solution Insight

At Wave our job is to ensure your Brand has the best possible support from the people that matter most in your disease area.

Our medical education programmes are designed to influence behaviour change using our 3E's analysis with legacy and evaluation planned at the outset.

Evaluation is planned around the measurement of three phases:

  • Outcomes
  • Outputs
  • Inputs

  

Measuring outcomes

Specific outcomes can be measured, although they may require significant levels of investment and commitment.

 

For example:

  • Follow up market research with delegates can identify changes in behaviour related to patient management. This could be based on improved identification, enhanced diagnosis or changes in treatment management

  • When evaluating treatment changes, therapy usage can be measured in areas where delegates have engaged with the programme and compared with areas where there has been no engagement.

  

  

Measuring outputs

If it is not feasible to measure outcomes directly, a number of indirect or surrogate markers can be used:

 

    • Intention to change behaviour – this can be captured through polling questions during the programme or evaluation analysis at the end

    • Delegate feedback to assess:

  • programme quality
  • relevance to everyday practice
  • recommendations to peers

  • Interaction with related programme elements eg website registration/downloads

  • Involvement with follow up/cascade programmes

  • Requests for legacy collateral

  • Attendance vs target recruitment

  • Net promoter scores – a more structured approach to assess the relevance of the programme

  

  

Measuring inputs

As important in determining return on investment is the assessment of financial and time investment as well as efficiencies through regular client/agency feedback:

 

  • Quality of the content

  • Timeliness in delivery

  • Efficiency in dealing with:

  • Faculty
  • Suppliers
  • Internal approval systems
  

 

Summary

Our medical education programmes are designed to influence behaviour change using our 3E analysis. It is important at the outset to establish how behaviour change and investment inputs are to be evaluated to determine ROI.

We believe that our bank of tools to measure outcomes, outputs and inputs enables us to customise our ROI analysis depending on the client’s available resources.

 

If you’d like to discuss this further and how Wave approaches ROI, please call or email me.

Kevin Mageean
Senior Business Director

T. 01494 434431
M. 07749 919436
kevin@wavehealthcare.co.uk