The healthcare industry and the Covid-19 pandemic 

The healthcare system today continues to be challenged by the complexities of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the concerns that need to be addressed are a shift to virtual patient care, handling supply chain disruption issues and producing necessary vaccines. In the setting of the largest daily COVID-19 new cases in the US, this burden will influence patient care, surgeries, and surgical outcomes. Here’s a reason why healthcare expert networks will be crucial to deal with the ongoing global pandemic. NCBI reports that global growth in the healthcare sector is expected to reduce by almost 8% with poorer countries feeling most of the impact. 

In this challenging time, the importance of healthcare expert networks cannot be emphasised. An expert network is a matching agency that matches clients with experts who are paid for sharing their knowledge insights through phone or video consultations, usually in the form of 1-hour interviews. Expert networks not only help in matching experts with clients, but also facilitate scheduling the call and looking after payments. When you put this into a healthcare context, a healthcare expert network is simply someone who shares their expertise about the healthcare industry. A healthcare expert network can exist on different levels, be it a nurse, a patient, a doctor, a healthcare service provider or a pharmaceutical company.  

Why do you need a healthcare expert network in the first place?

There are several reasons why one can need a healthcare expert network. Consider, for instance, a pharmaceutical company coming up with a new drug that has several alternatives in the market. They might need knowledge on the overall market for this drug so they can understand where they stand in terms of pricing, promotion or distribution. Or a research institute could be studying a little-known disease and they might need to consult with a healthcare expert network to formulate their research. Alternatively, it could be as simple as a healthcare company looking to understand their brand positioning and reputation in the industry. A healthcare expert network can also be on demand to understand why healthcare professionals move from one hospital to another. You can also use surveys as a data gathering tool in the healthcare industry. Click here to see the difference between healthcare exert networks and surveys in the healthcare space.

Benefits of healthcare expert networks

Using healthcare expert networks can be advantageous for a number of reasons. For example, through facial expressions and tone, it can add a lot more nuance to a response from a healthcare expert. Also, expert calls with a healthcare expert network are a good way to get instant feedback on a topic. Since it’s a phone conversion, it offers the opportunity to ask follow-up and clarifying questions. This can be especially useful when talking about the healthcare industry which is riddled with complexities.

Another thing to consider when using a healthcare expert is to avoid biases. Sometimes, if you’re using a survey, respondents tend to choose the first answer option to every question due information overload or because they are bored. They can also tend to answer questions that resemble some sort of a visual pattern. We call these types of responses Christmas Tees responses. To eliminate these types of biases, it might make sense to conduct a phone call.

Healthcare expert networks may  be a good option when there’s significant travel involved leading to increased time and costs. Consider a giant healthcare business like Pfizer that operates in multiple countries.  It can leverage healthcare expert networks and save significant time and money. Another advantage is that expert calls are very flexible in nature. Calls with experts can be set up from anywhere in the world, according to the convenience of both parties. The study also revealed that the use of global expert networks enabled interviewees to ask probing questions and get to know the participants personally.

3 types of results that you can expect from a healthcare expert network

Because of the depth and intricacies of the healthcare industry, there can be a number of different reasons for needing a healthcare expert network. Depending on why a healthcare expert network is hired, the results can also vary. Below, we explore 3 types of data that can be gathered from a healthcare expert network. Note that this is not an exhaustive list, but the most common types of results that you can expect from a healthcare expert network:

1. Digital Health
2. Product market fit/ Company positioning
3. Research data

Digital Health

Statista reports that with a projected CAGR of almost 25% from 2019 to 2025, the digital health market should reach nearly $660 billion by 2025. Digital health can encompass a broad range of topics. Simply put though, the term encompasses the use of digital technologies to build a faster, cost cutting and efficient healthcare practice. So where do healthcare expert networks come into play? Since digital healthcare is a fairly recent trend, experts can play a vital role here by providing key insights. Let’s look at some examples about the use of experts in the digital health space.

One example can be a consulting firm wanting to know the current trends of technology used in neurology in the UAE. The data produced can range from market trends about neurological device supply, any disruption, number of players in the market etc. A healthcare expert network can connect the consulting firm with nurses, doctors, hospital workers etc. 

Another example could be a consulting company wanting to understand purchasing decisions of different medical software in Russia. Here, the pool of experts will slightly change and will include Chief Medical Officer, Head of Procurement, Head of Operations and other decision makers. The data will include purchasing decision factors such as prices, software specifications, time to delivery, installation chargers or other criteria. 

Product market fit/ Company positioning

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of companies have had to shift their strategic priorities. Some of these shifts include changes in brand reputation across key stakeholder groups. Other changes are to analyse how industry expectations have shifted in the past year including ECG and diversity concerns. Lastly, companies are navigating how to increase trust and inculcate positive brand sentiment in consumers. 

Consider a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company who develops a popular relief cream for joint pain. However, over the course of the pandemic, the cost of a particular ingredient in the cream has gone up. This company could now partner with a healthcare expert network to understand whether it has to increase prices or can source an alternative cheaper ingredient. The panel of experts could range from doctors, to chemical suppliers to product formulators. With help of these experts they can gather a list of cheaper alternatives that serve the same function in the cream. 

Consider a strategy officer of a major healthcare firm looking to expand to the middle east with its product portfolio. To do this they would need data on current market trends, consumer buying patterns, no of players in the industry etc. By aligning with a healthcare expert network, the company can tap into region specific insights from senior healthcare professionals and develop a successful market entry strategy.

Research data

There’s still a lot unknown in the healthcare space be it drug development or treatment for rare diseases. Healthcare expert networks can reduce some of the uncertainty here. For instance, a drug development project could employ experts such as lab technicians, clinical researchers, researchers and formulators. A healthcare expert network can prove valuable here since the data involved is confidential in nature. During the project, they discuss the results of the different trial phases and how the drug could be regulated by bodies such as the FDA. Data like this can help prepare the drug company to be well prepared during and before product launch. 

Still confused as to what type of results healthcare expert networks yield? We have got the answers! GrapeData has an amazing team of professionals willing to respond to your survey to optimise your results. We generally get answers from 250,000+ contributors from 90 countries. Find us on our website or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram to stay up to date with our activities.