Translucency was asked to develop educational materials to encourage the use of a new treatment for chronic heart failure.
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is one of many conditions which is often not treated using more modern and aggressive therapeutic approaches. Translucency was also aware of widespread difficulty in obtaining echocardiograms, which are a valuable tool for diagnosing CHF, in the UK. In order to engage prescribers professionally, Translucency recommended that our client sponsor a clinical audit which focused on the treatment of CHF as a whole (of which our client’s treatment was part) rather than on our client’s product. We also mapped the availability of echocardiography in each payor area in England.
Translucency developed a package which followed accepted principles of clinical audit. The package was produced in three formats: hard copy, electronic for local use, and web-based. This gave participants a choice about whether to share their results. Those who did so, using the web-based package, were able to compare their results with the aggregated and anonymised results of other participating practices. By obtaining educational certification of this activity, prescribers were able to use their participation to fulfil in part their obligations to engage in recognized continuous professional development. With Translucency’s support, the client also sponsored, in parallel with the audit, the development of echocardiography in some locations.
Our client reported that the audit had been successful in sensitizing doctors to modern thinking about the treatment of chronic heart failure. Acceptance of the key messages was greater because the activity was not perceived to be about sales and marketing of the client’s product. The audit package was delivered by our client’s staff and provided an opportunity for them to make contact with prescribers. Our client gained prestige from sponsoring what was widely seen as a worthwhile and methodologically sound professional activity.