Understanding what goes on in the exam room between patients and HCPs remains a critical yet challenging endeavor. Traditional methods of capturing these interactions, such as retrospective EHR extraction and chart abstractions, often result in significant data gaps due to time constraints and standardization issues. With 4 years of experience conducting in-office data capture in the US and abroad, we launched DialogueDx℠, a comprehensive research framework designed to capture and analyze real-world clinical conversations while maintaining patient privacy and data integrity.
The solution employs a multi-faceted approach that begins with recording authentic patient-physician conversations, providing a window into nuanced interactions through targeted recordings. Within 24-48 hours of their care visits, patients create and submit video diaries, sharing their experiences and revealing critical insights about their healthcare journey. After the observation period concludes, physicians engage in deep-dive conversations, offering their perspectives on symptomatology, treatment decisions, and other crucial aspects of patient care. An optional quantitative validation phase allows providers to complete self-administered surveys, further enriching the depth of understanding.
Privacy and compliance form the foundation of DialogueDx℠. Each implementation begins with a comprehensive study protocol and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Both patients and physicians provide informed consent before participation, ensuring protection of their identities throughout the research process. The methodology employs HIPAA-compliant AI speech recognition models for transcription, with expert research consultants overseeing analysis to ensure contextual accuracy and data integrity.
Unlike syndicated approaches that rely on professional research respondents, DialogueDx℠ allows for targeted recruitment of providers and specific patient types based on study criteria. This approach enables capturing authentic perspectives across geographies. A unique value-add of the methodology is that it provides rolling insights throughout the process, allowing organizations to begin acting on findings before project completion. This can be especially valuable when targeting patients with rare diseases or who have undergone less prevalent treatments that may require more time to identify and recruit.
Use Cases for DialogueDx℠
Commercial teams utilize DialogueDx℠ to gain insight into how language may influence physician treatment decision-making through capturing discussions focused on symptomology, treatments, and quality of life. By targeting specific types of appointments, we uncover insights into treatment initiation, switching, and titration, and how these differ among HCPs and by patient type. These insights inform marketing messages, support payer conversations, and enhance patient engagement strategies.
Medical Affairs and HEOR teams leverage the methodology to document treatment benefits and drawbacks, assess quality of life impact, and analyze cost and coverage dialogues. The solution captures crucial information about social determinants of health that might not be consistently recorded in electronic health records. For instance, transportation challenges or medication administration difficulties that emerge during patient-provider conversations provide valuable context for understanding treatment adherence and access barriers.
Research and development teams benefit from DialogueDx℠ by identifying unmet needs and developing meaningful clinical trial endpoints that reflect real-world patient experiences. The insights help shape future treatment development and inform label extension opportunities.
Some Real-World Examples
A global psychiatric disorder study demonstrated the solution’s scalability and impact. The implementation included 125 in-office recordings, 50 patient video diaries, and extensive provider interviews across five countries. The resulting insights led to optimized regional messaging strategies, updated patient profiles, and enhanced prescriber targeting approaches. The cross-functional team workshop that followed helped activate these insights into practical applications for brand planning.
In a contrasting example, a rare disease application in the U.S. showed how DialogueDx℠ could be effectively scaled for more focused investigations. This implementation included 25 targeted office recordings, 15 patient video diaries, and 10 provider interviews. The findings led to concrete improvements in sales team preparation, patient support services, and marketing communications. Additionally, the insights drove the development of a patient disease activity tracking app to facilitate more informed discussions between patients and their healthcare providers.
A Final Word
A typical DialogueDx℠ implementation spans several months, accounting for IRB approval, provider setup, and data collection, but provides valuable rolling insights throughout the process so organizations can start acting on findings before the project concludes. The solution’s AI-driven analysis capabilities, supported by healthcare research experts, enable efficient processing of recordings at scale while maintaining the nuanced understanding necessary for meaningful insights.
Through this structured approach to capturing and analyzing real-world clinical interactions, DialogueDx℠ offers healthcare organizations a comprehensive tool for understanding the nuances of patient-provider dialogue. The methodology’s flexibility and scalability make it suitable for both broad market research and focused rare disease investigations, while maintaining compliance and scientific rigor throughout the process. The resulting insights enable organizations to enhance their understanding of treatment dynamics, improve patient support services, and optimize their market presence in ways that benefit both healthcare providers and patients.
Authors
Ellen J. Gordon, PhD
Client Strategy & Growth, SVP
Ellen is an accomplished senior insights professional. Her understanding of client needs spans R&D, digital health, and commercial strategy, positioning her as a trusted partner for life science companies. Ellen is passionate about using emerging technology such as genAI to enhance market research. Ellen holds a PhD from the University of Michigan.
Katy Palmer, PhD
Client Strategy & Growth, EVP
Katy is part of the Executive Team guiding the overall strategy of KJT and leads the Strategic Account Team; ensuring great client experience while also being focused on revenue growth. Katy has worked in healthcare insights for 20+ years, both client and agency side. She has a PhD in immunology.
