bhbia2023 brought together more than 280 delegates over two days to delve into some of the latest learning and thinking from across the spectrum of healthcare business insights.

We decided to take a step back and reflect on some of the key themes emerging – from the conference stage, interactive workshops and through discussions with delegates – and assess what they mean for the business insights community.

In the first of two articles, we take a look at the topic of change and digital transformation, the pace of which continues to accelerate. Inspired by the stories shared by many of our speakers, including those of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Uday Bose and Professor Shafi Ahmed, Harvard Medical School and Bart’s Medical School, we look at the power of disruptive technology and the watch-outs for its implementation.

And hot on the back of the BHBIA’s Ethics & Compliance Committee’s panel discussion on Fair Market Value (FMV), we explore how it’s possible to balance fair remuneration of market research participants with regulatory requirements and still protect the quality of the resulting data and insights. 

THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Wherever you work within our industry, the need to embrace digital transformation grows greater almost by the day. So, it’s perhaps not surprising that this emerged as a critical topic at this year’s annual conference.

Generative AI couldn’t fail to catch your attention in the past months, but this is just one of many disruptive technologies accelerating change in the way we live and work and which promises to alter the landscape of business insights. But with every exciting advancement comes the need to reflect on whether innovation really means improvement.

READ: Disruptive technology in business insights – for better or worse?

NAVIGATING FAIR MARKET VALUE (FMV)

Primary market research wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t collaborate with the experts in the field - healthcare professionals (HCPs), patients and carers – and as an industry, we strive to recognise and respect their time via ‘incentive payments’.

FMV isn’t new but the challenges to balancing fair remuneration, fieldwork requirements and generating high-quality data and insights persist. The key to resolving these tensions points, in part, to a need for improved communication. But how does this happen in practice?

The BHBIA annual conference 2023 addressed the issues of FMV and the importance of clear communication to ensure robust research outcomes.

READ: Are your ‘incentive’ payments compromising your data?