The challenge
The success of this global pharma company’s diabetes portfolio, within a major Scotland NHS Trust, had been constrained by poor advocacy and a robust competitive presence. This was compounded by the Trust also encountering significant challenges to the Quality of Care. In 10-years there’d been a 44% and 20% increase respectively in type 2 and type 1 diabetes within the local population. Plus:
- 1 in 5 beds were filled with patients who had diabetes alongside their hospitalised condition.
- Diabetes patients experienced delayed discharges and rated their experience as ‘poor’.
Informed by these insights, the account team recognised a significant opportunity to drive a change that would ultimately improve patient care and serve a population health need.
But whilst the account team were highly motivated, they felt their capabilities in change management were insufficient to drive what was needed quickly. So, they turned to Rubica to help.
The solution
The first step was the formation of a change project team. Comprised of Pharma and NHS Trust members, this marked a first in the Trust’s history – signaling a real desire to drive a vision that could transform the treatment of diabetic patients:
“To drive ward based education that would reduce delayed discharges, unnecessary hypoglycemic episodes, and harm from insulin errors via the development of consistently high standards of multidisciplinary inpatient care.”
Rubica then worked with the project team to formulate and deliver a plan within a 2-month window. This meant action had to be laser focused, progress meticulously tracked, risks effectively managed and the ability to adapt quickly crucial. Key enablers for this were:
- Developing a contracting framework that’d drive the project forward whilst establishing clear accountabilities, roles and responsibilities, possible risks and ownership for results.
- Establishing a baseline of measures and a measurement process that’d track critical success factors and enable team members to challenge progression where appropriate.
- Creating sprint milestones that were aligned to the plan, action focused, assigned to roles, and sponsored by team members.
The results
Within a year of the project’s implementation:
- The Trust has:
- Improved its service – focusing on consistency and quality of care of patients.
- Improved awareness on insulin safety, with 0 incidents reports.
- Improved scores in PRISM (patient recorded insulin self-management).
- The Pharma company has experienced a significant uplift in commercial performance:
- Up to 52% growth in sales in key hospitals in just 6-months.
- Launched medicines gaining access in 3-months, versus a legacy 18-month average.
- Active customer endorsement of the project to other healthcare bodies
