Chloé de Mortier - Cost-Conscious Healthcare Researcher

Hi, I am Chloé, and for the past almost two years, I have been immersed in my PhD research. What is the focus of my research, you ask? Well, I'm delving deep into the world of clinical practice guideline development training, with a keen eye on keeping healthcare costs in check.

Now, you might be wondering, what are clinical practice guidelines all about? They are guidance documents for medical professionals and patients about the best treatment options in a landscape where medical advancements are continuously made.  These guidelines also have the potential to help shape a more cost-conscious healthcare system, by carefully considering the cost impact their recommendations will make.

In the Netherlands, guidelines are often created by and for specific healthcare professional societies. However, patients often receive care from a variety of healthcare professionals for their conditions. That's why guideline panels often exist of panel members with diverse backgrounds, consisting of healthcare professionals from various fields, patient advocates, and methodologists.

Our mission? To foster fruitful collaboration among these panel members with their diverse backgrounds. Therefore, we are working on the development of a just-in-time guideline development training program. That explains the guideline development steps when the panel members need the information.

But that's not all. A crucial component of this training program is to shine a spotlight on incorporating cost considerations into guidelines. Because the need for a more cost-conscious care system becomes more and more pressing.

Back in May, we gave a sneak peek of our survey study at the Dutch Society of Medical Education (NVMO) via a poster presentation. We did this study to uncover what the specific educational needs of panel members were when it came to guideline development training. The full publication with the study's results is coming soon, right here on this website. So, keep an eye out!