We all must keep up with trends – and even attempt to stay ahead – of new developments in health science, patient management, technology, evidence-based guidelines, reimbursement, and regulations.

That’s what makes the understanding of a physician’s practice such a critical component of product innovation.

With the array of information available now through journals, seminars, societies, textbooks, and online searches, it is understandably difficult to determine on your own what constitutes relevant current practice and what does not.

The first step in approaching this task may be to clarify the differences among basic research methodologies, and then to align different methodologies to answer different types of practice questions.

That said, qualitative research contributes a great deal of essential information.  With many of the techniques we use, it’s possible to explore attitudes, opinions, beliefs, perceptions, interactions, practice structure, and behaviors in various settings.

There are a variety of types or approaches to practice-focused research, here are a few types of qualitative studies I’ve found the most value from:

• Case studies – the case study approach generally involves an in-depth examination or exploration of a single example. A case may be based on:

1. an individual doctor’s established routine
2. a group of physicians or researchers, who have created common protocols
3. a hospital that uses a documented treatment algorithm or formulary
4. a professional society which has published practice guidelines
5. an event that exemplifies the experiences of the group

For example, we worked with a client with a treatment for a rare medical condition and reported an analysis of eight cases of practices. Specifically, we collected reports of in-office activities, interviews with generalists and specialists, patient notes, videotapes of interactions, and other materials. We gained valuable insight into the nature of diagnosis, patient communication, most important, ideas for product packaging and training before the brand launch.

• Monitoring blogs and social media – with the emergence of blogs as a mainstream medium, it is wise to keep track of the blogosphere in your category.  You can gain real insights from the unedited comments and ideas from customers, competitors and influencers.

• Online research – the infinite information available on the web makes it a central element of external idea sourcing. Key targets will include companies, university research, media, patent applications, and industry association events.

• Non-customer analysis – considering their feedback as to why they do not select existing products, along with their suggested improvements, can often be more valuable than that your satisfied customers.

• Advocate community – even though setting up an advocate community can be a major undertaking, it can allow users to interact naturally.  It offers an environment in which they can suggest valuable improvements.  And if you can’t create your own communities, look to leverage third-party sites where users congregate and interact.

• Observational research – in this ethnographic approach, we gain a deeper understanding of the customers by watching their day-to-day process.  We can identify key drivers of both successful and sub-optimal protocols and product use.  It helps us develop a clearer picture of the future expectations and requirements for new products.  And we can explore actionable parameters for implementation. We go beyond asking the customer what they want, to seeing what they need to make life easier – and may not know they need it.

Using several sources (like interviews, site visits, internet postings, and case studies), you can create a rich description of practice.  And that can lead to understanding perceived strengths and weaknesses of current offerings, as well as essential components of prospective improvements.

That’s the value of practice-focused research as a start to the brand innovation process – and ultimately to brand liberation.