Subject Matter Expert Study
June 2022
Problem:
As the product is FDA-authorized, the Clinical team adheres to strict clinical standards to ensure continued efficacy.
The team established three goals for the Health Literacy Project. The revisions must use patient-centered and destigmatizing language, be understandable to the general population, and be consistent in presenting the indicated clinical concepts.
How can we verify that we have met our stated goals?
Approach:
With Clinical support, I created a loose study protocol. The Clinical Team then identified four external Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to read through the original content, clinical points to maintain, and the revised versions before completing a Google Survey to offer objective and subjective feedback.
I contacted the SMEs to ensure interest and availability, explained payment procedures, and remained the point person for their contracts and questions. I was responsible for sending all information, maintaining a record of activity related to the study, and recording results. After receiving their written feedback, I would iterate on their comments and discuss my notes or questions with them when we met virtually.
When the study was complete, I wrote the synopsis with Clinical supervision. The summary is a significant portion of the Product User Research Record.
Results:
After their initial review, the SMEs confirmed the clinical teams’ hypothesis that we had met our stated goals and rated the revisions as:
Patient-centered and destigmatized - 4.6 / 5
Understandable to their patients - 4.2 / 5
Clinical concepts are in-tact - 4.9 / 5
The subjective feedback was largely positive, with constructive suggestions for specific wording based on their experience.
Overall, the SMEs found the revised content was a substantial improvement over the original content.