Value customization using a value assessment tool

Value assessment performed in Section 5.3.3 is built on certain assumptions and various countries, or even regions within a country, use different guidelines related to CRE sur-veillance as the problem of CRE varies in significance between different hospitals.

Hence, the impact of the changed screening protocol on different value elements may deviate by each customer approached by the case company. While the data in the as-sessment can be modified to somewhat reflect the situation relevant to the customer, it would require some more complex modifications in calculation logic and used formulas to adjust the assessment’s inputs and results for each customer. Thus, based on the simple value assessment idea presented in the previous section, a more comprehensive value assessment tool has been built. Nevertheless, the value assessment tool is still relatively intuitive and not too complex as, during the process of the tool building, the case company’s representative said:

“The thing is to arrive to a compromise on the model [value assessment tool] that is not so simple that people don’t believe in it but also not complicated, so people don’t believe in it neither as it has to many factors. Having well-implemented main factors there is what matters.”

Hence, the tool also includes some additional aspects and the value assessment per-formed in the tool is far more detailed as compared to the presented example of value assessment. Yet, the tool still focuses on the four main value areas identified in previous sections, as Figure 57 presents.

Value assessment tool – the interface snapshots.

As the figure shows, the tool is an Excel model that is built out of several tabs. The tabs are divided logically into earlier specified value areas that enable to focus model inputs on a certain area. Moreover, such division enables direction of the right questions to the right people in laboratories and hospitals which is important as the company’s repre-sentative said:

“While using such model we do not only need to talk to the laboratory represent-atives, we need to talk to infection control representrepresent-atives, laboratory and hospital finance responsible…one person would not know everything. It is a complex pro-cess.”

As stated in the quote, the value assessment in healthcare context is highly complex and such division into main value elements can help to simplify the assessment approach.

Furthermore, if the assessment is divided into different areas, it is easy to note which of the value areas is the most important for the specific customer or a particular decision-maker within the customer’s organization. In other words, in which area the customer sees the highest change potential. The ability to recognize these high impact areas can enable the case company to focus their message to their customers on the customer-specific benefits. The company already tries to focus its selling message on aspects relevant to each customer as the case company’s representative said:

“We need to know each customer perfectly well to be able to identify what would be of interest to them and adapt our proposition to them. The benefits proposed to customers are not always the same. It really depends on the customer and their expectations, the history of the customer with carbapenems – for example, have they had an outbreak already or not? So, we adapt our proposition to each cus-tomer to make sure that our offering will have an impact on the cuscus-tomer.” The Excel model can help the case company to identify the potential interest areas for each customer and present the customer how the company’s solution is likely to impact the customer’s organization. The tool enables to easily alter assumptions for analysis to reflect an individual customer’s use situation and hence customize the value assessment for each customer. The case company can pre-fill the model with the screening solution-specific data, and the remaining assessment’s inputs can be altered in the tool to include customer’s data. Filling information in the value assessment tool allows for direct assess-ment of the current situation as well as potential performance evaluation if the company’s solution is implemented. The tool presents the outcomes of the analysis in form that allows for an easy comparison between both screening methods for a particular cus-tomer. Moreover, the tool provides a concise and visual summary of changes that allows to easily evaluate the potential value and examine the impact of changes on different areas. Thus, the tool should allow the case company to easily account for the possible differences among potential customers while not having to spend a lot of time adjusting the value assessment method for each customer. Figure 58 illustrates how a change of only basic parameters in the tool may result in different outcomes for different customers.

Value assessment customization based on use situation.

As the table at the top of the figure shows, each customer documents a different level of CRE prevalence. Also, each of the customers follows a different protocol of screening patients at admission. While Customers A and C perform only one screening test and isolate all the patients at-risk for CRE, Customer B performs two tests and isolates only positive patients. Furthermore, Customer C, besides CRE screening, performs an addi-tional test for the same group of patients and isolates patients until the results of both tests are known. Finally, each of the customers performs a different number of CRE tests annually. All these differences between the customers show that the case company’s solution may be implemented in varying conditions. Hence, the monetary assessment of the impact made by the change of the screening method results in different values for different customers. Furthermore, as the case company is convinced of the benefits of-fered by its solution, the value assessment tool may also help the case company to as-sess the value of its offering to customers in monetary terms. Thus, the tool can serve as yet another proof of the value the molecular screening solution delivers, and the case company’s representative stated:

Use situation Customer A Customer B Customer C

Prevalence 2,5 % 0,2 % 3,4 %

Number of tests at admission to exclude

CRE carrige 1 2 1

Tests done on days: 1 1,2 1

Patients tested Patients at-risk Patients at-risk Patients at-risk

Isolation Patients at-risk Positive only Patients at-risk

Other supplemental CP Patients at-risk Patients at-risk Patients at-risk Other tests at admission that require

supplemental CP with time to result >48h No No Yes

Number of patients tested at admission 1000 500 2500

“The model is a way to prove some of the benefits and the best way to show to customers, using the customer’s own data, whether they can achieve any eco-nomic benefits.”

As Figure 58 shows, Customer A and B would financially benefit from the change of the screening method while it appears that the change of the screening method would result in higher expenses for Customer C. Thus, Customers A and B might be more interested in the company’s offering than Customer C. Interestingly, however, the offering may be attractive for all three customers regardless of the outcome of the monetary value as-sessment. The economic aspects are not the only driving factors in implementation of new technological solutions in healthcare as the representative of the case company said:

“In case of our product it is not only about health-economic aspects. Our solutions, for example, may have the coverage of the carbapenem strains that are of partic-ular interest to customers as they had an outbreak related to these strains and in that case, we won’t even need to discuss the economic aspects, they are second-ary.”

Thus, in case of customers who actively seek for a particular solution, the case company can use the model to supplement the discussions and offer the monetary value analysis as additional element in their offering. In such a case, the model does not only help to estimate the change in the costs but also points at areas in which the change in costs and other resources is likely to manifest. As a result, the customer is not only convinced that the solution brings results earlier and thus helps to make better-informed medical decisions but also the customer may better understand the impact of the changed screening method on the organization.