ExpertLens^TM

The Problem

You need to make a complex decision and want to incorporate expert and/or stakeholder input.

To ensure quality and transparency, you want to engage many individuals with different perspectives.

• You considered individual consultations … but you don't have enough time and resources.
• You wanted to do a survey … but you're not confident that a group mean would help you understand different perspectives.
• You considered an in-person consensus expert panel … but you don't believe that a group decision can be achieved efficiently in large and diverse groups.
• You wanted to engage individuals with opposing perspectives … but are afraid that in-person discussions may make some participants uncomfortable sharing their views with each other.

Or... you need to implement the RAND/PPMD Patient-Centeredness Method (RPM).

Designed to iteratively solicit input from large and diverse groups of patients and their representatives, the RPM is best implemented online to ensure convenience and efficiency of data collection and analysis. ExpertLens™ is ideal for the online implementation of the RAND/PPMD Patient-Centeredness Method because it offers a data collection platform with survey, automated data analysis, and discussion functionalities.

Our Solution

ExpertLens is an online, modified-Delphi system that helps harness the wisdom of "select crowds."

ExpertLens allows a large number of individuals with different areas and levels of expertise to:

• Identify important issues either independently (through answering open-ended questions) or collaboratively (through participating in an online moderated discussion).
• Rate potential issues and/or prioritize solutions.
• Review and discuss the group's ratings via online discussions that can be partially or completely anonymous.
• Revise their original answers.

By combining numeric answers with discussion comments, ExpertLens not only identifies areas of agreement in large and diverse groups, but also allows you to understand what participants disagree on and why their perspectives vary. The anonymity helps participants be more honest in expressing their ideas and evaluate other participants' comments based on their substance rather than the social status or interpersonal characteristics of participating individuals.

ExpertLens can also help you conduct traditional expert panels that rely on the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method (RAM) completely online, and it can help you engage patients and their representatives to implement the RAND/PPMD Patient-Centeredness Method (RPM). Rating data are analyzed automatically using the RAM approach to determining group consensus. Experts interact with each other using online discussion boards.

Our Services

ExpertLens is a full-service system supported by an interdisciplinary team of RAND researchers.

Our team will help:

• Design your study.
• Program the study protocol within ExpertLens.
• Conduct a pilot test.
• Administer it to study participants.
• Analyze both quantitative and qualitative data.