This workshop, held on 14th October, aimed to help delegates understand understand the practical application of the BHBIA Guidelines to their market research projects. 

The course was led by Ethics & Compliance Committee members: Alison Carr - Hamell, Rebecca D'Ippolito - Sermo and Claudia Wing - Janssen. In 2020 this team won The Julie Stacey Award based on delegate feedback from the workshop - and we were delighted to be able to build on this winning formula for 2021.

The training exercises are based on a fictitious case study that draws on real-life examples. Delegates need to consult both the:

• BHBIA Legal and Ethical Guidelines for Healthcare Market Research, and 
• BHBIA/ABPI Guidance notes on collecting adverse events, product complaints and special reporting situations during market research. 

The practical work helps everyone to become familiar with where to find key information in these important documents, and, importantly, how to apply it, even in some of the less obvious scenarios. 

There have been quite a few changes to guidance and legislation recently, so this was also a great chance to stay up to date, and of course we also took a look at how COVID-19 has impacted on our work with respect to best practice guidance.

Convener Claudia Wing commented:

"This year saw us host our Guidelines in Action workshop once again using a virtual format. The course attracted delegates who were new to the industry, as well as more experienced members from roles including compliance and medical functions who valued a refresher on the latest guidelines. This mix of roles allowed for a very engaging and interactive discussion, and one where we all learn from one another. It is clear that there is a real willingness and appetite to gain a better understanding of compliance requirements, and the format of the workshop allowed us to deliver this both practically through the case studies, but also with plenty of time set aside to cover delegate specific questions. As convenors we really value delegates that engage and contribute to the discussion, and this year was no exception with great participation from all."

Delegate feedback

The course feedback was very positive once again; comments from the delegates included: 

"The course was very informative and the exercises were engaging!”

"Good format and presenters. Asking up front for our important questions was extremely helpful"

“I enjoyed the course, especially as it was a smaller group which allowed for interaction and discussion”