Bridging Cultures

Since its inception Ideas & Solutions has acted as a bridge between different cultures. We ‘translate’ between payers, physicians, patients and life science companies. We make sure that consensus and agreement are not hindered by important differences in policy objectives, decision-making patterns and communication styles.

We also mediate between different parts of the world. Some geographies we work in are more structured and organised than others. Decision-makers and executives from one region may follow assumptions and routines which are not followed or understood in other regions, and this may lead to failure in projects. Concepts and frameworks devised in a well-resourced, affluent health care system may be unviable in developing health care systems. Although English is universally understood around the world it is sometimes thoughts and models developed in other countries and in other languages which work best in another region. By combining insights from developed and developing health care systems into a unique value proposition, Ideas & Solutions delivers concepts and results that suit local requirements and socio-political contexts.

Sometimes we also act as ‘quality assurers’ for health authorities in developing health care systems. International expert groups dispatched by sponsors to such countries may try to use ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions for health technology assessment (HTA), managed entry agreements, tendering and other policy domains. This has led to a plethora of unsuccessful capability development projects worldwide. Recommendations and deliverables are culturally mismatched and unsustainable, and the impact disappears as soon as the consultants have packed up. To mitigate this risk, we build on our payer experience to act as personal advisors to decision-makers, helping them articulate their needs and requirements towards international experts.