How Script Concordance Test OLAs Innovate Medical Education

A Novel Approach to Clinical Reasoning and Measurable Insight in Medical Education

Medical education is evolving, but many traditional learning formats and tactics haven’t kept pace. 

Today’s clinicians need more than didactic content or static case studies. They need opportunities to engage with learning that reflects the complexity and ambiguity of real-world medicine. 

At the same time, pharmaceutical companies need deeper insight into how clinicians think, how their decision-making is shifting, and what influences that change. Measuring impact has become essential, not only to support ongoing investment in education, but to inform strategic decisions around future initiatives. 

At the intersection of these needs is an opportunity to innovate in how we educate, to build programs that don’t just deliver information, but generate real engagement and real data. 

We partnered with a client to tackle this challenge head-on: 

How can we deliver an engaging learning experience that mirrors authentic clinical reasoning while generating measurable outcomes to inform next steps? 

The Solution? Script Concordance Test (SCT) Other Learning Activity (OLA) 

We conceptualized and developed an OLA based on the Script Concordance Test (SCT) methodology, a format specifically designed to explore clinical decision-making in uncertain or ambiguous scenarios with a live voting element and an opportunity to compare treatment choice to an expert panel. 

How It Works 

Each module focuses on a realistic patient case where clinical consensus is lacking, or the optimal approach varies by region or clinician experience. 

The structure: 

1. Short Case Vignette: A clinical scenario involving diagnosis, treatment, or management that could cover some complexity or ambiguity in treatment plan. 
2. Proposed Action: Based on this case scenario, what would the ideal next step for this patient be? A. Initiate patient on drug W, send patient for test X, dose reduce drug Y, refer patient to specialist Z
3. Participant Voting: Participants vote using interactive polling software on what their next treatment decision would be.  
4. Voting Results: Live voting results from the group are displayed during the session, alongside pre-collected responses from an expert panel, sparking discussion and comparison between peer and expert decision-making.  
5. Data and Group Discussion: An expert moderator guides the discussion, using up targeted and minimal data slides (where relevant) to support exploration of the clinical reasoning behind different choices. 
6. Reporting: Voting data is collected and collated across sessions to identify trends, shifts in clinical decision-making, and regional variations, providing clients with actionable insights to inform future education and strategy.
    

How Do You Know If SCT Is Right for You? 

• You're designing education around complex, ambiguous or real-world clinical cases, where multiple approaches may be valid and consensus is lacking 

• You want to capture decision-level data and understand how clinicians think, not just what they know 

• You're interested in how various products are used across different patient profiles or points in the treatment journey 

• You want to track shifts in thinking or behaviour over time, by region or specialty 
• You're working in a therapeutic area with limited or evolving evidence, and want to support deeper clinical discussion
   

Final Takeaway 

This format emerged as one of the most in-demand approaches to medical education in 2024, and its momentum has only grown in 2025. Clients were quick to embrace it as something new, fresh, and meaningfully different: a clear pivot away from didactic data dumps and traditional slide-based programs. 

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with field teams praising its impact in the room, and clients valuing the depth of decision-level data and post-program reporting. 

If your goal is to modernize your learning strategy, engage clinicians in authentic decision-making, and generate outcomes you can see, measure, and act on, Script Concordance Test methodology may be the approach you’re looking for. 

Ready to innovate more medical education experiences? Visit our website to explore our services and see how we can help you engage clinicians and capture the data you value.