Agencies expect a first meeting to be a pitch. This one is closer to a diagnostic, and the most useful outcome is sometimes “this is not your problem, and here is what we think is.”
What questions are asked in a scoping meeting?
- What are you actually trying to change? Overdose deaths, emergency department load, continuity of care for a specific population, response time to a supply change — these lead to different programs, and “the opioid crisis” leads to none of them.
- Which population? Defined by what rule, of what size, in what geography.
- What have you already tried, and what happened? Including the things that did not work. This is the single most informative answer in the conversation and the one agencies are most reluctant to give.
- What do you already hold? Monitoring data, medical examiner data, EMS data, Medicaid claims. Some agencies are further along than they think, and a component that duplicates something you already run is a waste of your money.
- Who owns this clinically? Not the procurement contact — the person whose professional judgment governs it. Programs without one drift toward whatever is easy to measure.
- What would make you stop? Asked early, because it is the question that shapes the whole design.
What will your agency learn from a scoping meeting?
- Whether the components address the thing you named, honestly, including where they do not.
- Which components have weak evidence behind them, before you ask. See what is not established.
- What data would have to move, so your counsel can start looking at it.
- What we would want measured, including the measures that could show the program failing.
- Roughly what scale of engagement makes sense — cost is discussed here, against a defined scope, rather than published as a figure that would mislead.
What happens after a scoping meeting?
Three ways, all fine. You proceed to design. You decide it is not the right time or the right problem. Or we tell you it will not help — which happens, and it is a better outcome for everyone than a pilot that was never going to work.
There is no obligation attached to the first conversation, and there is no proposal at the end of it unless you ask for one.
More: how engagement works · start a conversation.
Frequently asked questions
What is a scoping meeting?
A scoping meeting is the first conversation between a public agency and IntellaRx. Agencies expect a pitch; this is closer to a diagnostic. It establishes what the agency is trying to change, for which population, with what data, and whether the program’s components address that problem at all. Sometimes the most useful answer is that they do not.
How should an agency prepare for a scoping meeting?
Come ready to name the specific outcome you want to change, the population and the rule that defines it, and what you have already tried, including what did not work. Know what data you already hold, such as monitoring, medical examiner, EMS or Medicaid claims data, who owns the program clinically, and what result would make you stop.
Is there an obligation after a scoping conversation?
No. There is no obligation attached to the first conversation, and there is no proposal at the end of it unless you ask for one. The conversation can end three ways: you proceed to design, you decide it is not the right time or the right problem, or IntellaRx tells you the program will not help.
Does the scoping meeting cover cost?
Yes, in rough terms. IntellaRx does not publish a price, because a figure without a defined scope would mislead. In the scoping conversation, cost is discussed against the scope your agency actually needs, along with the scale of engagement that makes sense, what data would have to move, and what would be measured, including the measures that could show the program failing.