ACTION PLAN

Provide ready-to-use information and resources.

Patient experience is an important and commonly used indicator for measuring quality in health care. Patients who feel good about their provider(s) and the care they receive are more likely to comply with treatment recommendations

– leading to positive clinical outcomes for the patient and a competitive advantage for the provider.

As a medical technology provider, you can increase your own competitive advantage by developing patient-focused tools — related to your products and services ― that equip providers in helping patients understand and feel empowered about their condition and treatment. Here are a few ideas:

• Talking points for providers to use during patient consultations, whether in person or via telehealth

• Patient guide with frequently asked questions and a step-by-step overview of what they can expect before, during, and after the procedure

• Video illustration of procedure or treatment

• Post-procedure instructions for at-home care

Fill up the patient pipeline.

Helping providers increase patient satisfaction will go a long way towards retaining current patients. Medical technology companies should also help providers identify and acquire new patients who may be ideal candidates for the technology. One of the most effective approaches is a referring physician outreach program, giving providers a toolbox of templates and other resources to make it easy for them to contact and engage with potential referral sources.

• Empower customers with data to help them surface and target the most appropriate opportunities. Both Carevoyance and DefinitiveHealthcare use searchable

ACTION PLAN, continued next page

STRATEGY Join Your Customers’ Pursuit of Outstanding Patient Satisfaction and Clinical Outcomes

1. Promoteeffectivecommunicationand

coordinationofcare

2. Strengthenpersonandfamilyengagementas

partnersintheircare

3. Promoteeffectiveprevention&treatmentof

chronicdisease

4. Workwithcommunitiestopromotebestpractices

ofhealthyliving

5. Makecareaffordable

6. Makecaresaferbyreducingharmcausedinthe

deliveryofcare

CMS “MEANINGFUL MEASURES”

OVERARCHING QUALITY CATEGORIES³

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

You have introduced disruptive technology that challenges the standard of care. It is incumbent on you to support

your customers in communicating how the patient care pathway is changing or will change as a result of the adoption of your product into their healthcare facility. Superior outcomes and patient satisfaction have always been top priorities for healthcare providers, and helping them achieve these goals represents a unique marketing opportunity for medtech companies.

As CMS describes in its “Meaningful Measures” initiative, patient-centered strategies are crucial – from giving physicians functional outcomes data and support to empowering patients and caregivers with educational resources for making informed decisions.By equipping your customers for success, you will cement current relationships and create new ones, positioning your company as the leader in meeting patient and physician needs.

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ACTION PLAN, continued

healthcare analytics, allowing you to generate provider volume data by diagnostics and procedures.

• Equip them with anything they may need – introductory letter or email template, slide deck presentation, case studies, patient identification criteria, product samples, etc.

• Organize local, peer-driven educational and networking events, virtually or in person. An invitation to network with colleagues over dinner while attendees are at their homes is being embraced in today’s climate. A nice touch might be to work with a food delivery service to actually provide a restaurant-quality meal to the homes of the physician attendees.

Cultivate good clinical outcomes – even without a sales rep there for procedure support.

With hundreds of thousands of medical technologies on the market, it’s not surprising sales field reps often know more about the devices than the providers who use them. “Ultimately, working with new technology and devices requires more than just theoretical learning: It demands hands on experience that highly-trained members of industry are suited to provide¹,” says Thomas Sullivan, editor, Policy & Medicine. However, over the past few years and especially in the first half of 2020, the role of industry

representatives in the procedure room has come under increased scrutiny, with critics citing conflicts of interest, increased surgical costs, and patient safety concerns.

“A lot of the disruptions should have happened a while ago, such as digitizing sales reps, and making greater use of non-personal promotion (NPP) and telemedicine,” notes Angela Tenuta, EVP, Intouch Group. “Those changes will stick; they already made sense.”2

What the future holds is uncertain, but medtech companies should begin to evolve their programs to support providers in delivering outstanding clinical therapy without them.

• Add a remote collaboration interface to allow-real-time, on-demand support, proctoring, and clinical education from anywhere. Options to consider include Proximie, AvailMedsystems or ExplORer.

• Develop user-friendly, clear, and concise resources – procedure guides, step-by-step instructions, and clinical decision support tools – to allow providers to easily find the information they need.

• Design and deliver in-service and training programs with the assumption sales reps will only participate remotely, upon request.

These tactics will give your company a competitive edge

– if your customers are successful, you will position your company and your products as a leader in meeting patient and physician needs.

PITFALLS TO AVOID• Translate patient materials into multiple languages. English,

Spanish, and Chinese are the three most common languages spoken in the United States.

• Have your patient, referring physician, and procedure support resources available through multiple mediums – print, online, smartphone application – making it easy for providers to self-serve.

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References1. Sullivan T. Sales reps in the operating room – there is room and need for them. Policy &

Medicine. 2018. Accessed online May 2, 2020, at https://www.policymed.com/2010/01/sale-reps-in-the-operating-room-there-is-room-and-need-for-them.html.

2. Medical Marketing & Media. Marketing in a Crisis: Medical marketers respond to the coronavirus. 2020. Accessed online May 8, 2020, at https://mmm.cvtr.io/lp/mm-m-marketing-in-a-crisis-ebook?wp=74&locale=1&lead_channel=email&src=EM20CVEB1.

3. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. Overview of the CMS Meaningful Measures Initiative. 2020. Accessed online May 2, 2020, at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/QualityInitiativesGenInfo/Downloads/CMS-Meaningful-Measures_Overview-Fact-Sheet_508_2018-02-28.pdf.

VIGNETTENewCo offers a minimally invasive surgical device for certain brain tumors and focal epilepsy disease. Dr. Jones, a neurosurgeon, has been using the device with great success for over two years, treating an average of 60 patients per year.

But Dr. Jones knows there are as many as 1,150 patients in his catchment area each year who may benefit from the minimally invasive brain surgery. NewCo’s team had calculated the estimate for Dr. Jones, using his core-based statistical area (CBSA) population and the overall incidence and prevalence rates for the specific types of conditions the device treats. But where are these patients, and how can Dr. Jones find them?

Recognizing most patients with brain tumors and epilepsy are under the care of an oncologist or neurologist (or both), NewCo helped Dr. Jones focus his outreach efforts on area physicians in those specialties. Using robust provider claim data, NewCo’s team identified the top 10 area specialists who see these patients and determined Dr. Jones is already receiving referrals from six of them. What a great place to start!

With his top targets and the outreach tools provided by NewCo in hand, Dr. Jones is ready to raise awareness about his life-changing (and lifesaving) procedure.

480 E. Stirrup Trail, Monument, CO 80132 Toll-Free: (855) MED-MKTG Fax: (732) 399-8070

www.BichselGroup.com

Getting Started1. �Identify internal stakeholders, determine if you will meet in person or electronically, set up the meeting2. �If in person, make sure you have plenty of flipchart paper and markers3. �If electronically, customize our Virtual Gallery Walk template and determine what else you will need for a successful meeting

Getting Started

1. Identify internal stakeholders, determine if you will meet in person or electronically, set up the meeting

Getting Started1. �Identify internal stakeholders, determine if you will meet in person or electronically, set up the meeting2. �If in person, make sure you have plenty of flipchart paper and markers3. �If electronically, customize our Virtual Gallery Walk template and determine what else you will need for a successful meeting

Getting Started

1. Identify internal stakeholders, determine if you will meet in person or electronically, set up the meeting

Getting Started1. �Identify internal stakeholders, determine if you will meet in person or electronically, set up the meeting2. �If in person, make sure you have plenty of flipchart paper and markers3. �If electronically, customize our Virtual Gallery Walk template and determine what else you will need for a successful meeting

Getting Started

1. Identify internal stakeholders, determine if you will meet in person or electronically, set up the meeting

Gain internal buy-in for an enhanced patient component to your overall marketing strategy, elevating the importance of patient satisfaction and access to care among your key internal stakeholders.

Examine your existing marketing plan to be sure patients, families, and caregivers are elevated to a position of priority.

For a quick win, use our customizable letter/email template to create a communication your customers can send to their referral sources. Be sure to offer help in identifying “hot targets” for them.

GETTING STARTED

TOOLBOX

• Sample letter/email template from your customer to send to his/her referral sources

• Carevoyance

• Definitive Healthcare

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