Today, medical device developers and manufacturers are hard-pressed to find success in the marketplace. The drastic changes that have taken place in the American health care industry, largely focused on proving quality of care and increasing cost-efficiency, have significantly disrupted the status quo. Now, developers not only have to prove that their device is safe and effective, they must be able to supply evidence of improvement to patient outcomes, and in many cases, reduced costs.
To be successful in this changing industry, developers must seek to disrupt the standard of care, and supply healthcare providers with tools and resources that will improve their day-to-day experiences. While some industry stakeholders bemoan the fact that physicians may not have the same power over purchasing they once enjoyed, it is still crucial that the value of novel devices is clearly evidenced to providers.
“We physicians are now more involved with the hospital systems regarding new device purchasing decisions and evaluation of current devices for cost-benefit analyses,” Lyssa Ochoa, MD, a vascular surgeon in San Antonio, TX, explained to Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry. “We are able to review more data with the hospitals to help us all in discussing which products best serve our patient population and minimize costs.”
Appealing to these professionals requires retaining experienced insight during the entire design phase through clinical trials. In this way, novel devices can be designed with the needs of end-users as a main focus, and not an afterthought. Medical Metrics Inc., a leading imaging core lab services provider, has facilitated numerous product approvals, and offers support from industry thought-leaders from early-phase feasibility to post-market surveillance.
