May, 2003
Volume I, Issue 7

News

New for subscribers:

Westside Public Relations is offering subscribers a complimentary download of our just-released white paper,"Improving Sales With Public Relations: A Guide for Healthcare Technology Companies."

The eight-page report offers specific tips on:

--using news pegs to establish company expertise
--news coverage: the search engine advantage
--generating sales leads with case histories
--why PR is more effective than advertising
--tips on selecting a PR agency

If you would like to download the file now, click here.
(PDF file format. Size: 133 Kb.)

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Trends

Does investing in new technology and quality improvement programs really yield a "return on investment" for the organization making the change?

An article entitled "The Business Case For Quality," in the April-May issue of Health Affairs suggests that "current payment mechanisms allow, and even reward, defective care because they are unable to reward future benefit."

(Note: to order a copy of the full article go to the magazine's order page)

The article notes that certain interventions such as diabetes management and workplace wellness programs provide clear patient benefits, thus making a "social case." They may also provide long-term cost savings, making an "economic case."

The authors point out that quality improvements often fail to provide near term returns for the entity that invests in the intervention, thus failing the "business case."

This discussion about ROI is an important one for healthhcare technology companies. While it will take years to develop conclusive results about the benefits of technology on a national level (e.g. consumers nationwide, major employers) individual companies can often document and publicize the benefits of a particular product within a specific hospital or medical group.

Product "case histories" or "success stories" are a good way to do this. Almost all leading healthcare technology publications run case histories on a regular basis and editors are always looking for good articles. They can be a highly effective sales tool, since they show your product in action, solving a problem.

However, companies need to submit an entire completed article with documented facts, not just an idea or the name of a happy customer. Most case histories follow a set format. They should be about 600 words and include a problem, solution and results. Before submitting a case history, confirm all the key facts with your customer and obtain their permission to use the information.

Industry Insight

"In an article in this month's issue of the Harvard Business Review, author Nicholas Carr claims that, due to technology commoditization, "IT doesn't matter" as a strategic advantage."

"'By now, the core functions of IT -- data storage, data processing, and data transport -- have become available and affordable to all,' the article claims, turning expenditures on such technologies into mere costs of doing business, an evolution similar to that of the steam engine, the telegraph, the telephone and the internal combustion engine. Similarly, the report said, overinvestment in technology in the 1990s echoes overinvestment in railroads in the 1860s."

"The report had three pieces of IT spending-related advice for enterprises. One: Spend less. Studies show that companies that spend the most on IT don't always post the best financial results."

"Two: Follow, don't lead. Waiting means an enterprise gets more for its money, according to Moore's Law, and decreases the risk of buying buggy products."

"Three: Focus on vulnerabilities, not opportunities. It's hard to gain competitive advantage through use of mature technology, but it's easy to get taken to the cleaners when systems go down."

-- from "The End of IT?" eWeek magazine, May 21, 2003

Resources

Where do you go if you want to look at a listing of health information companies and their products?

Two web sites offer comprehensive listings.

The resource with the most data is the HIMSS Solutions Toolkit™. According to the site description, it "offers you the most comprehensive healthcare IT database in the industry Our data sources include...KLAS, Dorenfest, Gartner, AHA Health Forum and Solucient."

Although access to all the data available, including product evaluations, requires a subscription, much basic information is available to the casual viewer. To access company listings, go to the "Marketplace" page of site HIMSS Toolkit and click on the "Find" box. You can search by a number of product categories, such as "financial," "clinical decision support" and "patient safety."

The HIMSS site listings are organized primarily by product function. If you know the name of a company and want to look up contact information, check the alphabetical listings available at Health Management Technology magazine.

Go to the magazine home page HMT site and find the "Resource Guide" link on the left hand column. The guide offers an easy to follow A-Z listing of hundreds of companies.

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© 2003 Westside Public Relations. All Rights Reserved.