How You Market Medical Technologies Has Changed – Are You Changing With It? Part 3

While Ideas 1 & 2 from Kathleen Malaspina and Tom Scearce, co-authored White Paper: How to increase demand for medical devices in today’s changing and challenging market are straightforward and fairly easy to execute, implementing Idea 3 involves more “out-of-the-box” type thinking for most medical device marketers…
Idea 3 is Find out where your product is being discussed, and advertise there in a low-risk way.
There are actually many ways to do this, and we’ll elaborate upon that in a bit, but for now, let’s focus on the strategy Malaspina and Scearce say to do.
They say, “Start by testing a Google AdSense campaign.”
This is actually a very innovative and smart strategy, but one that requires peeling back the layers to really understand how to maximize it.
Malaspina and Scearce give a basic overview of what they mean when they say “test a Google AdSense campaign.” But what does that really mean for you and your medical device company?
First, the basics.
What exactly is Google AdSense?
Google AdSense is a service offered by Google where website owners (called “publishers”) select ads that appear on different pages of their website.
Ads can be video ads, graphic ads or text ads. These ads are (supposed to be) relevant to the content on the web page that they appear.
When someone clicks on that ad, the “publisher” gets paid.
Many look at AdSense campaigns as a passive revenue stream for the website or blog owner, but this of course depends on the amount of traffic to the website or blog.
The idea behind AdSense is quite simple: content-based sites display ads for products or services. The more traffic the content-rich website or blog receives, the more people are likely to click through the ads displayed on the site.
And, if you care about such things, the more revenue for you – or, in this B2B case, your company.
Now, there’s also the “retail” side to AdSense. It’s unclear whether Malaspina and Scearce were recommending that a medical device company participate in a Google AdSense campaign as a “publisher” or as a “retailer,” so we’ll address both.
A “retailer” is usually the side that is trying to sell their product or service.
“Retailers” are the ones that pay Google to make their ad available for AdSense “publishers” to post on their websites and blogs – usually this is in the form of a Pay-Per-Click ad campaign through Google AdWords (not to be confused with Google AdSense.)
I know. It can get a bit confusing as to who does what and how…
While there is much discussion about this, many say that if you are a “retailer” trying to sell a product or service, then you’re best bet is to just stick with Google AdWords.
This is because Google does not tell you which “publisher’s” website and blogs are displaying your ads as Google uses an algorithm to determine where your AdSense ads will appear.
What this can mean is that sometimes the relationship between the “retailer’s” ad and the “publisher’s” website or blog where it is being displayed is extremely vague – if not completely unrelated as some retailers have discovered…
In other words, you are at the mercy of Google’s judgment where your ads will appear.
The hypotheses some have made is that AdWords clicks often represent users looking to make a purchase, while AdSense clicks come from sites that primarily cater to visitors looking for information.
If you’re a medical device company, both alternatives can actually work on your behalf.
In the AdSense option, attention must be diverted away from what the visitor went to your site for in the first place (learn about your company, read an article, etc.), while with AdWords, your ad must simply be more appealing than the other ads also displayed.
exactly was the “big idea” that Malaspina and Scearce were trying to make?
While it’s definitely open to interpretation, I’ll do my best to break it down for you in a “user-friendly” way.
If they are saying that a medical device marketer could use their company’s website as a “publisher,” this would mean that certain pages – or all pages – could display ads for products and services that may or may not relate to the content on their website.
And if it does relate, hopefully it’s not an ad for a competing product or service…
Let’s say someone goes to a medical device company’s website or blog because they are interested in a White Paper, webinar, Case Study, whatever…
They get engrossed in the rich content offered and, hopefully for the “retailer,” click on an ad that appears on that same page. This then directs the person to the “retailer’s” website and away from yours (the “publisher”).
If this happens, the medical device …

Three Reasons Simulation Technology Should Revolutionize the Medical Industry

Aviation analogies are often used in discussion and analysis of medical quality issues. Both industries depend on the decision making of relatively few specialists to ensure the safety of their clients. In the case of both of pilots and clinicians, the smallest lapse in judgment can have a profound impact on human safety. The need for performance management in aviation launched a billion dollar flight simulation industry for approximately 75,000 flight crews worldwide. Death due to operator error has seen a dramatic reduction in aviation since the introduction of flight simulation technology. That and other process improvements have elevated aviation to one of the safest forms of travel.
Other studies show that 44% of physician-originated error results from a deficit in practitioner knowledge or skill. For an industry that is undergoing massive improvements in the quantity and efficacy of diagnostic and treatment options, the state of the art in disease training is surprisingly archaic. The primary method of delivering new information to physicians is still verbal and written. Medicine is well positioned to experience the benefits of simulation training.
Today web-based clinical simulation training is readily available and prepared to assist in the education and practice of medical professionals. Many note that it has the potential to alter the landscape of today’s medicine, providing quality education and unparalleled experience to today’s physician, nurse, and medical professional. There are many reasons how and why this educational tool can reduce human medical error in general. However, it is important to focus on three of the most important benefits of medical simulation and how it can alter the practice and understanding of today’s medicine.
1) Medical training in a consequence-free environment
When identifying, diagnosing, and prescribing in a virtual/web-based simulator, clinicians can feel more comfortable making decisions because they are in a consequence-free environment. If a clinician makes a serious error which results in patient injury or death in simulation, the likelihood of making the same mistake in clinical practice is significantly decreased.
2) Fewer restraints on clinical learning
Virtual patient simulators are available everywhere at once; the availability of high quality training is no longer constrained by access to classrooms, teachers, and experts. The medical student, nurse, or trained physician with access to a computer with an Internet connection is able to continue training at any time, day or night.
3) Reduced variability in clinical care delivery (i.e. fewer medical errors)
When training on advanced web-based simulators, such as , which utilize a “Quality Improvement Cycle”, a clinician’s treatment path is compared to best practices and, when available, medical guidelines, and medical error is quickly identified in a specific patient context. Recent studies ( ) demonstrate surprising efficacy in pre/post testing for simulation-based clinical learning.
Simulation training has the potential to revolutionize the medical industry by expanding training capabilities and ultimately enhancing clinical care standards. Its ability to train clinicians in a worry-free environment, easy accessibility, and ability to identify and remediate skill gaps suggest that simulation technology is well positioned to have a profound impact on the quality of healthcare training and delivery in the US.…

Wall Street Sees Opportunity In Medical Device Manufacturer Stocks

There is a constant search by many individuals on Wall Street that are looking for new and innovative companies with technology that can change the industry. Historically one of the most successful and lucrative stocks have been those that had to do with medical devices. The reason for this is mainly for the fact that medical devices are things that many times are an absolute necessity for those with various health conditions. As a result, they are more willing to purchase one for their needs than they would something that they particularly did not need.
Today, one of the technologies that is poised to change the medical device market and thus raise the stocks of those companies that produce them is a pulse oximeter. A pulse oximeter has been used for decades but only as of late has its functionality changed to accommodate more of a portable vital sign monitoring device.
Years ago technology such as the artificial heart valve was a true ground breaker in the field of medical products and many of the stocks that were associated with them rose quite significantly. As of recently there has been a lot of talk and action surrounding the companies and stocks that have to directly deal with pulse oximeter technology. The main reason for this is the fact that the product is quite revolutionary in every regard. The ability to monitor your pulse rate and blood oxygen saturation while on the go has been something that the market has been yearning for, for years. The benefit is that an individual, lets say with asthma, can purchase this portable device and wherever they may go they can constantly monitor their oxygen levels to make sure they are at healthy levels in order to prevent an asthma attack.
The future of stocks related to these products is very bright and will see very positive growth in the future. Although there does exist quite a bit of volatility in almost every sector in the market, however medical technology is a sector that will forever be in demand because it in essence is not a luxury but a necessity. Those that are suffering from various health conditions do in fact need these products because their entire health and welfare depends on it thus they will buy them. The aspect that makes this sector also attractive is the fact that there is constant change and evolution in the arena thus there is always room for growth in the future.…