The Excellent Patient Experience

Still, Repertoire readers who sell medical equipment will have to ask – and answer – some tough questions in the months ahead. Will their physician customers hesitate to explore new equipment opportunities? How will trends that predated the pandemic – such as competition from urgent care and retail clinics – affect equipment decisions? How can suppliers help their physician customers create an excellent patient experience?

“As recovery continues, the current disruption in workflows and how caregivers engage patients has significantly challenged traditional clinic environments, including the people, processes and equipment in them,” says Brian Vierra, director of sales, Medical Division, Midmark Corp. As virtual care, infection prevention and efficient care are increasingly top of mind, new equipment and technology will have to be adapted to the next normal of healthcare delivery.

‘Meaningful connections’

Physicians in Texas – as elsewhere – have little appetite for new equipment at the moment, Yvonne Mounkhoune, quality consultant to TMA PracticeEdge, told Repertoire in September. “Many practices are hanging on by a thread due to the significant loss in revenue.” (Created by the Texas Medical Association, TMA PracticeEdge creates and supports physician-owned accountable care organizations.)

The few independent physicians who are opening practices are taking advantage of the liquidation of equipment occurring with the closing of others, she added. Equipment-buying may pick up post-pandemic, but slowly, “and it will likely be dependent on unemployment and the economic recovery.”

As fall settled in, many physician members of Provista – a GPO primarily for non-acute-care facilities – were reluctant to invest in new equipment without understanding what the new normal looks like, said Kathryn French, associate vice president for marketing. “Equipment that can help with cleaning or social distancing, or other patient and caregiver safety equipment, will be desirable.”

Patient comfort and confidence

In the coming months, distributor reps will need to help physicians re-examine how they use equipment, says Ken Harris, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Health o meter^® Professional Scales/Pelstar, LLC. “Patients want to know they are safe, and that the professionals in the office are paying attention to their well-being. They will notice things in the practice are different than they were before COVID-19, especially in terms of how they share common spaces.”

For example, prior to COVID-19, practices were likely to weigh patients on a scale in a common area. But post-COVID, concerns about infection prevention and patient privacy may cause some practices to place scales and other equipment in exam rooms. That will put the onus on manufacturers to offer equipment that improves workflow and is also economical.

Helping physicians ‘outserve’ the competition

“‘Pandemic preparedness’ will no longer be something that smart planners can ignore or place in the ‘highly unlikely’ category,” predicts Mike Abney, senior vice president, North American sales and distribution, Quidel Corp. Physicians want to be ready to test consistently in order to keep their practices open, and they want enough equipment to accommodate new customers from practices that were forced to close.

What won’t change for physician practices is competition from drugstore chains, retail chains, urgent care centers and others, says Abney. Given that these competing models aim to offer faster and more convenient transactions with patients, physician practices will need to differentiate themselves by offering two distinct types of services: 1) quick, in-and-out, less-than 30-minute visits, and 2) longer and more consultative visits, which drugstores and retail groups cannot match, he says. This will require smart equipment investments by physicians so they can continue to “outservice” their competitors.

Convenient care will win

Because of COVID-19, physicians are focusing on improving patient flow, eliminating waiting rooms, minimizing contact between patients, incorporating virtual visits, building capabilities for contact tracing, and providing spaces more conducive to infection prevention, says Vierra.

“In the end, convenient quality care is likely to win,” he says. To compete effectively against new competitors, physician practices will need to drive increased efficiency and standardization in their clinical processes and environments. “This will certainly shape their equipment decisions, as new technology, equipment and connected workflows will be essential in enabling those goals.”

A better patient experience

Clinics will require space, equipment and technologies to accommodate patients’ demands for easy, accessible and safe (e.g., virtual) care, said Provista’s Kathryn French. “During the pandemic many virtual interactions were ‘clunky’ given the speed of adoption. Permanent, high quality and reliable virtual solutions will soon become a high priority.”

“Excellent patient experiences will drive many consumer decisions, and I think physicians will continue to create better experiences than they already have,” says Ken Harris. “They will look for equipment that is easy to use, safe, accurate and affordable. Cost, reliability and local support will continue to be important.”

Distributor reps should make an effort to talk regularly with physician customers about equipment, he adds. Working with the manufacturer’s local experts on sales- and service-related issues will extend distributors’ reach. “Successful reps rely on their network of support.”

Says Bill Sweeney, vice president of sales for primary care, Hillrom/Welch Allyn, “Consumers are looking for immediate access to healthcare, so the competition [from retail clinics, etc.] will continue. Physician practices will have to market or promote themselves. Just like any business, they can do so more effectively with updated equipment.”

Meanwhile, consolidation of physician practices – whether it be within healthcare systems or as larger physician groups – will continue, he says. Distributors will have to engage in conversations with physicians and ask them questions such as, “What is your vision of the future?” “What problems do you want to solve?” “How do you want to care for your patients?” “What is your desired workflow?” “What have you learned through the COVID experience?”

“Through unprecedented situations, such as the pandemic, our approach as an organization has been to position ourselves as solution providers,” says Sweeney. “Working together, manufacturers and their distributor partners will have to learn how to present solutions to meet the needs of their customers.”

Says Mike Abney, “The 2020 pandemic and the urgency surrounding diagnostic testing has forced advancement of new and existing diagnostic platforms. Our distribution partners need to study and be educated on all new tests and platforms at a greater rate than ever.

“The winners of the future will match the needs of their physician practice customers with the best platforms to meet those needs, have their customer base ready to help the country get back to normal, and be prepared for any future pandemic event.”

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Takeaways

• The current disruption in workflows and how caregivers engage patients has significantly challenged traditional clinic environments.
• Patients want to know they are safe, and that the professionals in the office are paying attention to their well-being.
• Pandemic preparedness will no longer be something that smart planners can ignore or place in the ‘highly unlikely’ category.
• In the end, convenient quality care is likely to win.
• Physician practices will have to market or promote themselves. Just like any business, they can do so more effectively with updated equipment.
• Permanent, high quality and reliable virtual solutions will soon become a high priority.