The Fires Within

“What does a stubbed toe or a splinter in a finger have to do with your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, suffering a heart attack or succumbing to colon cancer? More than you might think. As scientists delve deeper into the fundamental causes of those and other illnesses, they are starting to see links to an age-old immunological defense mechanism called inflammation–the same biological process that turns the tissue around a splinter red and causes swelling in an injured toe. If they are right–and the evidence is starting to look pretty good–it could radically change doctors’ concept of what makes us sick. It could also prove a bonanza to pharmaceutical companies looking for new ways to keep us well.”

By CHRISTINE GORMAN; ALICE PARK; KRISTINA DELL

Read the full article at Time.com

Roundtable: Medical Device Marketing Today

Medtech marketers are challenged to develop consistent messages for distribution through ever-changing media.
Moderated by Lori Luechtefeld
Medical device market­ers today are harnessing novel approaches and cutting-edge tools to facilitate communication with their varied audiences. For this issue’s roundtable discussion, MX called upon a panel of experts to provide their views about the current state of marketing for medical devices, as well as the value of new tools and techniques being implemented by companies of all sizes (see sidebar).

Read the full interview at MedicalDeviceLink.com.

DZX Patient Self-Scheduler enters Beta

DZX Medical will officially enter beta testing of the DZX Patient Self-Scheduler on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. With the intent of driving operatonal efficiency, increasing traffic and decreasing costs, DZX Patient Self-Scheduler will allow patients to schedule themselves for appointments based on their location and the availability of the technician, nurse or physician performing the out patient procedure and other scheduling rules as dictated by the individual office.

Beta testing is planned for 2 - 4 weeks with full service starting in mid to late July.

Features of the DZX Patient Self-Scheduler:

• Customizable Schedules based on procedure, office and technician.
• Customizable rules for cancellation and scheduling periods (e.g. must cancel 48 hrs in advance, schedule 24 hrs in advace or as per the office guidelines).
• Customizable automated email notifications to patient, administrators, technicians.
• Credit Card processing.
• Reporting
• Front office administration
• Fully SSL Encrypted
• Appointment Workflow
• Data Collection
• Fully Hosted so you incur no Capital Expenditures

DZX Patient Self-Scheduler can support any procedures or combination of procedures and technicians you wish to use it for but is only intended for out-patient procedures which can be reliably scheduled for a finite period of time.

Upon completion of beta testing, DZX Patient Self-Scheduler will be released for general availability. To request that your office, clinic or treatment center be added to the queue for general release please use the e-mail contact form and select “DZX Patient Self-Scheduler” from the drop down list of contact reasons.

Utilization of DZX Patient Scheduler to Boost Business

We are currently in Beta Testing with the DZX Patient Self-Scheduler but it’s not too late to think about strategies for the most effective use of patient self scheduling technologies to boost your bootm line, particularly in a lagging economy.  While the patient self scheduler is designed to book individual appointments, physicians offices using DZX Patient Self-Scheduler may consider bundling services and offering them as a single appointment such as Lipodissolve and Botox as a “Make Over” package scheduled as one appointment. Since you have complete cotrol over DZX Patient Self-Scheduler you can easly book a 1hr or 45 minute appointment time as opposed to a traditional 30 minutes for the individual services allowing you to provide your services to more patients and increasing the number of procedures.
In addition to helping you bring in more revenue, using DZX Patient Self-Scheduler also has the added benefit of saving you money by moving some of the burden of schedule management off of your staff and into the hands of the technicians, nurses and physicians who will perform the procedure and the patients who wish to have the procedure.

If you would like to know more about DZX Patient Self-Scheduler, feel free to contact us by e-mail or by phone at 972.2123.5865.

Using Market Forces to Your Advantage

Dr. Brad Bichey, M.D., and I recently released a whitepaper entitled “Using Market Forces to Drive a Competitive Edge.” The paper is targeted at medical and life sciences companies who wish to explore creative ways to market their products. For small and mid-sized businesses, creative marketing techniques are often a necessity. In the paper Brad and I introduce the concept of using market forces that already exist to your advantage by restructuring relationships between doctors, patients and medical companies (device, pharma, …) to create new opportunities and allow them to leverage the higher volume and higher ROI channels that are often overlooked.

If you would like to hear more about DZX can help you on applying this to your business please contact us.

New Marketing Strategies in an Uncertain Economy

During the last few months there has been increased suggestion that a recession may no longer be on the horizon, but may have already arrived. In the shadow of a looming downturn in an economy largely propped up by consumer spending, how are Health Care companies going to optimize their marketing strategies where the end user/recipient of their product is that very consumer? To exacerbate the problem, there are now ever stringent requirements by health care insurers and growing numbers of underinsured individuals in the population. These factors can make delivery of health care products even more difficult when patients have to cover a greater portion of their health care cost out of their own pocket.

More than ever, strategies need to be novel in their approach to reaching physicians and patients. These strategies also need to deliver accurate metrics on effectiveness. Those companies who use such strategies are seeking to maximize return on investment by reaching more of the decisions makers at less cost while spending less advertising to customers who aren’t in need of their product.

Some of these new approaches include:

1. Advertising strategies which deliver your marketing message to a highly targeted and qualified audience.
2. Choosing a delivery medium which effortlessly shares your marketing message across multiple users within the health care system.
3. Employing latent opportunities which exist due to behaviors inherent in the health care system.
4. Cross utilizing existing referral networks between doctors.
5. Unleashing new ways of promoting your marketing message by capitalizing on the resources of others.

By incorporating these strategies and others into your current plan a competitive advantage can be gained with improved economics. Do you want to create a BUZZ about your product? Do you want to create the perception that your company sets THE standard of care? Begin implementing any of these strategies in the New Year and get the Health Care System to start delivering your message and product to the marketplace.