MEDEV Medical Devices Corporation is currently moving to a new and bigger location along Sucat Rd. in Paranaque City. We will now be just a few hundred meters away from the Sucat exit of the South Luzon Expressway which means that we are now easily accessible to our customers.
We have outgrown our old office in Parkview, Sunvalley, Paranaque City. Now with 12 people, more products and with more large boxes of merchandise that are to be delivered to customers or reserved for service support, we just cannot fit anymore in a 50 sq-m facility. The new office will have a total of 167 sq-m., more than three times our current home!
In order to grow however, one must experience the pain. We are suffering some problems with our telephone lines because of the change. Our main line, (63-2) 546-3406 cannot be accessed for two days now. Meanwhile, we have to change our telefax number (63-2) 776-0227 because our service provider cannot bring that number to our new location. We will later announce the new numbers that we will have. We will announce later also our new official address.
We are right in the middle of transfering, so we are not yet officially holding office at the new location but not anymore from the old one. Confusing? Well, you can just imagine how confused I am as well. Since I have delegated the transfer to our service department, I do not even know yet where I'd sit!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Saturday, November 26, 2005
On Tom, Katie and Prudence
Medical ultrasound has long been known to be both safe and effective in diagnosing many different kinds of diseases. To date, there are no known side effects of ultrasound imaging. However, with the new breed of equipment that are manufactured today, which produces more ultrasound power and which noticeably generates more heat, there are concerns that there may be side effects that may be discovered only in the future. Thus prudent use of the technology is advised by many international medical societies concerned with ultrasound.The safety group of the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS), one of the well known societies that studies ultrasound instrumentation, has an official statement on the safety of ultrasound, which recommends prudence on use of the technology:
There is no evidence that diagnostic ultrasound has produced any harm to patients in the four decades that it has been in use. However, the acoustic output of modern equipment is generally much greater than that of the early equipment and, in view of the continuing progress in equipment design and applications, outputs may be expected to continue to be subject to change. Also, investigations into the possibility of subtle or transient effects are still at an early stage. Consequently diagnostic ultrasound can olyn be considered safe if used prudently.Meanwhile, the American Institure of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) also espoused prudence on the use of the ultrasound in their statement:
There are no confirmed biological effects on patients or instrument operators caused by exposures from present diagnostic ultrasound equipment. Although the possibility exists that such biological effects may be identified in the future, current data indicate that the benefits to patients of the prudent use of diagnostic ultrasound outweight the risks, if any, that may be present.Which means that ultrasound is indeed safe, or at least that is what we know so far...
But what does that has got to do with Tom Cruise?
Well, just today, I read from the news (yahoo movie news) that Mr. Cruise bought his own ultrasound (the news clip used the word sonogram) machine to be able to see his own baby inside the tummy of his fiance Ms. Katie Holmes!
Not every family can afford one at a price tab of up to $200,000 but actor Tom Cruise says he bought a sonogram machine for his pregnant fiance Katie Holmes so that they can monitor the development of their child.The news clip didn't say though what kind of ultrasound machine Mr. Cruise bought and perhaps the same is mistaken to say that the system will cost between $150,000 to $200,000 (An ultrasound to be used only to see the baby will not cost that much, even if it the most expensive model and with 3D/4D feature). It would be interesting to know what brand he purchased (most probably an US brand).
But what is Mr. Cruise planning to do with his machine? Would he be looking at his baby every now and then that he needed to have his own equipment? If that is the case, Mr. Cruise is yet to meet Ms. Prudence.
I just hope that Tom Cruise would read the BMUS' and AIUM's statements first before he uses his ultrasound like an ordinary camera. I also hope that everything'll turn out well especially for the baby.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Philippine Healthcare in Crisis?
There is this news in the papers today that said that Philippines' healthcare is now in the verge of collapse. This is because of the apparent flight of doctors and other healthcare personnel to other countries for better paying jobs. With more than 200 times better pay in say USA or UK, and with the political undertainties here and all, the question is: who would like to stay in the Philippines?
This "brain drain" has in fact also affected us. As a provider of healthcare equipment, we need medical technicians as applications specialists (Apps) to help us demonstrate our products and train our customers how to use them. Since 2000, we've had three 2D-Echocardiography Apps. The first one who worked with us on part time basis, Charles, who by the way was also my colleague way back GE times, is now in Saudi Arabia. The next one, Vin, who also worked with us on part time basis while waiting for his documents to go abroad, is now in Canada with wife and kids. Vin's wife is a vascular technician, another healthcare practitioner. The third Apps we've had, Regi, who worked with us full time (for almost 2 years?), is now in UK. Now, our Apps, Jane, although still working for us full time, is trying to complete her papers to go to the USA. Although we prefer that they stay with us, and we think that the salaries and benefits we provide are among the best locally, there is just nothing we can do to stop them from going abroad (at this time). We just cannot compete against these UK, US, Canada or Saudi employers who pays talents by the hour at a rate approaching to what we can give in a week!
So I guess we have to live with it. But there is something that we do that somehow helps the country avert what others say is the impending healthcare crisis. MEDEV has developed and now provides training to Cardio-technicians (our customers) on how to perform cardio-diagnostic procedures. Regi actually started and developed the training program and Jane now currently and regularly gives it to our customers who need it. To date, we have a number of "graduates" whom we taught from scratch but now can perform 2D-Echocardiography exams that are at least acceptable to cardiologists (2D-Echocardiography readers). We can also provide basic ECG training and performance of ECG procedures (including stress and holter ECG).
Of course, I still dream of the day when no one needs to go abroad to work. At MEDEV, we will strive to do that for our employees.
Jossel Ebesate, general secretary of the Alliance of Health Workers, said the situation had become so bad that the country's healthcare system would collapse within the next two to three years.Brain Drain, including in the healthcare sector, is said to have been going on since the '70s. From then up to now, there was no solution made to prevent it. Doomsday scenarios have already been painted many times over from long ago, but we are still here, and our healthcare industry is still growing. So, I do not believe the system will collapse in 2 - 3 years. What I believe in, though, is that the quality of healthcare is going, and will still go, down.
This "brain drain" has in fact also affected us. As a provider of healthcare equipment, we need medical technicians as applications specialists (Apps) to help us demonstrate our products and train our customers how to use them. Since 2000, we've had three 2D-Echocardiography Apps. The first one who worked with us on part time basis, Charles, who by the way was also my colleague way back GE times, is now in Saudi Arabia. The next one, Vin, who also worked with us on part time basis while waiting for his documents to go abroad, is now in Canada with wife and kids. Vin's wife is a vascular technician, another healthcare practitioner. The third Apps we've had, Regi, who worked with us full time (for almost 2 years?), is now in UK. Now, our Apps, Jane, although still working for us full time, is trying to complete her papers to go to the USA. Although we prefer that they stay with us, and we think that the salaries and benefits we provide are among the best locally, there is just nothing we can do to stop them from going abroad (at this time). We just cannot compete against these UK, US, Canada or Saudi employers who pays talents by the hour at a rate approaching to what we can give in a week!
So I guess we have to live with it. But there is something that we do that somehow helps the country avert what others say is the impending healthcare crisis. MEDEV has developed and now provides training to Cardio-technicians (our customers) on how to perform cardio-diagnostic procedures. Regi actually started and developed the training program and Jane now currently and regularly gives it to our customers who need it. To date, we have a number of "graduates" whom we taught from scratch but now can perform 2D-Echocardiography exams that are at least acceptable to cardiologists (2D-Echocardiography readers). We can also provide basic ECG training and performance of ECG procedures (including stress and holter ECG).
Of course, I still dream of the day when no one needs to go abroad to work. At MEDEV, we will strive to do that for our employees.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
MyLab
Our supplier, ESAOTE, is a dedicated (well, almost) ultrasound company. Yes, they still produce ECG and MRI machines, but the bulk of their business and research are in ultrasound.I believe that they have the widest ultrasound product range in the market today. They have the smallest and lightest ultrasound, such as the Tringa, and top of the line systems, such as the Technos. They seem not to be content with that though, for now they are adding the MyLab range of ultrasound equipment to their product basket.
The Mylab range consists of the Mylab 15, Mylab 25, Mylab 30CV, Mylab 50, Mylab 50CV, and just recently, the Mylab 70. I know at least that the Mylab 20 will also be released soon. That makes it 7 models of Mylabs. Adding that to the previous models, Tringa, Piccolo, Falco, Aquila, Corvus, PicusBW, Picus/Pro, Caris, Caris Plus, Megas CVX, Megas GPX, AU5, Esatune, Technos Partner, and Technos MPX/MP makes more than 20 distinct ultrasound models (23 in fact). If you note that each model has dozens of different configuration and accessories, that adds up to hundreds of different specific markets to address.
Now, you can just imagine how many different brochures our sales people keep!
Thursday, November 10, 2005
And Now, 4D from ESAOTE
As said in my previous post, many customers are asking for 4D ultrasound, even though such equipment does not have any proven clinical purpose. After GE, Philips and Siemens, Esaote, who earlier seems not bent on joining the bandwagon, gave in to pressure and released their own version of 4D Ultrasound (Picus Just4D).
Well, maybe, Esaote's move is not just mere "giving-in to pressure", rather it is more of "listening to the ground". But with GE and Philips so entrenched in the market already with their Voluson 730 4D (GE) and HDI4000 Live 3D (Philips) system, is there enough room for Esaote?
That is what we, as Esaote's exclusive dealer, would have to find out.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
4D Ultrasound
Many of our customers are asking for 4D Ultrasound for Obstetrics. Unfortunately, at this time, our supplier ESAOTE does not release yet their 4D ultrasound system (although we know that they already have a product with that feature).
What is the use of 4D Ultrasound in Obstetrics? To date, there are still no widely accepted clinical indication as to why use 4D ultrasound imaging in obstetrics. Although the machine, which consists of an ordinary ultrasound machine with capability to drive a volume probe to sweep to a target such as fetal face, has been in the market for 10 years, there are still no accepted purpose for it. I am sure though that given more time, all ultrasound machines will sport that 4D feature, I am also sure that specific meaningful applications will also be discovered. But not yet, now.
So why are customers buying 4D Ultrasound? Well, it is simply because mothers (and fathers) -to-be ask for it!
However, in the USA, some agencies issued warning letters on the use of ultrasound without clinical indication. I found sites about the use of 4D Ultrasound in the internet are as follows:
from Medgadget: A womb with a view
which provided links also to other sites as follos:
from Houston Cronicle: Using prenatal ultrasounds as keepsakes grows more popular... and controversial
from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): FDA Cautions against ultrasound keepsakes medical images.
Although the FDA says it is not good to use ultrasound for non-diagnostic purpose, I wonder why it did not ban the manufacture of these 4D Ultrasound machines, when there is really no diagnostically indicated use for such equipment, yet?
At least in the Philippines, medical practitioners (Radiologists and Obstetricians) are the ones performing 4D-Ultrasound, which is therefore in a better controlled situation than in many places in the USA where even ordinary people can put up a business offering fetal photography.
What is the use of 4D Ultrasound in Obstetrics? To date, there are still no widely accepted clinical indication as to why use 4D ultrasound imaging in obstetrics. Although the machine, which consists of an ordinary ultrasound machine with capability to drive a volume probe to sweep to a target such as fetal face, has been in the market for 10 years, there are still no accepted purpose for it. I am sure though that given more time, all ultrasound machines will sport that 4D feature, I am also sure that specific meaningful applications will also be discovered. But not yet, now.
So why are customers buying 4D Ultrasound? Well, it is simply because mothers (and fathers) -to-be ask for it!
However, in the USA, some agencies issued warning letters on the use of ultrasound without clinical indication. I found sites about the use of 4D Ultrasound in the internet are as follows:
from Medgadget: A womb with a view
which provided links also to other sites as follos:
from Houston Cronicle: Using prenatal ultrasounds as keepsakes grows more popular... and controversial
from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): FDA Cautions against ultrasound keepsakes medical images.
Although the FDA says it is not good to use ultrasound for non-diagnostic purpose, I wonder why it did not ban the manufacture of these 4D Ultrasound machines, when there is really no diagnostically indicated use for such equipment, yet?
At least in the Philippines, medical practitioners (Radiologists and Obstetricians) are the ones performing 4D-Ultrasound, which is therefore in a better controlled situation than in many places in the USA where even ordinary people can put up a business offering fetal photography.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
When Buying Used Equipment: Ask for a DEMO.
When I know that my customer is considering to buy a refurbished equipment, say his budget is enough only for a refurbished ultrasound equipment, I always advise them to ask for a DEMO. My logic is simple: Would you buy a 2nd hand car without seeing and test driving it? Why should it be different in buying 2nd hand equipment, which is more expensive than 2nd hand cars, then?
Unfortunately, I have seen many customers fall victim to 2nd hand equipment dealers' sweet talk. They bought equipment based mainly on the reputation of the brand rather than the status of the actual product. Dealers lead customers to believe that the brand speaks for itself, and that there is no other consideration. The fact is, the brand should play 3rd fiddle only to the actual status of the specific unit itself and to the reputation of the vendor. One 2nd hand unit is definitely different from another 2nd hand unit, even of the same brand. Similary, not all vendors are alike.
The lack of proper scrutiny by buyers of 2nd hand equipment permits vendors to over-price. For example, many in the country bought the cardiology version of a 2nd hand ACUSON 128XP10 at around US$35,000, while a quick surf at the internet will reveal that it can go for about US$12,500 in the USA. Even the newer ACUSON ASPEN sells at $22,500 in the USA while a customer in the Philippines recently bought a similar equipment at $45,000.
When a customer is lucky, his poorly scrutinized 2nd hand equipment may be expected to be usable for a maximum of 3 years (often less than 1 year). After that, the used equipment is often deemed more expensive to maintain than buying a brand new equipment. If this is taken into consideration, and also considering that the 2nd hand units are sold at a high price in the country, the investment will not be worth it.
Even if the price of 2nd hand equipment is less than half of brand new, I lean towards brand new equipment which will last for a maximum of 10 years. One can do the math and would easily understand my argument. An investment in a poorly scrutinized 2nd hand equipment will seldom be profitable.
To protect buyers from making bad decisions on 2nd hand equipment purchases and to protect their industry, a group of vendors worked together with the US Food and Drug Administration and established IAMERS, or the International Association of Medical Equipment Refurbishers and Servicers. The group follows a code of ethics which aims among others
When purchasing 2nd hand equipment, it would be wise to at least ask the vendor if they are a member of the IAMERS. Also, there are a lot of information that could help that may be found on the internet such as from this site by a vendor (BMI Med) in the USA. One can even easily check the prices from the sites I have linked above. But most importantly, buyers should ask for a DEMO of the specific machine they are buying. Without a DEMO, any 2nd hand equipment purchase should never be made.
Unfortunately, I have seen many customers fall victim to 2nd hand equipment dealers' sweet talk. They bought equipment based mainly on the reputation of the brand rather than the status of the actual product. Dealers lead customers to believe that the brand speaks for itself, and that there is no other consideration. The fact is, the brand should play 3rd fiddle only to the actual status of the specific unit itself and to the reputation of the vendor. One 2nd hand unit is definitely different from another 2nd hand unit, even of the same brand. Similary, not all vendors are alike.
The lack of proper scrutiny by buyers of 2nd hand equipment permits vendors to over-price. For example, many in the country bought the cardiology version of a 2nd hand ACUSON 128XP10 at around US$35,000, while a quick surf at the internet will reveal that it can go for about US$12,500 in the USA. Even the newer ACUSON ASPEN sells at $22,500 in the USA while a customer in the Philippines recently bought a similar equipment at $45,000.
When a customer is lucky, his poorly scrutinized 2nd hand equipment may be expected to be usable for a maximum of 3 years (often less than 1 year). After that, the used equipment is often deemed more expensive to maintain than buying a brand new equipment. If this is taken into consideration, and also considering that the 2nd hand units are sold at a high price in the country, the investment will not be worth it.
Even if the price of 2nd hand equipment is less than half of brand new, I lean towards brand new equipment which will last for a maximum of 10 years. One can do the math and would easily understand my argument. An investment in a poorly scrutinized 2nd hand equipment will seldom be profitable.
To protect buyers from making bad decisions on 2nd hand equipment purchases and to protect their industry, a group of vendors worked together with the US Food and Drug Administration and established IAMERS, or the International Association of Medical Equipment Refurbishers and Servicers. The group follows a code of ethics which aims among others
...to attain and enforce high standards of ethical, professional "practices" within the industry.
When purchasing 2nd hand equipment, it would be wise to at least ask the vendor if they are a member of the IAMERS. Also, there are a lot of information that could help that may be found on the internet such as from this site by a vendor (BMI Med) in the USA. One can even easily check the prices from the sites I have linked above. But most importantly, buyers should ask for a DEMO of the specific machine they are buying. Without a DEMO, any 2nd hand equipment purchase should never be made.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Esaote Technos Ultrasound
We have been trying to sell the Technos locally for quite some time now with little success. Although, ESAOTE is one of the top 5 (Esaote is right there just behind the giants GE, Philips and Siemens, and shares the 4/5 rank with Toshiba) among the more than 30 different ultrasound manufacturers, the brand is less known in the Philippines (where Hitachi, Shimadzu and Medison are better known brands).
The Technos is one of the best ultrasound machines I have ever seen (consider that I have more than 16 years experience in Ultrasound). I believe that it has the best trans-vaginal probe in the world. The images from its linear probe are more than outstanding. Its abdominal probe provides good images both in the near and far fields. Yes, it doesn't have the nice-to-have features of other brands' top-of-the-line machines such as voice command and touch menu screen, but isn't image quality the most important feature?
The Technos
I know ESAOTE is also not that well known in the USA, although they have some nice installations there, where they are known as Biosound Esaote. So I am pleasantly surprised to see one blogger to have featured the Technos in his post (The Thyroid Blog). The blogger, a thyroid specialist from California, USA, is so generous with his praise of the Technos Ultrasound Machine as quoted below:
The Technos is one of the best ultrasound machines I have ever seen (consider that I have more than 16 years experience in Ultrasound). I believe that it has the best trans-vaginal probe in the world. The images from its linear probe are more than outstanding. Its abdominal probe provides good images both in the near and far fields. Yes, it doesn't have the nice-to-have features of other brands' top-of-the-line machines such as voice command and touch menu screen, but isn't image quality the most important feature?
The Technos
I know ESAOTE is also not that well known in the USA, although they have some nice installations there, where they are known as Biosound Esaote. So I am pleasantly surprised to see one blogger to have featured the Technos in his post (The Thyroid Blog). The blogger, a thyroid specialist from California, USA, is so generous with his praise of the Technos Ultrasound Machine as quoted below:
It is 2 months since I became the 7 th thyroidologist in the USA to own the Technos Partner Biosound Esaote Small Parts ultrasound, made in Italy. The machine is awesome. I can see and biospy 5 mm suspect cancer nodes, inject saline, and alcohol in thyroid cysts,and analyze nodules for cancer characteristics. Irregular borders, vascular invasion in the nodule, as well as size and echogenicity. The picture quality is as good as the $200,000 all purpose machine they make. I am finding more suspicious neck nodes with this machine, and can biopsy them as well. The guided needle into the node can be sent for cytology, but also washed into saline for Cancer markers,thyroglobulin, and calcitonin.Small suspect parathyroid masses, and cysts can be biopsied, and needle washed for parathyroid hormone. The nodule evaluation is more refined with this machine. For example, if one faces a patient with a goiter with 6 nodules, the cancer may not be the biggest or dominant one by size.This is the one we all would have biopsied in the past. By evaluating the factors most suggestive of tumor, by ultrasound, we can pick out the nodule most likely to harbor cancer, or the "real" dominant nodule. The lower risk nodules can be followed and only biopsied if they grow. The new age of thyroid evaluation for thyroid cancer by high resolution ultrasound is here. Moved to the back bench, is the old mainstay of thyriod cancer follow up, the Total Body I/131 Scan.
Dr.G.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Financing your Medical Equipment Purchase
Many hospital owners and administrators realize that Medical Equipment is an important adjunct to providing efficient services to their patients. Hospitals that are early to adapt new and better technologies are usually the ones that succeed in the market. Of course, quality of healthcare still depends on the people who provide these services, but we see more and more dependence of the same people on the latest equipment and gadgets. Meanwhile, hospitals that are less-equipped are forced to refer their patients to other providers and run the risks of eventually losing those patients.
Unfortunately, because they address a relatively small and specialized market, and since they involve healthcare which could affect the lives and well-being of the patients, medical equipment are very expensive commodities. With one financial crisis after another that the country experiences where the value of the local currency dropped many levels versus other currencies, medical equipment has become more expensive even than the physical structure of the hospital itself. It is therefore a major investment, yet a necessary undertaking, and it is important that decision makers do a careful study on how it can be financed.
Hospital owners are faced with a variety of options to finance the purchase of medical equipment. The options can be summarized as follows:
- Self-financed acquisition
- Vendor financing
- Joint Venture
- Financing from Bank or Financial Institutions
Self-financing
The most obvious financing option is to (1)self finance it – that is, to make the investment from savings from operation, or to infuse additional capital to the hospital enterprise. This option gives the hospital owner the best bargaining opportunity with the vendor of medical equipment. With cash in hand, and with more vendors targeting the same customers, the hospital owner can bargain for a better price discount or better specifications and add-ons. However, with the number of equipment acquisitions hospital owners need to make, and many other investment options presented his/her way, this option may not always be available.
Vendor Financing
Another option is to ask the equipment vendor to finance the acquisition. This option seems to be very attractive to hospital owners as vendors present their offer with one- to three-year term, often without interest. Some vendors ask only from about 20% to 30% down-payment, while the balance may be paid equally monthly for the rest of the term. Vendors don’t usually ask for any chattel mortgage except for the equipment itself. The only requirements that vendors ask is the signing of a contract and the release of post-dated-checks covering the balance.
However, it is very easy to realize that this is actually the most expensive option. Vendors are not financing institutions and they have a specific target on orders, revenues and, most importantly, cash and inventory turns. Although they claim that they do not charge any interests, vendors actually maintain higher margins when customers ask for in-house financing. Usually, it is better to ask these vendors for huge discounts rather than financing. I often advise customers to ask for financing only after they are confident that they are provided with the lowest cash price.
Joint Ventures
The next option available to hospital owners is acquisition through joint ventures where there are three further options:
(a) joint-venture with referrers (doctors who request the procedure provided the equipment),
(b) joint-venture with the vendor, or
(c) a combination of both.
Of the three, the best option is the first – joint venture with referrers. Aside from sharing the burden of financing the equipment, this option provides the additional advantage of loyalty from the doctors who needed and invested on the equipment. Rather than refer their patients to other providers, the doctors will naturally refer them to where they have some stake. However, some doctors, especially those who serve as consultant to many other institutions, do not want to involve themselves in such a joint venture arrangement for fear of perceived conflict of interests.
Meanwhile, a joint venture with vendors of medical equipment suffers from a similar disadvantage as with financing by the vendors themselves. Equipment dealers are not financing institutions nor do they want themselves to have deep involvement in running medical services. As such, they require a minimum sure monthly return for their investment. As much as vendors are concerned, they treat this kind of arrangement as if they have financed the project. Obviously, the third option suffers from the same disadvantage too. I do not recommend involving the vendor in a joint venture, except when the medical equipment dealer looks into some other relationship, such as to have a first installation, rather than just for direct profit from the investment.
I have some food for thought before getting into a joint venture agreement. Remember that an investment in medical equipment requires close study as to its feasibility. When a hospital expects many patients, it is very easy to get people into a joint-venture. Is there a need then for such a joint venture? Meanwhile, when the hospital projects too few patients, nobody would consider joining in. The question is, is there a need for the equipment?
Financing from Bank or other Financial Institutions
The best option often untapped by hospital owners is financing from banks or other financial institutions. The bank may ask for a chattel mortgage involving the equipment itself or mortgage on some other physical facilities of the hospital. With current interest rates from 11% to 16%, this is still considered a bargain when feasibility of the project is good, and considering that the vendor can provide better discounts for as if cash purchase.
There are two further available options financing institutions will offer, that of leasing or financing. Each has its own advantage and disadvantage and will be covered in a separate article.
The role of Medical Equipment in Healthcare Marketing
Every practitioner knows the value of medical equipment in healthcare as a whole. Every hospital owner realizes this early on such that they establish their own laboratories and x-ray departments even prior they start the operation of their facility. Later, when their hospitals were able to increase their patient base, they purchase more expensive diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound machines and CT Scanners. The leading tertiary hospitals invest on the even more expensive equipment such as the latest MRIs, Gamma Cameras and Linear Accelarators (LINACs).
Even individual physicians are increasingly becoming more dependent on medical technology to provide them more information in the course of their evaluation of their patients. Where doctors only use to have their own stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers, it is now common to see them with their own ECG machines, Spirometers and Dopplers. Many obstetricians now have their own ultrasound machines and fetal monitors which they use as part of their maternal healthcare. Aside from ECG machines, internists and cardiologists now have their own Holter recorders and ambulatory blood pressure monitors (ABP).
Unfortunately, this “Equipping” of hospitals and practitioners led to a general increase in the costs of healthcare. As a result, the healthcare service market has become more competitive with direct pressure on costs. Without doubt, medical equipment are necessary and major investments. A healthcare facility simply cannot do without them.
Medical equipment as part of marketing.
Not only does medical equipment help practitioners do their clinical diagnoses better. Medical Equipment also help the healthcare facility earn prestige in the eyes of their target markets. Paying patients would surely go to a hospital who can help them, and they believe that those with the right and better equipment are those that can help them better. It is therefore learned that medical equipment can be part of a marketing campaign by the hospital. Nowadays, it is very common to see hospitals advertising their latest acquisition. And if a nearby hospital bought a certain equipment, a hospital owner would surely be forced to consider buying the same or something better.
One hospital that has proven the value of medical equipment in marketing is St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC). Not only is SLMC known as the best equipped hospital in the
As a result, SLMC has surpassed Makati Medical Center (MMC) as the leading hospital in the country in terms of both revenues and profits, although the latter also has the latest gadgets but do not have the same focussed advertising campaign. The new entrant,
It is not only SLMC that has benefited much from marketing their medical equipment. Many other medical practitioners have long ago advertised their available technologies and met success from them. Dr. Vicky Belo for example is known to have the latest in lasers and techniques in dermatology and aesthetic surgery. The
Meanwhile, in Cebu City, there is an exciting three-way competition going on among Chong Hua Hospital, Perpetual Succour Medical Center and Cebu Doctors Hospital, each of them feeling the others on what is the next technology they would compete on and no one giving up the title of being the best equipped. In
Should marketing be based on the equipment only?
As the leader in healthcare marketing, SLMC has now shifted from advertising the equipment to advertising the people behind the equipment. Their recent advertisements show the training that the practitioners have undergone to operate the technology. They are now marketing the capabilities rather than just the equipment. Similarly, although Vicky Belo’s
The reason here is obvious. Marketing the equipment only could result in the dangerous perception that the facility are for and by robots. Marketers should keep in mind that the technology is used in adjunct to healthcare services provided by people. Their campaign must therefore give technology a human face. After all, healthcare facilities exists for people to care for people.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
The Story of MEDEV Part 3: So, what would MEDEV be?
But isn't there so many players in the market already? Why would there be a need for MEDEV? Who will buy from MEDEV? and why?
I pose the above questions to myself early on, and I realize I have to answer them truthfully to myself. I wouldn't want to go into business and fail later. I have just no time for that. The real question is, what should set MEDEV apart from competition for it to have the right to exist?
With my more that 10 years in the market, I am lucky to have direct contacts with different customers in the industry from different perspectives. I have worn many different hats. I was a service engineer, then a product specialist, then a sales executive, then an administrative supervisor. I was there to service the customer, provide them information, sell to them, and support them in whatever way. I have first hand information on their problems, their needs, and requirements as a whole.
Not only that. I wore those hats from different angles. I was with a small medical equipment corporation, then with a family-owned corporation, then with a Japanese company, then with an Israeli company, and then with a big USA corporation. I know how all these companies (now competitors) operate. I figured out how I can differentiate MEDEV from all of them.
Integrity.
In the medical equipment market, integrity is one thing that majority, if not all, of competitors ignore. It is a rule rather than the exception for many companies to claim things about their products that are simply not true. It is a rule rather than the exception for many companies to lower their equipment costs by misdeclaring them at customs and by not paying the proper importation taxes. Many misdeclare their total income and avoid paying taxes on them too. Surprisingly, even long established and respected companies are practicing these without remorse and as the way of doing things.
And for the simple reason that medical equipment are very complicated products and that customers are having a hard time evaluating their purchases properly, these companies are still rewarded with orders even by customers who value integrity so much.
For example, competitors will always claim that they are selling brand new equipment, even if the same equipment has already been used as demonstration units, back-up units or even used by another customer who was unable to pay for it. There even are companies who purchase refurbished equipment and sell them as brand new! To them, brand new does not necessarily mean it is really brand new. It just have to look like brand new.
Now when competitors say that their equipment is a demo unit, more often than not, it is really a worn out unit and they only say it is a"demo unit" because they cannot hide (or it is expensive to hide) anymore the physical damages or obvious scratches.
And then everybody will say that their product is top-of-the-line, or the latest, state-of-the-art. Take the Acuson 128XP10 ultrasound machine for example. Many still buys this popular product even if its last production is almost 10 years ago. Why? Because many thought that it is still top-of-the-line, today! So many customers have been duped to buy this product for at least $40,000 when it is sold at the internet for not even a third of that price!
If MEDEV would jump on the lack-of-integrity bandwagon, I am sure we would be very successful in no time. I am sure we can also easily get away with it. Many will say that that is what business is all about. But I am not a businessman. I am just looking for employment, remember? I am looking for a company with integrity. And if I cannot find one, I'll make one!
But if my competitors lack integrity, and if they mostly get away with it, how can I fight them head on? How can you compete on their price when they are offering even used equipment, which they bought at a bargain, as brand new?
That leads me to the other thing that will differentiate us apart from our them...
Service.
I mean Great Service! Some companies have engineers. We will have the best ones and those with the best experience on the products we carry, and we will train them better.
Some companies provide quick response to customer service requirements. We will provide faster response. We will equip our engineers with the right tools. We will also provide the engineers with back units and boards at their disposal. That way, they can decide on their own whether it is prudent to provide the customer with whatever back-up items are available. We will provide the engineers with cellphones so that they can immediately be contacted. We will provide them with means of transportation so that they can be at a place where they are needed the most.
Some companies provide training. We will provide better training. We will hire people who, even as members of the our service department, will primarily provide training to the customer. As with the other companies, we will make available training from different sites, even abroad. But to set us apart, we will also provide training on site, to those people who need and benefit the training most - the equipment technicians, the end-users, and in front of the equipment they bought.
In short, we will work our very best to return in the form of service every centavo the customer will pay us.
I believe Integrity and Service will set us apart from the competition. Yes, it will take us a long time to do that, for the customer need to experience us first before we can show them the difference. Nevertheless, MEDEV will be ready to do that, whatever and however long it takes.
I pose the above questions to myself early on, and I realize I have to answer them truthfully to myself. I wouldn't want to go into business and fail later. I have just no time for that. The real question is, what should set MEDEV apart from competition for it to have the right to exist?
With my more that 10 years in the market, I am lucky to have direct contacts with different customers in the industry from different perspectives. I have worn many different hats. I was a service engineer, then a product specialist, then a sales executive, then an administrative supervisor. I was there to service the customer, provide them information, sell to them, and support them in whatever way. I have first hand information on their problems, their needs, and requirements as a whole.
Not only that. I wore those hats from different angles. I was with a small medical equipment corporation, then with a family-owned corporation, then with a Japanese company, then with an Israeli company, and then with a big USA corporation. I know how all these companies (now competitors) operate. I figured out how I can differentiate MEDEV from all of them.
Integrity.
In the medical equipment market, integrity is one thing that majority, if not all, of competitors ignore. It is a rule rather than the exception for many companies to claim things about their products that are simply not true. It is a rule rather than the exception for many companies to lower their equipment costs by misdeclaring them at customs and by not paying the proper importation taxes. Many misdeclare their total income and avoid paying taxes on them too. Surprisingly, even long established and respected companies are practicing these without remorse and as the way of doing things.
And for the simple reason that medical equipment are very complicated products and that customers are having a hard time evaluating their purchases properly, these companies are still rewarded with orders even by customers who value integrity so much.
For example, competitors will always claim that they are selling brand new equipment, even if the same equipment has already been used as demonstration units, back-up units or even used by another customer who was unable to pay for it. There even are companies who purchase refurbished equipment and sell them as brand new! To them, brand new does not necessarily mean it is really brand new. It just have to look like brand new.
Now when competitors say that their equipment is a demo unit, more often than not, it is really a worn out unit and they only say it is a"demo unit" because they cannot hide (or it is expensive to hide) anymore the physical damages or obvious scratches.
And then everybody will say that their product is top-of-the-line, or the latest, state-of-the-art. Take the Acuson 128XP10 ultrasound machine for example. Many still buys this popular product even if its last production is almost 10 years ago. Why? Because many thought that it is still top-of-the-line, today! So many customers have been duped to buy this product for at least $40,000 when it is sold at the internet for not even a third of that price!
If MEDEV would jump on the lack-of-integrity bandwagon, I am sure we would be very successful in no time. I am sure we can also easily get away with it. Many will say that that is what business is all about. But I am not a businessman. I am just looking for employment, remember? I am looking for a company with integrity. And if I cannot find one, I'll make one!
But if my competitors lack integrity, and if they mostly get away with it, how can I fight them head on? How can you compete on their price when they are offering even used equipment, which they bought at a bargain, as brand new?
That leads me to the other thing that will differentiate us apart from our them...
Service.
I mean Great Service! Some companies have engineers. We will have the best ones and those with the best experience on the products we carry, and we will train them better.
Some companies provide quick response to customer service requirements. We will provide faster response. We will equip our engineers with the right tools. We will also provide the engineers with back units and boards at their disposal. That way, they can decide on their own whether it is prudent to provide the customer with whatever back-up items are available. We will provide the engineers with cellphones so that they can immediately be contacted. We will provide them with means of transportation so that they can be at a place where they are needed the most.
Some companies provide training. We will provide better training. We will hire people who, even as members of the our service department, will primarily provide training to the customer. As with the other companies, we will make available training from different sites, even abroad. But to set us apart, we will also provide training on site, to those people who need and benefit the training most - the equipment technicians, the end-users, and in front of the equipment they bought.
In short, we will work our very best to return in the form of service every centavo the customer will pay us.
I believe Integrity and Service will set us apart from the competition. Yes, it will take us a long time to do that, for the customer need to experience us first before we can show them the difference. Nevertheless, MEDEV will be ready to do that, whatever and however long it takes.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
The Story of MEDEV Part 2: What's in a Name?
I started thinking of a name for my burgeoning medical equipment business with the realization that it could affect the success of the company itself, both in the short and long term. So I started thinking what I want the company to be, or at least what first impression should it project, such that the name should follow it.
I am forming a company that is in the medical equipment business, and I want it to encompass the industry so that it will not be limited to a certain product. I started playing with the words "medical" and "equipment" but I cannot get something out of them. I added other words including "Devices", "Products", "Systems" and "Service" in the list and tried to rearrange the syllables. I considered MedEquip but it seems there is already that company. MediPro sounds to me like a medical supply company. Medisys or Medsys is out of the question because they sound like "May disease" which means "with some sort of illness"! MediServe is the name of a diagnostic clinic. Other considerations were ProMed, PhilMed, ServoMed, etc.
I wanted the company to be a high-tech and professional firm. I thought that a German sounding name would be nice and fitting.
I was in college when a train called MAGLEV was designed and tested in Germany. This train uses electromagnets for it to float and glide or fly through a magnetic track at speeds in excess of 500Kph! Maglev is coined from the words "magnetic levitation" which describes its basic technology, high-tech indeed!!!
And that is when the name MEDEV, short for Medical Devices, hits me. It sounds to me like MAGLEV which generates all the technological imagery in my mind. It is unique, short and easy to remember yet it seems high-tech and still describes the business we are in. Yes, MEDEV is a good name. (Of course, later, many of our customers would joke that our company is owned by a sexy Filipina actress whose surname is Medved! I learned early on to laugh at that joke and would now even suggest to name her as our honorary chairperson, ha..ha..)
Now, I am building a company. I deemed that to be taken seriously, it has got to be a corporation, so I asked my wife, my sisters and mother-in-law to join me as incorporators. I am registering the name and applying for all the permits required to do business. My house in Paranaque will be my temporary office and I will be its first employee.
With a few savings in the bank which will be added later to my wife's early retirement pay, I now must think of what the company is, what would make it unique, why would customers buy from it and what would it's business really be?
I am forming a company that is in the medical equipment business, and I want it to encompass the industry so that it will not be limited to a certain product. I started playing with the words "medical" and "equipment" but I cannot get something out of them. I added other words including "Devices", "Products", "Systems" and "Service" in the list and tried to rearrange the syllables. I considered MedEquip but it seems there is already that company. MediPro sounds to me like a medical supply company. Medisys or Medsys is out of the question because they sound like "May disease" which means "with some sort of illness"! MediServe is the name of a diagnostic clinic. Other considerations were ProMed, PhilMed, ServoMed, etc.
I wanted the company to be a high-tech and professional firm. I thought that a German sounding name would be nice and fitting.
I was in college when a train called MAGLEV was designed and tested in Germany. This train uses electromagnets for it to float and glide or fly through a magnetic track at speeds in excess of 500Kph! Maglev is coined from the words "magnetic levitation" which describes its basic technology, high-tech indeed!!!
And that is when the name MEDEV, short for Medical Devices, hits me. It sounds to me like MAGLEV which generates all the technological imagery in my mind. It is unique, short and easy to remember yet it seems high-tech and still describes the business we are in. Yes, MEDEV is a good name. (Of course, later, many of our customers would joke that our company is owned by a sexy Filipina actress whose surname is Medved! I learned early on to laugh at that joke and would now even suggest to name her as our honorary chairperson, ha..ha..)
Now, I am building a company. I deemed that to be taken seriously, it has got to be a corporation, so I asked my wife, my sisters and mother-in-law to join me as incorporators. I am registering the name and applying for all the permits required to do business. My house in Paranaque will be my temporary office and I will be its first employee.
With a few savings in the bank which will be added later to my wife's early retirement pay, I now must think of what the company is, what would make it unique, why would customers buy from it and what would it's business really be?
Saturday, February 12, 2005
The Story of MEDEV Part 1: How it all began?
I suddenly realized that I am really out of work on that fateful day sometime in May, 1999. A few months ago, I just had a problem with a manager at the Philippine branch of GE Medical Systems, the world's largest manufacturer of medical equipment and part of General Electric - the world's most admired company, and I cannot help but to resign.
I was starting a family, and I have 2 small kids (one is a 2-year old boy and the other is a 3 month old baby girl at that time), and therefore needed to have a job immediately! I did my rounds of applying with other companies but, at 33, I realized I am either too young or too old for their tastes. Meanwhile, those who are willing to accept me are not willing to give me a decent salary. So what do I have to do?
Just in time, a former customer (prior to my stint with GE) contacted me with major problems regarding their equipment. They needed parts (motherboard) as well as someone to repair it. Since I have maintained my contacts with the manufacturer, IMEX Medical Systems, Inc. (now Nicolet Vascular and part of Viasys Healthcare), I can definitely help them. Problem is, the customer is a department in a government hospital and would need the exclusive distributor if in case I want to get paid (Of course I want to get paid!). IMEX did not pose a problem for they told me they can sign me up for an exclusive distributorship agreement, anytime.
It seems at that point that all the pieces are falling in place, a solution to a puzzle is beginning to unravel. I have already accumulated more than 10 years of experience in various capacities (sales, service, product management, administration) in the medical equipment business from small local family-owned companies (RG Meditron and Pharmedic Corp.) to the biggest in the world (GE Medical)! I also have already had my taste of being self employed for a while, still in the medical equipment business. Meanwhile, my wife whom I met at RG Meditron has already accumulated valuable years of experience in the processing of importations and international trading. She was with Colgate-Palmolive Phils for the last 10 years in charge of importing raw materials and her employer is luring everyone with a somewhat generous early retirement package. Everything now seems to be pointing to one direction. I thought I was ready and concluded that I must (and I did) form my own company!
The next question is, what would I name it?
I was starting a family, and I have 2 small kids (one is a 2-year old boy and the other is a 3 month old baby girl at that time), and therefore needed to have a job immediately! I did my rounds of applying with other companies but, at 33, I realized I am either too young or too old for their tastes. Meanwhile, those who are willing to accept me are not willing to give me a decent salary. So what do I have to do?
Just in time, a former customer (prior to my stint with GE) contacted me with major problems regarding their equipment. They needed parts (motherboard) as well as someone to repair it. Since I have maintained my contacts with the manufacturer, IMEX Medical Systems, Inc. (now Nicolet Vascular and part of Viasys Healthcare), I can definitely help them. Problem is, the customer is a department in a government hospital and would need the exclusive distributor if in case I want to get paid (Of course I want to get paid!). IMEX did not pose a problem for they told me they can sign me up for an exclusive distributorship agreement, anytime.
It seems at that point that all the pieces are falling in place, a solution to a puzzle is beginning to unravel. I have already accumulated more than 10 years of experience in various capacities (sales, service, product management, administration) in the medical equipment business from small local family-owned companies (RG Meditron and Pharmedic Corp.) to the biggest in the world (GE Medical)! I also have already had my taste of being self employed for a while, still in the medical equipment business. Meanwhile, my wife whom I met at RG Meditron has already accumulated valuable years of experience in the processing of importations and international trading. She was with Colgate-Palmolive Phils for the last 10 years in charge of importing raw materials and her employer is luring everyone with a somewhat generous early retirement package. Everything now seems to be pointing to one direction. I thought I was ready and concluded that I must (and I did) form my own company!
The next question is, what would I name it?
