Field service providers and the health care market

The health care industry has undergone significant change in the past decade or so. What hasn’t changed in the same time frame is the need (and demand) for customer satisfaction. Patients obviously want high-quality care, but they also have economic concerns of their own at play. They consistently seek the highest value possible.

On the supplier side, there have been years of growth and consolidation, resulting in fewer (but more powerful) medical equipment and service purchasers. The market has expanded beyond the traditional hospital base, though, to include:

• Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs)
• Clinics
• Medical centers
• Private labs
• Life care facilities
• Hospitals
• Other types of medical and health care centers

Because of these service changes, you have two major shifts in the customer/patient profile. They tend to be:

• Harder to acquire (“the sell”)
• Easier to retain with good service (“the satisfaction”)

 Now pause and pivot for one second.

We have a different model among health care suppliers, and a different kind of patient emerging. In addition to those two changes, we also have a radically different definition of ‘service’ in the medical space. It simply used to mean ‘fixing something when it was broken.’ Now, because of device data and monitoring (think Internet of Things), it means more in terms of ‘getting to problems before they occur’ in these various areas:

• Hardware maintenance and repair service, including re-engineering, retrofitting and refurbishing.
• Software support, for both customized and off-the-shelf programs.
• Applications support for both medical and business applications.
• Consumables support, including chemicals, reagents, and supplies.
• Systems integration consulting and implementation support.
• Consulting support, including facilities planning and facilities/site management; inventory management and control, quality program implementation and others.

So far, the landscape looks like this:

• Health care providers have changed
• Patients have changed
• The definition of service has changed

Let’s adjust a few more models here, as well. In terms of buyers (or “users”) for service organizations in the medical manufacturing space, the profile has also shifted:

• Larger, more centralized users now have increased leverage in contract negotiations.
• Users generally have more flexibility in choosing from among the growing number of services providers.
• Integrated service capabilities allow for increased economies of scale in the delivery of services.
• Individual users now have increased buying power through the existence of GPOs and other types of purchasing groups or collectives.

When you take all that into account, what do service organizations need to understand?

• The full range and types of medical systems and equipment presently being utilized.
• The principal applications that are most critical to day-to-day operations.
• The key needs and requirements, demands and expectations of the purchasers and users (e.g., operators, technicians, and department managers) themselves.

This is essentially akin to learning an entirely new culture from 10 years ago. Almost every aspect of the medical manufacturing (and overall health care) industry and vertical has shifted, but the core goal remains the same for field service organizations: user satisfaction with their devices, and customer/patient satisfaction (resulting in higher user satisfaction).

Written by Julio Hartstein