Outsource Marketing Solutions blog

Prosthetic Revolution?

If you don't like how the "Power Knee" by Ossur sounds...or how much a microprocessor knee unit costs...this may be your answer.  These guys are smart, very smart.  I'd watch MuscleMorph very carefully.

According to the article "Tomorrow's Tech Stars" in my November 2006 issue of FSB magazine (Fortune Small Business) "There are 1.8 million amputees in the U.S., and their numbers are expected to increase because of a rising incidence of heart disease and diabetes.  Several motorized prosthetics hace come on the market in the past year, but they are bulky, noisy, and power-hungry machines that cost between $50,000 and $100,000.  Limbs using MuscleMorph's technology will have more lifelike motion, could cost significantly less--and will be completely silent, cliams Kothari.  'No one wants to sound like a cyborg,' he says."

Ride the wave

The wave of O&P publicity, that is. 

The column to the left consists of current links to articles in print and online that have to do with prosthetics and orthotics, prostheses and orthoses, prosthetists and orthotist…you get the picture.

Speaking of pictures!!

The design, fitting and fabrication of orthoses and prostheses provides the media with great visuals.

Want to get some great publicity the easy way? Give a tour of your facility.

When my kids were little, we always had their classes from the Montessori school come over for a field trip. 

They got t-shirts, little "demo" Flex Feet (I don't think they make those anymore) or C-leg key chains, and we got great pictures of Jennings' and Eloise's grandad "making legs" or casting a volunteer with some fluorescent casting tape! Kids, animals and politicians - great photo ops - throw in some intriguing O&P visuals - Quick!  Call the photographer!!

 

Leapfrog Announces Top 50 Hospitals

WASHINGTON—The Leapfrog Group has published its first Top Hospitals list based on results from its national quality and safety survey.

Fifty-nine of the 1,263 hospitals participating in the survey made the list. They include 50 general hospitals and nine children’s hospitals.

Work with a hospital? Work in a hospital? Go to a hospital? See if it made the list - click here!

Medicare Covers Obesity Surgery

CLEVELAND (Reuters) -- The new head of Johnson & Johnson's surgical-device unit is campaigning to convince employers to cover an increasingly popular but pricey surgery for obesity.

Nearly one-third of the U.S. adult population is obese, and patients are lining up for the surgery, but U.S. employers are having trouble swallowing the minimum $25,000 price tag. The cost can double if complications emerge after surgery...Read on

Debit Cards for Healthcare

From Benefitnews.com
"Health care purchases are becoming more like the typical grocery and clothing purchases for some workers. The use of debit cards in conjunction with health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement arrangements is growing, experts say. Additionally, some vendors have started extending a line of credit to patients with the cards.

The proportion of transactions made by debit cards in FSAs, HSAs and HRAs increased from 46% in 2003 to 76% in 2005 at WageWorks, a San Mateo, Calif.-based firm that provides those accounts. The proportion of dollars spent through card transactions grew from 38% to 71% during that same time frame.

'It will be higher in 2006,"'predicts WageWorks CEO Jon Kessler.

The debit cards are 'fostering healthy consumer behaviors,' such as paying attention to your health care budget, disputing charges that you believe are wrong, and considering the financial consequences of health care decisions, Kessler comments. 'I do think the cards have had an immediate impact. People start to look at value.' "

Whole article - click here

Free and Fabulous

Seth Godin is giving away his book "The Bootstrapper's Bible."
You need to read it.

Download it here!

"About the author:
Seth Godin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. In Free Prize Inside, his follow up to the best selling marketing book of 2003, Purple Cow, Seth helps you make your product remarkable with soft innovations. You need to make each of your employees idea champions so they can find the Free Prize. Godin is author of six books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work. Seth is a renowned speaker as well. He was recently chosen as one of 21 Speakers for the Next Century by Successful Meetings and is consistently rated among the very best speakers by the audiences he addresses. He holds an MBA from Stanford and was called "the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age" by BusinessWeek."

If you don't have a diabetic patient management program, why not?????

From the ADA newsletter:

About one in every 523 young people have been diagnosed 
with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, according to the 
first comprehensive assessment of the disease in Americans 
under 20. That places diabetes among the more common 
chronic illnesses of youth, the researchers report, 
striking 1.82 children per 1,000, compared with 1.24 
per 1,000 with cancer and 120 per 1,000 with asthma.

The national study, published in the journal "Pediatrics," provides 
a baseline for future studies of diabetes prevention and control, 
says study co-author Jean Lawrence, a research scientist with 
Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena. Previous 
estimates have been drawn from smaller studies that focused 
mainly on white children and type 1 diabetes, she says.
Learn more - click here!
 

Expectations! Are you creating pre-conceived resentments?

I just read Tom Kane's post "Does Your Online Image Match Reality?"
You should too!

Check your website - does it project the same image that your customers see when they walk in your door or receive your goods and services?

The world wide web has been praised as leveling the playing field.

Small companies have the ability to compete online with large companies - however, in O&P patient care, most patients, at some point, have to come into your office.  Will you meet their expectations or have you created pre-conceived resentments?

If you're a vendor/supplier - does your (dazzling Flash filled) website create an impression that clashes with your receptionist's phone skills or your shipping clerk's use of "recycled" packing material?

Here's a quote from his post:

"...That is, your brand should be reflected in all of your communication tools, as well as your office. There should be a consistent image projected in your brochure, newsletters, letterhead, logo, invoices, etc., and mirrored in your office and on your web site. Inconsistency can lead to disappointment and raise questions as to what your firm is really all about."

I like to read info on marketing other professional services like Legal or Accounting because...marketing is marketing and you can always get good ideas, advice, tips, tools, techniques, etc., by staying on top of what others are doing to market themselves.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I just returned from the AOPA National Assembly meeting in Hollywood.  Presented on Friday.  For those of you that saw my presentation - here's a little info on visually based presentations from the following website.
(http://www.eod.gvsu.edu/eod/refer/refer-82.html#pgfId-998395)

Version 1.0, August 31, 2001, Copyright, Hugh Jack 1993-2001

The Numbers on Why You Need Visuals

1.Seeing makes the most sense.

Studies show that sight is the most used human sense.

A whopping 75% of all environmental stimuli is received through visual reception
(Doug Malouf).

So, the best presenters use visuals to maximize the impact of their presentation!

Environmental Stimuli Reception

2.Visuals are the best way to teach your audience.

According to a recent University of California at Los Angeles study, 55% percent of what an audience learns comes directly from the visual messages seen during a presentation- compared to 38% from audio messages.

By combining audio and visual presentation messages, presenters can ensure their objectives are met.

Impact of Communication

3.Visuals increase the retention of messages.

A Wharton Research Center study has shown that the retention rate of verbal only presentations is approximately 10%.

However, when you combine visual messages with verbal communication, you increase the retention rate to nearly 50%.

A 400% increase! Why not use visual aids to help your audience remember your message?

Message Retention

4.Visuals help you meet your audience objectives.

When presenters use visual aids in their presentations, they are twice as likely (67% vs. 33%) to achieve their audience objectives, than speakers who don't use visual aids.
(Decker Communications).

By incorporating effective visuals in your presentation, you increase your ability to communicate your message to your audience.

Achieving Objectives

5.Reduce the length of your meeting.

A recent study from the University of Minnesota found that the average length of meetings in which visuals were used were 26.8% shorter (26.7 minutes vs. 18.6 minutes) than meetings in which no visuals were used.

With executive salaries at several hundred dollars an hour, visuals can save corporate executives a lot of time and money!