Using Collaborative Tool to help minimize the impact of the Medical Device Tax.?
As companies continue to deal with the impact of the medical device tax, new technologies and applications can help reduce or eliminate the negative effects. New collaboration capabilities in CRM, SharePoint, Yammer and even Office make it easier than ever to increase productivity of all teams. Teams that can collaborate and help each more effectively can handle high volumes of activities with higher quality.
The 2.3 percent?medical device tax?that went into effect this year has prompted significant layoffs in the industry. This means those still employed are being asked to do more with less.
In 2012, U.S. medical device and diagnostics companies laid off more than 5,000 workers, and employees worked longer hours for shrinking bonuses and stagnant salaries, according to survey results reported on the Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry website.
With many positions eliminated, respondents reported working a median of 50 hours of work per week (up from 48 in 2011), while compensation remained flat.
?The 40-hour work week in the medical device industry is a thing of the past,? says Tom Johasky, general manager and president of Medical Device Recruiters. ?Because of economic conditions, companies are asking their employees to do a heck of a lot more than what they?ve ever done.?
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Life sciences companies face increased pressures, both to demonstrate improved patient outcomes and to prove that their product or drug will reduce costs. A perfect example of how?medical device innovation?can reduce overall health care costs ? while winning over surgeons, patients and hospitals ? is?robotic surgery.The leading surgical robots cost up to $2.3 million, but hospitals consider them good investments. That?s because of the ways the machines lower ?the downstream costs? of surgeries, according to a recent article on the Fortune Magazine website.?Robotic surgical procedures typically result in less tissue damage than standard techniques, allowing patients to heal faster, which minimizes recovery time and hospital stays.?With the new health care law focusing on positive outcomes and lowering readmissions, this is one of the best benefits of robotic surgery.And the robots are very much in demand. Hospitals are finding that having robots pulls in more patients and can even result in an increased number of surgeries performed. While the market has grown significantly in recent years, this type of surgical procedure started off in urology about 10 years ago. Once the clinical benefits became clear, this method expanded into areas such as gastrointestinal and cardiovascular surgery.The most popular surgical robot today is the da Vinci, made by a growing Silicon Valley-based company called Intuitive Surgical. A well-designed, closed system of proprietary hardware and software, the Fortune Magazine article calls the da Vinci ?the iPhone of its category.? The machine is so intuitive, according to the article, that children with strong video gaming skills take to the new interface better than (at first) most surgeons.A contrasting design is the Raven, a smaller, experimental machine developed by engineering professors at two university robotics labs. With its lower price tag of $300,000 and open-source model, the article compares the Raven to Google?s Android platform phones. By opening this technology to anyone, the Raven could spur even more?medical device innovation?and further reduce health care costs.Source:?Fortune Magazine, January 2013
Medical device innovation?isn?t just about making substantial investments in research and development. It?s also about recognizing true market needs, suggests an article on the Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry website.?Even when you are designing with your existing technology you can actually subtly shift the way you design in order to address the need better,? says Stacey Chang, associate partner and director of IDEO?s health and wellness practice.For example, in the past, a sales representative would only have a relationship with the physician, who would decide whether the hospital or clinic should invest in the product or drug. Now, more people are involved, from buying departments to insurance companies and legal.Even patients play an important role.?Through social media and specialized websites, they can talk about treatments they?ve received. That drives patients to have those conversations with physicians and even push certain treatments based on what they?ve heard. Even though sales representatives might not deal directly with patients, the industry must understand what their concerns are.
Traditionally, medical device companies have focused on paper and pen, Excel spreadsheets and gut instinct, rather than adopting new technologies. Now, that?s changing, and companies are turning to tools such as 
Clearly, the medical device industry was hit hard in 2012. More than 7,000 people were laid off. No wonder an article on the MassDevice website calls it ?the year of the layoff.?
Devices that improve healthcare efficiency dominate the Cleveland Clinic’s list of the top 10