Manufacturers, private practices, and patients involved in premium cataract/RLE and IOL-related matters, premium glaucoma care, and other complicated surgical businesses often seem to live in three different worlds.
Patients are not properly informed or misled in terms of decision-making, and that limits the growth of our industry and every particular business.
🏭 Manufacturers are focused on targeting their "retailers," i.e., clinics and private practitioners, to gain market share and provide professional education to improve clinical integration of their technologies.
🏥 Private practices are focused on patient flow and business results; some are focused more on mastering clinical outcomes in terms of what matters most for professional understanding.
And both have some "patient communication products", but honestly, are they clear enough to differentiate? Are they really informative? Would you believe yourself if you read your brochure or a website? :)
🤖 Patients are living in between. Some simply giving trust to a doctor, and there are lucky and not so lucky stories. Some are trying to navigate through jungles of corporate marketing promises, doctors claims and promises (sometimes correct, sometimes not, sometimes unclear), scientific publications, friends, and other people suggestions to find the most valuable for the individual information.
And the patient in that story is the person, who pays all the bills to all of us, and the least happy and informed. If you think I'm wrong, you simply trying to avoid millions of posts in social media and forums when people are looking for an advice, information clarification, trying to solve post-op problems or find the optimal solution for their visual needs.
We simply do not hear the voice of the patient, despite our declaring that we are working to improve sight and the patient's life. And, as I said at the beginning it is a bottleneck for entire industry which limits the growth of exciting technologies and product we do have either in premium IOLs, glaucoma or even contact lenses.
Our communication process suffers from transparency and honesty and is defocused on the patient's fears, concerns, and needs. You say marketing, and it's life, man? Someone will say it's legal obstacles and compliance. Correct.
Despite these objective obstacles and "laws of life," room for truly patient-focused communication exists. Those who change the patient communication pattern will win, either in the industry or as a private practice in the region or globally.
What shall be done and how to change this in order to improve either corporate business numbers, private practice results and simply help people see better?
I have been mastering the patient communication world from the inside for five years in a row, and I have a lot to share that may change your business and practice.
Stay tuned. I'll share my insights.
Oleksii Sologub
MSc, LLB, SE MBA
Entrepreneur | Board Member & Strategic Business Consultant in Ophthalmology