The average time to make a technology decision at a hospital or health system is 24 months.

Who makes decisions?

There are a wide array of staff and stakeholders that take part of the decision-making process. Part of what takes so long is collaborating among all parties and establishing the foundation of why the purchase is necessary or beneficial. Many stakeholders will have shifting priorities. Some may want to focus on patient-centered outcomes, while others want to focus on the cost of the product. Some of the professionals who may be involved in the purchase decision may include:

• CFO

• CEO

• Administration (accounting, marketing)

• Physicians or Doctors

• Medical Director

• Director of specific departments (like radiology)

• IT staff

• Nursing Manager

• Board members

What goes into purchasing?

Knowing what your purchasers are considering is an important aspect of how you can more effectively sell your product. Giving the information you know they are looking for up front can save some time in the decision-making process. Two common reasons that purchasers look to buy a new product is to replace outdated technology or because of user requests (meaning patients, physicians, or other staff). Compare your product to the ones currently on the market and be sure to include why your digital health product can benefit the purchaser. Since digital health is a new and expanding field, it can easily replace most outdated technology, even if that technology was a digital health product. For example, think of how patient portals have advanced in the last ten years. We now have quicker access to patient care and information than ever before, which can appeal to those making the decisions in healthcare systems.

What do purchasers look for?

If you know ahead of time exactly what purchasers or hospital systems are looking for, you can target your marketing more precisely. Three out of five decision makers in the industry want to improve clinical outcomes, while approximately half want to lower costs. What does ‘improve clinical outcomes’ mean? These would be measures that can increase the likelihood a patient gets care, the quality of that care, length of treatment, length of hospital stays, etc. Anything that can be beneficial on a medical level for a patient or hospital system typically qualifies. Does your product give patients easier access to care, therefore decreasing the number of visits they take to the emergency room? That improves clinical outcomes and is a great way to get hospitals or healthcare systems to notice you.

They do their research

You can count on these hospital systems and purchasers doing extensive research on any potential product. If they are pouring funds into it, they want to know it works! Data shows that to find new equipment, vendors, or products, administrators often use the following resources:

• Direct contact with the sales team or vendor

• Professional conference or society

• Group Purchasing Organization (GPO)

• Internal Resources

• Recommendations from peers

Marketing yourself using these methods can be helpful to drawing prospective clients. Creating valuable relationships among the employees at your target locations can be extremely helpful in establishing trust, and therefore creating sales. Most buyers do extensive research online to compare products and watch videos. Use your website and/or professional pages to highlight your product and encourage administrators to reach out to you.

How can I expedite the process?

There are a few things you can do to encourage the process of a sale. Don’t be pushy and understand that there are many avenues that the system must work through. If you put some information forward, you might be able to see quicker results. The World Health Organization offers a list of performance measures that help with the procurement process for those selling to health administrators or hospitals. These also list the indicators for each performance measure, which outline exactly what they may be looking for. They include:

Efficiency of the competitive process

• Indicated by the number of bids, proposals, and suppliers

Cost reduction and containment

• Cost of savings achieved

• Reduction demand

• Percentage of budget spent

Supplier management

• Time taken from contract to full handover

• Level of quality, including rejections

• Delays from supplier

• Value of purchases year to year

Efficiency of internal systems and processes:

• Volume of low-value transactions

• Reduction in transaction cost

• Customer satisfaction

• Number of purchases completed

While this is not an extensive list, if you prepare this information up front, you can limit some of the research the company will want to do. It also tells you what challenges companies may typically face or want to avoid. Make sure what you are selling aligns with what they are looking for to minimize any frustrations.

Increase your visibility

One of the listed ways that administrators research or find new products is through conferences. Try to engage, or even present, at many conferences to increase your visibility. Similarly, boost yourself on social media and create relationships with hospital staff. Reach out to people you have sold your product to before and see if they will give you a testimonial.