Why you should fire your Marketing leader

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written by Lisa Denison & Tiger Buford

Few orthopedic companies can execute great Marketing. Most do not. 
Often the Marketing leadership is to blame for poor marketing execution.
Here are 6 signals that you should consider in making a change to your Marketing leadership.

1) Poor Alignment with Sales
Your Marketing head is not in synch with your Sales organization.  
When the Marketing VP and the Sales VP don’t work together or see eye-to-eye, it’s a major problem, and it sets the dysfunctional tone for these organizations. You will commonly experience one or more of these problems with misaligned Sales/Marketing: 
– marketing campaigns that are not utilized or helpful,
– rogue behavior on the sales team because they don’t believe that marketing has a clue,
– or marketing not listening to important sales feedback because they think they know better.

2) Poor Alignment with R&D
Your Marketing leader is not engaged with R&D.
Marketing should be an integral part of new product development (to the point of leading the process) instead of being just handed the finished product to sell.  One of marketing’s core functions is the identification of the unmet clinical need and the Voice-of-the-Customer. During the development process, marketing should be side-by-side with engineering to validate designs.  If not done well, a product redesign is inevitable. This flaw is magnified when Marketing and Engineering are based in separate cities or countries.

3) No Digital Execution
Your Marketing leader is not leveraging digital marketing.  
The majority of spending in orthopedic marketing is for physical things, not digital things. Hey, it’s 2019. Wake up! Everyone lives inside social media. Your digital campaigns should be targeted towards Direct-to-Patient and Direct-to-Surgeon. Digital marketing is better, cheaper and gives you mind-blowing metrics. For a deeper look into digital marketing, read The Future of Marketing in Orthopedics written by Tiger. 

4) Little Use of Campaign Metrics
Your Marketing leader has no idea if the campaign worked or not.
“How effective was the marketing campaign?” 
Most people believe that marketing is a creative function, but today marketing should be guided by analytics. If a marketing leader doesn’t have access to the right numbers and trends to base decisions on (i.e., demand forecasting, ad dollars, promotional programs, headcount), how do they know what’s working, or worse – what’s not working?  Furthermore, this analysis needs to be reviewed regularly (with the team), and future decisions made with them. 

5) Lack of the Entrepreneurial Mindset
Your Marketing leader is simply not creative.  
This may be a result of time pressures and a mentality to avoid mistakes. Seems so obvious to say, but what is someone doing in marketing if they can’t think out of the box?  It’s the job description.  When the leader in marketing is the least creative person on the team, there’s a problem.  A lack of creativity in marketing can be a result of leadership that originated in a technical field (like engineering) and migrated to the creative field of marketing. The reality is that a very different skill set and way of thinking is required for marketing vs engineering.  And you can actually do “personality profiling” to test for creativity, during the hiring process.

6) Not Leveraging Clinical Information
Your Marketing leader is not taking advantage of clinical data.
Your leader may be under-utilizing the available clinical data, or they have no plans to get the data. Though this seems like a clinical department issue, this should be driven by marketing.  The clinical data used to gain FDA clearance can be used to SELL the product based on better outcomes.  
The bigger the effort on clinical data mining, the more important this marketing tool becomes, especially with game-changing technologies. 
Surgeon surveys say that clinical evidence as the driver for trying new products and technologies. Which means, this isn’t just a clinical department issue of running a study, it’s a huge marketing issue to collaborate early and often on getting the right data, and then using it!  Or, better yet, revisiting the data that could still be captured through re-purposing of the existing data (are there other meta-analyses that can be done?), and/or shorter pathways to still-meaningful data (post-market analysis, for example). 
Your Marketing leader should understand the power of clinical data and advocate for it, or you have the wrong Marketing leader in place.
 

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Everything you need to know about the first wearable orthopedic device, TracPatch

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“TracPatch connects healthcare providers to what matters most: improving patient lives.”
A decade ago I predicted that smart technologies would be coming to orthopedics. Then in 2015, Consensus Orthopedics invented TracPatch.  Brilliant use of smart technology to improve orthopedics outcomes.
I am a big fan of TracPatch for two reasons.
First, TracPatch is revolutionizing evidence-based care in orthopedics. TracPatch is a game changer for healthcare providers, patients, insurance companies, and workers comp.  More about this later.
Second, TracPatch is a traditional orthopedic company with the cunning to develop a disruptive technology from inside the four walls of the company; while at the same time executing its core business. This is extremely rare. Stryker, DePuy-Synthes, S+N, and Zimmer-Biomet cannot do this.  The only other example that I can think of is when Danek (now Medtronic Spine) developed the first BMP when the core business was spine hardware.
This year TracPatch is poised to become a disruptive force in Orthopedics. TracPatch is the biggest technological advancement in decades to improve outcomes in joint replacements. Let’s learn more about TracPatch.

So what exactly is TracPatch?
TracPatch is a cutting-edge medical wearable designed to make recovering at home easily accessible, connected, and more predictable. TracPatch is a 24/7 remote monitoring wearable device that captures a patient’s key daily activities: such as range of motion progress, exercise compliance, and ambulation. TracPatch is used for pre and post-op patient monitoring, patient engagement, data analytics and post-op cost reduction.
The wearable devices stick on the skin above and below the knee. The wearables are applied before total knee surgery to determine a patient’s baseline activity levels, and then again after surgery to allow the patient and surgeon to stay connected by monitoring activity, pain, range of motion and physical therapy. The Bluetooth connectivity allows the device to be paired with any smartphone and the HIPAA compliant TracPatch cloud allows for unlimited data collection and storage.
The TracPatch web dashboard and app provides the healthcare provider anytime, anywhere insight into a patient’s recovery, allowing for immediate care adjustments and the ability to get ahead of recovery issues, empowering patients and healthcare providers with real-time recovery efficiency.
 
ADVANTAGES

Surgeon and patient stay connected after surgery.

Gather pre-op/baseline data

Create the patient expectation for recovery

Get ahead of issues

Reduce unnecessary costs

Decreases LOS during surgery.

Reduce readmissions/MUA’s

Today TracPatch is used on the knee, tomorrow TracPatch will be used for hip, spine and shoulder.
Healthcare providers have instant access to a patient’s pre-op and post-op data and can adjust care plans based on the data. Dr. David Stulberg said it best, “TracPatch is going to change the way the healthcare industry views and treats joint replacement patients. Not only will we be able to preoperatively monitor patient activity to set a clinical baseline, but surgeons will also be able to monitor how their patients are recovering long after they have been discharged which will ultimately result in fewer patients being readmitted to the hospital and higher success rates of surgery.”
TracPatch and IBM Watson Health, the leader in cognitive healthcare solutions, are teaming up in a collaborative approach to advance orthopedic care through the power of connected technology. The goal is to use TracPatch real-world data combined with IBM Watson Health cognitive capabilities which healthcare providers will then use to help guide patient care.
Watson Health was used by TracPatch to first identify the true cost drivers in total joint orthopedic care. TracPatch will provide objective data and benchmarked patient information into Watson Health to analyze and provide evidence-based treatment options to help healthcare providers improve decision making and reduce costs. In Phase 3, using evidence-based data from TracPatch and advanced analytics from Watson Health, TracPatch will provide personalized orthopedic treatment options and care paths using Watson Health’s cognitive capabilities.
For more information:

Watch a 3-minute Video overview of TracPatch here

Listen to Dr. Chris Leslie’s Podcast about TracPatch here

How was a disruptive technology like TracPatch conceived from inside a traditional orthopedic company?
All it took was a warm Saturday afternoon and a delicious BBQ dinner to spark a revolutionary idea. Consensus Orthopedics found a common drawback in orthopedic surgery: a minimal connection between surgeons and patients.
With a passion for renewing lives, Consensus set out to solve the problem by brainstorming answers to questions such as, “How can we create a connection to help improve patient recovery?” The solution soon followed with the innovation of TracPatch. After extensive research, development, and testing, TracPatch was soon launched, much to the excitement of the orthopedic industry. Consensus strongly believes in the power of connection between health care providers, patients, and industry.
 
How is TracPatch funded?
TracPatch is funded by Consensus core business and has shareholders that are both money managers, VC’s, and high net worth individuals.
 
How does TracPatch actually work?
TracPatch is a continuous remote monitoring device that utilizes multiple sensor technologies. These sensors allow the two devices to know where they are in space on the patient’s body. The TracPatch devices are placed on the upper and lower legs using an adhesive disposable patch. The device is then paired to a smartphone by Bluetooth. As the patient begins their pre-op and post-op recovery plan, TracPatch monitors, collects, and stores the patient’s activity data. This data is then transferred by Bluetooth to a smartphone and then to the TracPatch cloud. The patients’ data can be viewed in real time on the TracPatch apps and web dashboard throughout the entire episode of care.
 
 
What data does TracPatch generate?
We are at the beginning of the evidence-based medicine era. TracPatch will be able to keep healthcare providers and patients connected during the entire episode of care. TracPatch combined with Big Data capabilities will better enable effective care and well-organized managed health.

Collect range of motion (ROM) data and analyze total joint implants leading to potential new implant designs

Provide information that allows healthcare providers and payers to compare surgeon techniques, implants, and hospital and surgeon performance locally, regionally, nationally.

Create pre-op and post-op protocols, i.e. which exercises work with which patients at what time during the recovery process, what exercises work preoperatively, and make real-time care adjustments as needed for enhanced personalized patient care.

Who will benefit from the TracPatch technology?
This data will be invaluable to hospitals, hospital systems, and payors (HCA, VA, insurance companies, Medicare, etc.). TracPatch will provide objective data to validate surgical techniques, hospital performance, which procedures insurance companies are willing to pay for and which surgeons insurance companies want to use.
Insurers already use data points like BMI (body mass index) to set rates. If you think of TracPatch as a way to value healthcare improvement, the more data points captured and evidence shown to reduce the need for services, both the insurance company and patient can save money. TracPatch can act as a claim adjuster to confirm the need and prevent fraud for total joints as well as provide data showing patient monitoring reduces costs to the healthcare system.
Self-Insured companies will benefit because they want to find the best coverage for the cheapest price. Companies such as the Cleveland Clinic negotiate with large, self-insured companies to provide excellent total joint replacement surgery at a reasonable cost with good outcomes. With TracPatch, the Cleveland Clinic can monitor patients once they return home after their procedures. This becomes a strong value proposition for these types of institutions when negotiating these contracts.
 
How will TracPatch benefits be measured in clinical studies?
Total Knee Arthroplasty is becoming an increasingly common operation. An important part of a successful overall patient outcome is regaining the functional range of motion after surgery. Wearable devices for fitness have become increasingly common in the general population. TracPatch clinical studies seek to utilize wearable technology to enhance the pre- and post-operative rehabilitation experience by allowing patients and surgeons to monitor patient recovery in real time. The TracPatch device utilizes multiple sensors to allow the surgeon and patient to monitor recovery and help ensure critical milestones are being met. This new technology will improve patient outcomes and lead to greater cost savings in post-operative care. In addition, TracPatch will be used as a physical therapy tool for managing post-operative physical therapy for patients who have had a Total Knee Replacement compared to traditional physical therapy.
 
What are the applications for TracPatch in the future?
All musculoskeletal motion – Knee, ACL, Spine, Hip, Shoulder, etc.
Stay tuned.

 

For more information about TracPatch, email [email protected]
Consensus Orthopedics, Inc.
1115 Windfield Way
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.consensusortho.com

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Know your sauce

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Congrats, now that you leading a small orthopedic company.
 
I’m going to guess that your company has a unique thing that differentiates it in the market…  and only one thing.  This is your Secret Sauce. Your secret sauce is your raison d’être. This is the unique value of your company. This is what makes you special.

By contrast, the big 5 orthopedic companies have no secret sauce.  They don’t need it. They dominate in the marketplace because they have massive distribution, a ridiculous breadth of product lines and mountains of cash.  Scale, but no sauce.

Know your Sauce
As a small company, your secret sauce will either make or break your business. You must know exactly what it is. Your secret sauce could be literally anything. Let’s look at some examples.
The sauce could be in the areas.  Here are some real examples: 

better business model for selling non-FDA solutions (BalancedBack),

cheaper delivered implants (OrthoDirectUSA),

better implant inventory organization (GEO),

novel treatment for AO  (Active Implants),

better solutions for infections (OsteoRemedies),

better clinical analytics for joints and spine (TracPatch),

better surgical training (Osso VR),

better patented suturing technique (KFx),

better software algorithm (EnHatch),

better treatment by remote control  (NuVasive / Ellipse Technologies),

better intra-operative data (Augmedics),

better implant coatings (Titan Spine),

better surgical treatment for bunions (Treace Medical),

better surgery kits (Flower Orthopedics) 

or better friendlier treatment (Green Sun Medical).

Own your Sauce
Whatever your sauce is, you must Own it. You must…

Nourish it.

Protect it.

Improve it.

Expand it.

Market it.

Hire people who have expertise in it and keep them happy. Spend more time on your sauce than feels right.

Don’t worry about your Commodities
The things that are not your secret sauce are just commodities. These are the things that do not define or differentiate your company. You have to know that these things that are just ordinary. You could make changes to these commodities and nobody would notice. For instance, your commodities could be your packaging, your pricing, your implant materials, your surgical training, your sales/distribution model, the implant itself, the instruments, your surgical technique, your manufacturing process, your building, etc.  You do not need to own these. Outsource them if possible. You do not even have to nurture these.

Focus on your sauce and you will win in the long term.
 

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RTI Surgical acquires Paradigm Spine for $300M

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RTI Surgical® to Acquire Paradigm Spine (press release)
RTI Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq:RTIX), a global surgical implant company, and Paradigm Spine, LLC, a leader in motion preservation and non-fusion spinal implant technology, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby RTI will acquire all outstanding equity interest of Paradigm Spine in a cash and stock transaction valued at up to $300 million, consisting of $150 million at closing plus potential future milestone payments. RTI believes this transaction underscores its significant progress executing against its strategic transformation to reduce complexity, drive operational excellence and accelerate growth.
Under the terms of the agreement, RTI shall pay $100 million in cash and 10,729,614 shares of RTI common stock at closing. The potential milestone payments are payable in a combination of cash and RTI common stock. The shares of RTI stock to be issued at closing were valued based on the volume weighted average closing trading price of RTI common stock on the NASDAQ for the five business trading days prior to the date of execution of the definitive agreement, representing $50 million of value. The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of RTI and the Board of Managers of Paradigm Spine, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
Established in 2005, Paradigm Spine’s primary product is the coflex® Interlaminar Stabilization® device, a differentiated and minimally invasive motion preserving stabilization implant that is FDA PMA approved for the treatment of moderate to severe lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) in conjunction with decompression. LSS is the most prevalent diagnosed spine condition amongst the elderly in North America today, affecting approximately 1.6 million patients annually. Coflex® introduces a cutting-edge solution that pairs minimally invasive surgery (MIS) with motion preservation, which is a combined market estimated to be worth nearly $3.3 billion. Paradigm Spine is based in New York with international operations in Wurmlingen, Germany.
Supported by 12 years of clinical data and endorsed by major spinal societies, including The North American Spine Society (NASS) and The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), coflex® leads to faster recovery times with improved patient outcomes compared to the current standard of care. Coflex® is covered nationally by Medicare and is making coverage progress toward regional and national private payor decisions.
“With coflex®, the Paradigm Spine team has created a differentiated implant that has a demonstrated track record of improving patient outcomes and addresses a critical and growing need in the spine surgery space,” said Camille Farhat, President and CEO of RTI. “Coflex® is FDA PMA approved and an established treatment that we believe is poised for accelerated and sustainable long-term growth given its clinical efficacy and ongoing progress toward insurance coverage. We look forward to working with the Paradigm Spine team to complete this compelling addition to the RTI Surgical family.”
Mr. Farhat continued, “Our growth strategy in spine is to invest in differentiated products and build scale. Coflex® is a differentiated product that we anticipate will reinforce customer retention, support portfolio pull-through and enhance our overall spine offering. Following the successful acquisition of Zyga earlier this year, and the numerous successes in our ongoing strategic transformation, we believe this transaction demonstrates our commitment to improving outcomes for more patients, unlocking additional growth opportunities and ultimately driving value for all stakeholders.”
“We have spent the last several years building coflex® into a therapy of choice for orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons. We believe the treatment is on the verge of accelerating growth as coverage from private payors and patient access begin to expand,” said Marc Viscogliosi, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Paradigm Spine. “We are confident RTI is the ideal partner to help achieve our considerable growth potential and address a vital patient need in the U.S. market.”
The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory approvals, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act as well as approval by RTI shareholders and Paradigm Spine equity holders. Certain shareholders of RTI and certain equity holders of Paradigm Spine have each executed support agreements in favor of the transaction. The transaction is expected to be accretive to RTI EBITDA within 12 months of closing. RTI intends to fund the cash portion of the consideration with approximately $100 million in new, fully-committed debt financing, to be provided by Ares Capital Corporation.
Piper Jaffray & Co. is serving as financial advisors to RTI, and Sidley Austin LLP and Holland & Knight LLP are serving as legal counsel on the transaction and financing, respectively. Dorsey & Whitney LLP is serving as legal counsel to Paradigm Spine.
Conference Call and Webcast
RTI will host a conference call and audio webcast to discuss the transaction on Friday, November 2, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. ET. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (877) 383-7419 (U.S.) or (760) 666-3754 (International). The webcast can be accessed through the investor section of RTI’s website at www.rtix.com/investors. A replay of the conference call will be available on RTI’s website for one month following the call.
About RTI Surgical, Inc.
RTI Surgical is a leading global surgical implant company providing surgeons with safe biologic, metal and synthetic implants. Committed to delivering a higher standard, RTI’s implants are used in spine, sports medicine, general surgery, orthopedic and trauma procedures and are distributed in more than 40 countries. RTI has four manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and Europe. RTI is accredited in the U.S. by the American Association of Tissue Banks and is a member of AdvaMed. For more information, please visit www.rtix.com. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Paradigm Spine, LLC:
Founded in 2005, Paradigm Spine is a privately held company and focused on the design and development of solutions for the disease management of spinal stenosis. The company’s signature product is the coflex® Interlaminar Stabilization® device, which is currently used in over 40 countries worldwide. Coflex® is the only lumbar spinal device that has produced Level I evidence in two separate prospective, randomized, controlled studies against two different surgical control groups, changing the standard of care for lumbar spinal stenosis treatment. For additional information, visit www.paradigmspine.com or www.coflexsolution.com.

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OsteoRemedies continues to bring solutions to complex musculoskeletal disorders

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OsteoRemedies® Announces the First FDA Cleared Dual-Antibiotic Spacer and Bone Cement with Gentamicin and Vancomycin (press release)

OsteoRemedies®, LLC, a company focused on providing simple solutions to complex disorders, is pleased to announce the launch of the REMEDY SPECTRUM™️ GV Hip Spacer System and SPECTRUM™️ GV Bone Cement.  Building on its portfolio consisting of the only pre-made modular spacer system with Gentamicin for Hip, Knee and Shoulders, the REMEDY SPECTRUM™️ GV Hip System will provide surgeons with the first ever broad-spectrum treatment option with both Gentamicin and Vancomycin.
“We are very proud to have the first FDA cleared dual-antibiotic spacer system and bone cement offering,” stated Chris Hughes, President and Chief Executive Officer of OsteoRemedies®.  “Since we started the company in 2013, our commitment to the growing problem of treating joint infections has been our mission.  The amount of science, testing and clinical data supporting this launch is unparalleled in our space.  The addition of the SPECTRUM™️ GV portfolio, further enhances our vision for providing simple solutions for complex disorders for revision infection remedies and achieving a market leadership position in our niche.”
The launch of the SPECTRUM™️ GV system will begin November 1- 4 at the American Academy of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) in Dallas, Texas where OsteoRemedies® will be exhibiting at Booth # 308.  In addition to the introduction of SPECTRUM™, OsteoRemedies® will also be showcasing the newly launched REMEDY® Acetabular Cup Spacer, which in conjunction with the REMEDY® Hip System, provides the only Pre-formed all PMMA hip spacer option on the market. The existing portfolio will also be displayed, including the REMEDY® Modular Hip, Knee and Shoulder Spacer, OSTEOBOOST®️ RBK and FLORASEAL®️ Microbial Sealant along with UNITE® Antibiotic Bone Cement.

About OsteoRemedies®, LLC 
OsteoRemedies provides simple solutions to complex musculoskeletal disorders.  Their first introduction was the REMEDY® Spacer System. This was the first available modular system for hip, knee and shoulder two-stage infection revision arthroplasty.  The REMEDY® Spacer System and REMEDY SPECTRUM™️ GV Hip Spacers are indicated for temporary use (maximum 180 days) as an adjunct to total joint replacement in skeletally mature patients undergoing a two-stage procedure due to a septic process and where gentamicin or gentamicin and vancomycin are the most appropriate antibiotics based on the susceptibility pattern of the infecting micro-organisms.  SPECTRUM™ GV Bone Cement is indicated for use with the REMEDY SPECTRUM™ GV Hip Spacer System.  Other product offerings include OSTEOBOOST®️ RBK and FLORASEAL®️ Microbial Sealant and UNITE®️ AB Bone Cement.
The Company’s web site for news releases and other information is http://www.osteoremedies.com.

Contact
Eric Stookey
[email protected]
 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osteoremedies-announces-the-first-fda-cleared-dual-antibiotic-spacer-and-bone-cement-with-gentamicin-and-vancomycin-300739821.html
SOURCE OsteoRemedies

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