News from Mainstay September 2011
Keys to Selling Healthcare IT
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Dear Valued Partner:
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Yes, we took the summer off from our newsletter. And we hope that you, too, were able to take some Blackberry-free time off from something as well.
Now that summer is over, it's back to everything: back to school, back to work, and for Congress, back to legislating. Even though the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act is firmly on the books, we expect to see continued debate over its potential effectiveness, particularly its cost-effectiveness. In the push to lower costs while improving patient outcomes, all eyes are on healthcare IT.
In this issue, we look at ways to demonstrate that value to the people in the healthcare industry who make the decisions and are responsible for the outcomes.
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$40 Billion Market and Growing
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Perhaps no other sector represents greater potential for IT spending growth than health care.
According to Mobile Market Watch, healthcare IT spending is projected to reach $40 billion in 2011, and continue to grow at a whopping 24% compound annual rate for the next several years. But for this spending, decision makers want to see serious, tangible business value.
 In a departure from the past, a growing number of decision makers are conducting their research on their own. According to SiriusDecisions, the average organization is 70% of the way through its purchasing process before it even speaks to a sales rep. This makes it even more important to lay the groundwork with metrics-rich content that demonstrates value. Here is what we have found that works.
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Business Value Assessment Case Studies
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BVA case studies -- so familiar to us all -- remain one of the most valuable tools, providing concrete evidence of what worked in other healthcare and pharma organizations to create new efficiencies or improve patient outcomes.
Mainstay recently developed case studies that examined the business value of a telehealth solution for two major European hospitals, the Scottish Hospital and the Association of Paris Hospitals. For Swiss Post, we documented the value of a network-based solution for sharing patient medical records.
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ROI and Business Value Calculators
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ROI and business value calculators (and related tools) give health care and pharma decision makers the hard numbers they need to justify their investments. Mainstay has developed specific value  calculators for the healthcare industry, including new tools that show the value of IT investment in telemedicine, biometrics, and hospital mobile communications systems. We also have built metrics databases for sales teams that quickly reference business value estimates for various products and services.
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Customer Video Testimonials
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Yelp, YouTube, and Epinions all demonstrate the popularity of first-hand testimonials in aiding evaluation. Indeed, Nielson Surveys recently reported that 78% of all consumers find word-of-mouth the most effective form of advertising, and 61% trust "consumer opinions posted online."
Because Mainstay understands the power of the first-person, we produce high-impact video testimonials that tell the story in vivid detail. All videos can be easily distributed via email links or posted to your Web site. To see some of our recent multi-media productions, including video testimonials from leading healthcare organizations, visit www.mainstaypartners.net.
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Optimizing Healthcare IT Spend
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Healthcare IT buyers who want to delve deep into understanding and optimizing their IT spending turn to Mainstay for in-depth business case development support. Our independent perspective and industry experience give healthcare organizations the help they need to justify their IT purchases, build plans for rationalizing their investment portfolios, and make intelligent new investments that generate real business returns.
Our recent engagements include IT spending assessments at global medical products leaders Baxter and Cardinal Health, and at Quest Diagnostics, the world's top provider of diagnostic testing, information and services.
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