Tips for Getting Your Device into a Hospital

Have a champion for the device: "You kind of need to have a physician champion for that device and they've got to really have a voice . . . to say, 'Hey, I'd like to use this device,'" Sheth says. He adds that any caregiver in the hospital (it doesn't need to be a surgeon from the operating room) can present to the committee, though it is probably an advantage to have a committee member advocating for your technology, since they are most familiar with how the committee might respond to specific issues. All the better if your champion is a prominent leader in their treatment field.

Have an easy-to-deliver message: The hospital staffer who is advocating for the new technology will present a few slides on the device, focusing on how it tackles an unsolved problem and/or reduces costs. "They have maybe three to five slides—background information on the medical device, they demonstrate what the problem is, how this device can actually solve that problem or make that problem much easier to address for the patient, what the cost is . . ." Sheth says. That means device makers need to emphasize these points repeatedly when introducing the device to potential champions, and make those advantages easy to see immediately to ensure the user's experience is pleasant and memorable.

Try to get several users and devices included in any trial period: If your device impresses the committee, it may get a trial run. Sheth explains, "After the presentation, the committee meets and will say, 'This makes a lot of sense. It sounds like this is a really common problem we're seeing and . . . it was addressed well.' They'll allow them some short-term—whether it's a month, six weeks, three months—of a trial period, where they'll actually start collecting data almost like a pilot study. Say, 'Is this doing better for us?'" Trying to advocate for a larger trial to get more useful data might be helpful, though Sheth says the committee usually chooses the size, deciding how many trial users there will be and how many devices will be used.

Be persistent and patient: Sheth revealed that earlier in his career, he presented to a technology acquisition committee. He was passionate about a specific device that he believed would help reduce blood loss during revision surgeries. Despite what he believed was a relatively inexpensive device cost for a lengthy surgical procedure, it still took him months of presenting and re-presenting data to convince the committee to allow a trial. The process of starting to advocate for the new technology to being able to use it regularly in his revision surgeries took 2.5 years, he says. Costs play a big part in addition to the clinical benefits. "It's a challenging process," Sheth admits.