Product management insights from medical innovations

Today we are talking about product management and innovation of medical products.  Throughout my career, I’ve often found the best insights for improving my product work by learning from other industries, so even if you are not involved in medical products, you’ll be able to apply the practices you are about to hear. You’ll learn where insights for new or improved products come from and the pitfalls to avoid in getting products launched.

We are learning with Ron Richard, a seasoned expert specializing in medical devices, medical diagnostics, and the life sciences. He has over 35 years of experience in the Medical Industry, has launched over 40 products, and has 17 patents under his belt. He is also the author of the book Someday is TODAY, which describes how to move from idea to launched product.

Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers
[2:17] How did you get your start in developing medical products?

I started through my experience as a respiratory therapist. I worked in intensive care where patients are often on a ventilator and intubated. It’s frustrating to try to communicate with patients because they can’t talk. The first product I invented was a communication board that has simple phrases on it that a patient can point to. I didn’t have any idea how to develop a product, but I saw a problem and came up with a solution.

I’m also a paramedic, and I worked on an ambulance. Back in the day, when you pick someone up and put them on oxygen, the oxygen cylinder goes right between their legs on the gurney as they’re transported to the ambulance. It was not very comfortable or safe. I bought some PVC tubing and straps and made my own oxygen cylinder holder. That got sold to the company that makes gurneys, and it’s still in use today.

[5:38] What skills are involved in discovering insights that lead to products?

Be open-minded. Be attentive to what’s going on in your surroundings. Live in the moment. When I’m dealing with critical issues with patients, I could get distracted, but I’ve had the ability to stay in the moment and not only take care of the patient but also work with the clinical team and observe what products they’re using.

[7:01] What role do patients play in getting insights for new products?

The first step is to come up with a platform or base idea. The next step is to interview patients and talk in general terms through a PowerPoint or show them a prototype and get their feedback.

Many years ago, when people started using CPAP, which is a way to keep your airway open through a mask attached to a machine by a hose, the masks were very clunky and hard to put on. You had to really tighten them up, and it would make a crease on your nose and a red welt around your face. I saw those problems right away with patients. Through my experience at ResMed, we developed some of the most world-class, very comfortable masks you could ever imagine. That really advanced the whole field of sleep apnea, because if the mask is not comfortable, the patient isn’t going to wear it.

[9:54] How do you make prototypes?

I’ve used all kinds of different materials: foam, cardboard, plastics. Now 3D printers are fantastic. You can make all different sizes and shapes of things as long as you’ve got a decent CAD drawing.

My book is focused on medical stuff, but I’m working on a project now using the same framework in my book to develop a new rain gauge. We’re using 3D-printing rapid prototyping.

[11:16] How does your innovation process apply to many different fields?

Early in my product development career, I attended a week-long workshop called the House of Quality that was put on by Ford and Toyota. I noticed the Ford and Toyota engineers had different approaches to developing products. The Japanese Toyota engineers seemed to develop products from being curious about something and talking to car owners and drivers about their experience. They were getting customer feedback and trying to develop something that would make the customer say, “Wow, this is fantastic. I love this car.” That’s what I’ve put into my medical career: Let’s make the customer exceedingly happy.

[13:12] What role do medical practitioners play in getting insights for new products?

I was invited to give at talk about product development and invention to the doctors at Stanford. After the talk, a lot of doctors told me, “I have these great ideas, and I just can’t get them out of my coffee cup. What’s the next step?”

I feel that clinicians are the best inventors because they see first-hand what doesn’t work well. Always be curious. Always challenge what you’re using or doing. Try to see where there could be improvements to ultimately improve outcomes in patient care. Be innovative. Develop things that are patient-focused, patient-centric, and patient-first, or customer-focused, customer-centric, and customer-first.

[15:53] Have you seen issues with medical practitioners or designers thinking they understand the problem better than the customer does?

There’s a constant balance that needs to be created in a company’s culture. The engineers who are designing and developing don’t really have medical backgrounds. If you have a good medical company, you’ll also talk to a panel of nurses, respiratory therapists, or doctors.

Sometimes products slip timelines or fail because of arrogance inside the organization. Someone in senior management says we don’t need to talk to patients or doctors because we’ve been doing this for so long so we know exactly what to do. They say we’re going to move forward because the longer we take to get to market, the more money we spend. They end up coming out with an inferior product.

It’s better to go slow and get enough input from the right people that you can make good decisions to move forward with the product.

In my experience, if someone has a strong personality and wants to disregard all the upfront work to build a product quickly, you end up making mistakes. You launch version 1 and then six months later you release version 2. In a year and a half, you’re on version 4.

You have to be patient and willing to go talk to people and develop relationships. I think about “Know, like, trust.” First, I get to know someone. After they get to know me, they like me. Then, the last step is trust. They trust to share information with me and I trust that what they’re saying is meaningful. I’m listening and taking the information back so it can ultimately help patients.

[19:47] What are some mistakes you’ve made or seen others make while moving from an idea to getting a product launched?

One mistake is feature creep. The danger of talking to customers is they may have various opinions on how to clinically approach a problem. If there is a person who holds high esteem within your organization, some people may ignore everyone else and develop a product for only one customer’s needs. You should blend all the information together. Feature creep means people come back to you when you’re fairly far into the product plan and ask you to add more features. That stretches out the timeline and makes engineers not like working at your company.

Another problem in the medical field is changes in reimbursement. You can go to market thinking your product fits a certain reimbursement, but every year the reimbursement rate can change. That can affect your ROI.

Action Guide: Put the information Ron shared into action now. Click here to download the Action Guide.
Useful links:

• Learn more about Ron’s consulting company, BLD Medical
  
• Check out Someday is TODAY
  

Innovation Quote

“Get your ideas out of your coffee cup and on the market and take action.” – Ron Richard, inspired by a conversation with a doctor

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the journey to product mastery and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.