Patients Get Involved How Prosthetists Are Responding to their Patients Karen Lundquist MBC Final Presentation December 15, 2005

How the Prosthetic Industry Works Prostheses are provided to substitute for arms and legs Manufacturers provide products for a prosthetist to assemble into a prosthesis Relationships are long-term and intimate

Changing Healthcare Environment Increasing direct-to-consumer marketing Growing need for prosthetic communication research Developing opportunity to better support prosthetists and reach patients

Are increases in direct-to-consumer advertising and new communication technology changing how prosthetists communicate to their patients? How should manufacturers respond? What Was Researched

Who Was Surveyed Identified 1,215 Prosthetists Distributed an invitation Provided a link to a 20 question on-line survey Completed by 220 Prosthetists

Categories of Questions Ranked topics of conversation Identified patient behavior changes Clarified Prosthetist communication behavior changes Ascertained Prosthetists’ preferences for communication from manufacturers

In order of frequency, rank the top topics of conversations you have with your patients. Discussing residual limb care Discussing care of their prosthesis Identifying and addressing functional issues Respondents ranked the following as the most frequent topic of conversation:

Related to clinical care, have you noticed changes in the following behaviors in the past three years? Patients researching products on their own Patients requesting products by name Patients having higher expectations for how active they can be or become 50% or more of respondents noted increases in the following:

Related to the information you provide to your patients, have you or your clinic changed the frequency of the following in the past three years? Offering product brochures to patients Marketing to referral sources Public relations activities Clinic website Conducting open house or clinics 45% or more of respondents increased the frequency of the following:

Manufacturer’s courses Manufacturer’s tech support Trade shows Prosthetic journals Check the box that best matches how much you value the following information sources, based on whether it is useful to you and your clinic. 45% or more of respondents found the following to be of great value:

What should manufacturers do? Changes in the prosthetic industry should drive marketing efforts Prosthetists marketing to referral sources Prosthetists providing more product brochures Patients requesting more product information Prosthetists preferences for communication methods should be recognized