Products are developed, marketed, and delivered to buyers for a profit. In the past, most marketing efforts in the wound care arena were aimed at health care professionals and the organizations they worked for. The advent of managed care, with its regional and national purchasing groups, has changed marketing targets. Now the marketing bull's-eye has expanded, incorporating new methods and new client bases, including direct marketing to the patient. Yet wound care professionals have not always been eager to embrace industry, preferring to keep them at arm's length.
Industry now wants more substantive relationships.
The fact that both clinicians and industry are being held accountable for outcomes of care and use of products based on evidence of efficacy dictates the development of new partnerships and paradigms. Patient-oriented research is of interest to integrated health care delivery systems, health maintenance organizations, and manufacturers of wound care products. The ideal partner for the pharmaceutical industry, for example, will have a track record of research published in peer-reviewed journals and an understanding of the basics regarding the regulations and processes of the Food and Drug Administration. Wound care professionals can take a cue from Covey and develop the following habits that, if applied, could lead to highly effective relationships among clinicians, researchers, and the wound care industry. Make sure there is a significant integrity overlap among researcher, intermediary, and the corporation providing the funding.