By Rob Kinslow, Sr. Strategist, Brand Communication, KHJ Brand Activation
I’m seeing much more clearly since I visited my eye doctor.
Oh, I haven’t gotten my new vision prescription filled yet. Thanks to my near-blindness, new spectacles knock me back the equivalent of taking the family to see a doubleheader at Fenway Park. (Yeah, that much.) So I’m waiting for a windfall.
No, it’s just that I really got an eyeful this time around. David has been my optometrist for 25 years and I trust him. I hadn’t seen him in 3 years and my vision had changed, but so had everything else: He had sold his downtown Boston practice but was still working for it; the "puff" test for glaucoma (which fires a warm blast of air at the eye and which all patients hate) had been replaced by a gentler scope exam. The eye chart light box was gone and in its place an iPad-type screen.
This was all very humbling for a medical device marketer whose roots are in the ophthalmic world – from Beaver blades to the Summit Technology Excimer laser to cataract surgery to all things LASIK. But it was what happened next that really opened my eyes.
It was time for the most important test for us extremely nearsighted souls, the one we dislike even more than the old puff test because of its discomfort and downtime – checking for retinal separation. For years this test has involved stinging eye drops, a lot of waiting and a troubling sensitivity to light the rest of the day – they give you those disposable flimsy sunglasses to wear – and you can’t drive yourself home. (Although when you were a kid, even if your eye exam was in the morning you wore those peepers all day in school to be cool.)
David had news for me. If I wanted to avoid the eye drops and downtime, there was a scanning machine in the next room behind the eye chart that would yield a much better read of my retinas. The scans could be saved digitally. It took about 30 seconds and we could do it now. It was a new test called Optomap.
David shrugged his shoulders. "It’s entirely up to you which way you go. Optomap is an excellent test. The only problem is that insurance doesn’t cover it. It’s $39."
Thoughts raced through my head. Thirty-nine bucks? Why, that’s less than a Red Sox ticket. I quickly calculated what this test would save me in parking and – my most precious asset – time. The test might also yield enough information to postpone seeing a retinal specialist for a more thorough examination. Cost-time analysis aside, it was clearly a better diagnostic.
I went with Optomap. It was a no-brainer. My retinas are fine and David said I don’t have to see a retinal specialist for another year.
So here’s the thing: When we marketers hear that a procedure or test isn’t yet eligible for reimbursement, we assume that’s a death knell. "You gotta have reimbursement!"
we tell our clients, and they agree. But here I was, a patient with 2 kids in college and who is watching every penny, willing to shell out 40 bucks for a test that took all of 30 seconds. And glad of it.
Now raise the stakes. You’re a man who’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer and there’s a new test that can tell the urologist very accurately whether the cancer is slow- or fast-growing. If it’s slow, you might avoid having your prostate removed and all the risks associated, such as impotence. Without the test, because it is difficult to tell which way certain cancers are going to go, your surgeon will likely take out your prostate to be safe. Problem is, the test is not reimbursed and will cost you $500. Is it out of the question? Maybe not.
Certainly there’s a big difference between a $40 retina test and a $500 cancer test. But I would bet you that no matter the stakes, many patients when presented with a fee-for-service proposition go through some version of the same thought process I had that day at the optometrist’s. (For one man’s account of prostate cancer decisions and regrets, check out this award-winning article in Men’s Health.) The bottom line is: is it worth it? Nowadays our job as marketers is to help medical companies convince patients nearly as often as doctors that the answer is yes, because it just might be the patient’s call. If we remember that, we might not be so blinded by perceived barriers such as lack of reimbursement. As I learned the other day, it’s good to check your vision every once in a while.
This is the Brand and Beyond™ blog, a new resource for the medical device industry. Brand and Beyond™ is sponsored by KHJ, headquartered in Boston, MA. KHJ is a strategic brand activation firm that is passionate about helping people see and realize what’s possible for themselves and the world around them.