The pressure on selling prices in the orthopaedic field all over the world and the purchasing decision power that is slipping from surgeons to the healthcare administrators, is playing a contradictory role. On one hand the purchasing departments are more and more reluctant to pay the usual price for orthopaedic implant and on the other hand producing companies are actively trying to develop new products.
In fact health administrations in the past have been facing high price innovations which have not always improved the clinical outcomes of patients or improved the economic impact of health cost of the country.
This fictitious and instrumental kind of innovation has created a suspicious attitude with health care administrators and often, with surgeons who did not accept to pay more for something novel which had no clinical advantages and furthermore was much more expensive.
Unfortunately now, the companies who want to introduce to the market innovative products which not only give much better clinical results but, thanks to their clever conception, decrease substantially the total cost of surgical procedures, rehabilitation and social and economical impact of the disease, are systematically and strongly rejected by the administrations of the hospitals.
Very often companies and surgeons, most aware of the advantages introduced by these new products, are confronted with the reluctance and intransigence of hospital administrators to adopt such innovations, condemning patients to long lasting hospitalisation and painful rehabilitation. Furthermore, against the dominant will to save cost, only few hospitals have the patience to deeply analyze their costs related to such innovation and eventually decide to adopt it.
Once again surgeons and orthopaedic companies must co-operate together in order to improve the quality and the quantity of their activities. They should not be afraid to drive innovation forward as the advantages will benefit patients and society in general.
Last but not least, by following this path, society will be able to count on the future development in the orthopaedic field, in both pursuing better economical and clinical results.
Companies have to develop a broader spectrum of communication that not only includes surgeons, nurses and patients but also hospital administrators and government health bodies. They have to develop a solid and proven plan of communication that addresses all the stakeholders involved. in this fundamental activity the role of surgeons is essential; only with their experience and help can companies see a viable future in the field of orthopaedics.
