Most Common Data Searches for Medical Supply Companies

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an increasing demand for certain medical supplies. The most sought-after supplies include:

Ventilators
Face masks
Disposable gloves
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Disinfectants, and
Sanitation supplies

Demand for these items is so great that it has caused significant supply shortages. This rising demand is causing rapid growth in the medical supply market, projected to reach $100 billion by 2021.

COVID-19 has also changed how suppliers sell to care providers. The pandemic has negatively affected the financial health of many U.S. hospitals. These financial constraints will alter hospital purchasing patterns and facility relationships with suppliers. Because of COVID-19, social distancing protocols also restrict in-person sales conversations.

But medical suppliers can improve their targeting strategies with data and insights.

Below are six of the most common data sets medical supply companies are using to better understand the shifting needs of their clients and prospects.

1. IDN & GPO affiliations

Affiliations are the most common data search by medical supply companies. Supply companies use Hospitals & IDNs data to search for hospitals that are part of an integrated delivery network (IDN) or group purchasing organization (GPO).

Accessing this information allows medical supply companies to identify stronger sales opportunities. If a prospect is part of an IDN, suppliers might be able to distribute their product throughout the network.

GPO members are also valuable prospects. Healthcare facilities become GPO members to access discounted pricing on medical supplies. Many healthcare facilities are members of more than one GPO.

Supply companies who contract with a GPO can sell their products to any of the member facilities. Searching for GPO member hospitals allows supply companies to expand their client base.

Supply companies can search for IDN & GPO affiliations at other facility types, as well. These facility types include:

2. Quality metrics

Some medical supply companies use Definitive Healthcare to search for quality performance metrics. The most useful quality metrics for medical supply companies include:

Facilities with poor quality scores could likely benefit from new or different medical supplies.

A disinfectant supplier might search for hospitals that have high HAI transmission rates. Healthcare providers can spread an HAI like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA spreads when providers do not sanitize their hands between patients. Disinfectant products can help prevent the spread of MRSA in hospitals.

Medical supply companies can leverage this information to engage new prospects. It might also help supply companies increase their sales success.

3. Clinical metrics

Medical supply companies can also search for clinical metrics at healthcare facilities. Clinical metrics can include information about patient demographics, diagnoses, or discharges. But they also include a wide variety of different facility measures, including:

Number of staffed beds
Number of operating rooms
Total facility square footage, and
Average age of facility

Medical supply companies can use these metrics to sell products that are specific to unique facility needs.
Hospitals with 500 or more staffed beds have a greater need for supplies like bed linens, bed rails, or bed pans. Larger hospitals also have more demand for toilet paper, paper towel dispensers, and cleaning supplies.

Identifying these unique facility characteristics helps medical supply companies customize their sales messaging.

4. Requests for proposal (RFPs)

In Definitive’s Hospitals & IDNs database, users can search for requests for proposal (RFPs). Hospitals generate these requests when they need to solicit labor, services, or supplies.

Suppliers use RFPs to identify hospitals in need of medical supplies or surgical equipment. The RFPs cover a wide range of different supply requests. For instance, hospitals might submit a request for nitrile exam gloves. Hospitals also submit requests for specialized items like insulin pumps or surgical implants.

Other types of RFPs can be helpful for medical supply companies, as well. Construction requests reveal when a hospital is expanding or renovating their facility. If a hospital expands their surgical wing, they will need new supplies for each extra room. These supplies might include:

Operating tables
Surgical lights
Anesthesia machines, and
Surgical instruments

Searching for RFPs allows medical supply companies to quickly target new opportunities. It might also help supply companies anticipate facility needs.

5. Procedure volume by provider

In the Medical Claims database, supply companies can search for procedure volumes. Suppliers can use this to pinpoint providers performing high volumes of a procedure. This is particularly useful for companies manufacturing implants or other surgical supplies.

A company that manufactures tendon grafts might search for providers performing tendon-based surgeries like tendon repair procedures. This is an easy way for supply companies to find prospects who might have interest in their product.

With this search, supply companies can look for high-volume hospitals and physicians. They can also filter their results by state or region to allow for easier territory planning.

6. Executive contacts

In the Definitive Healthcare database, supply companies also search for healthcare executives. Supply companies can access contact information for executives at any of the following facility types:

Accessing this information allows medical supply companies to identify key contacts like key opinion leaders (KOLs), lead physicians, or C-level executives. Identifying KOLs and decision-makers helps supply companies set up sales conversations more quickly.

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