Defining the Point of Care Market

It’s useful to segment and analyze markets for developing company and product strategy or analyzing competitor’s actions. Such an exercise helps illuminate why companies and markets do what they do – and what they might do in the future. In getting ready for this year’s HIMSS in Orlando, I’ve been thinking about the point of care (PoC) market. At the first Medical Device Connectivity conference in 2009, I defined the PoC market as the workflow and data associated with direct patient care in nursing units, the ED, surgery and related areas. This contrasts with EMRs managing orders, diagnostics, capturing charges  and generally documenting things for the medical/legal record. (You can download a PDF of the presentation here.)
Many devices and software applications used at the PoC are FDA regulated medical devices because they are directly used in the diagnosis or therapy of patients. Because the PoC is where direct patient care is delivered, most PoC solutions meet the FDA’s definition of a medical device. Imagine a layer cake:

The bottom layer is the patient;
On top of that are patient attached medical devices;
Next up are software applications like alarm notification, clinical decision support systems and messaging middleware; and
Finally, the top layer is the EMR

The PoC market is bound on one side by medical device manufacturers, most of whom still think of themselves as box makers, and on the other side by EMR vendors who can get plen...

Source: Medical Connectivity Consulting - February 10, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Tim Gee Tags: Company Profiles Source Type: blogs