The emphasis on physician relationships with industry, particularly pharmaceutical and device companies, can make physicians weary of any relationship with vendors.
However, a new article in Physicians Money Digest by Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA, argues patients aren't really afraid of physicians who innovate with partners; they fear physicians who will exploit those partnerships.
Physicians who are innovators explore opportunities to create a better patient outcome and experience with reasonable payment for their contributions. Here are the 10 ways physicians can show they are innovators:
1. Encouraging competition
2. Transparent pricing
3. New reimbursement models and payment reform
4. Support value-based pricing with cost-effectiveness
5. Interstate licensing and credentialing reform
6. End cost-shifting from payer-to-payer and country-to-country
7. Mitigate conflict of interest around physician-industry interaction
8. Eliminate direct-to-consumer marketing
9. Focus on real innovation instead of "me-too" products
10. Make clinical trials cheaper, smarter and faster