{"id":81,"date":"2019-09-19T18:46:41","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T18:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deepdive.tips\/?p=81"},"modified":"2019-12-27T18:10:51","modified_gmt":"2019-12-27T18:10:51","slug":"lessons-on-infection-control-and-healthcare-sales-from-the-man-with-the-high-tech-pillow-david-woolfson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/2019\/09\/19\/lessons-on-infection-control-and-healthcare-sales-from-the-man-with-the-high-tech-pillow-david-woolfson\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons on Infection Control and Healthcare Sales from the Man with the High-Tech Pillow &#8211; David Woolfson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/11385515\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/backward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/30455c\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" oallowfullscreen=\"\" msallowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lessons on Infection Control and Healthcare Sales from the Man with the High-Tech Pillow<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two things I can say for sure. First, healthcare-associated infections (HAI) cause a lot of suffering and cost a lot of money. Second, it\u2019s really hard to sell into healthcare, even when you have an innovative product that attacks a well-known problem in a common-sense way. On this episode, we get to dive into both of those things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Infection Control and Environmental Surfaces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the past decade, substantial scientific evidence has accumulated indicating that contamination of environmental surfaces in hospital rooms plays an important role in the transmission of several key HAIs. Environmental surfaces contribute to cross-transmission of pathogens. These surfaces include both nonporous (hard) surfaces and soft surfaces such as bed linens, gown, mattress, etc. The more a patient comes into contact with a surface, the more important it is to keep it clean. Well, what happens if you can\u2019t keep your pillows clean? Many standard issue hospital pillows allow pathogens to enter through sewn seams, vents, and non-barrier covers. Then patients put their heads on them. It\u2019s an issue that seems to have a common-sense call-to-action, much like hand-hygiene. But as we\u2019ve seen, common sense and good products are not all you need to penetrate the healthcare market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Selling into the Hospital<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Innovators and entrepreneurs who want to make it in the healthcare business should absolutely focus their efforts on delivering products and services that help patients. That is, after all, the whole point of what we\u2019re doing. But if your sales strategy relies on what you\u2019ve deemed to be \u201ccommon sense\u201d and \u201cgood for the patient\u201d and nothing else, then you\u2019re likely to fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When David Woolfson and his team at Gabriel Scientific started winning awards for their&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y0FSG4XrYRo\" target=\"_blank\">hermetically sealed pillow with a filter<\/a>, they thought they had short-circuited the healthcare sales cycle. As we\u2019ll hear, it drove some VC attention but did little to open doors at the health systems. David\u2019s story is instructive in many ways, but it delivers a truth that many in the startup community won\u2019t want to hear: it\u2019s going to be a grind and there are no short-cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This episode originally aired on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thehcbiz.com\/lessons-on-infection-control-healthcare-sales-david-woolfson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">The #HCBiz Show! on May 3rd, 2017<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Episode 004:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On this episode we talk with David Woolfson to learn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>How soft surfaces like pillows and mattresses contribute to the spread of infection in hospitals.<\/li><li>How outbreaks close hospital rooms and impact revenue<\/li><li>How working in infection prevention often makes you feel like Cassandra (in Greek mythology she had the power of prophecy but was cursed so that no one would ever believe her).<\/li><li>How to isolate your value, show direct economic impact and get on your buyer\u2019s priority list.<\/li><li>The importance of understanding the purchasing systems of your prospects and adjusting your approach to match it.<\/li><li>The importance of understanding your buyer and their personal needs as much as the hospital\u2019s needs.<\/li><li>What the heck \u201cStars and Stripes selling\u201d means.<\/li><li>How to get the experts talking about your product and leveraging that to open doors (even just a crack)<\/li><li>Who is the hardest person in the hospital to convince<\/li><li>How to keep yourself safe and healthy at home, at the hotel, and the hospital.<\/li><li>And most importantly, how an Irishman can be an asset on St. Patrick\u2019s day and get you free pints!<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope you enjoy it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen wherever you get your podcasts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/TIPSDeepDive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"80\" src=\"http:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Listen-on-Apple-Podcasts-Badge-300x80.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-60\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/TIPSonGooglePodcasts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"76\" src=\"http:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/google_podcasts_badge@8x.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/TIPSonStitcher\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Button-Stitcher-Shine.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62\" width=\"301\" height=\"91\" srcset=\"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Button-Stitcher-Shine.png 558w, https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Button-Stitcher-Shine-300x90.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 301px) 100vw, 301px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/TIPSonSpotify\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/spotify-1024x307.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61\" width=\"302\" height=\"90\" srcset=\"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/spotify-1024x307.png 1024w, https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/spotify-300x90.png 300w, https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/spotify-768x230.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 302px) 100vw, 302px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>or, listen right here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/11385515\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/backward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/30455c\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" oallowfullscreen=\"\" msallowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About David Woolfson and Gabriel Scientific<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>David Woolfson is CEO of Gabriel Scientific in Dublin, Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gabriel Scientific is a life sciences company dedicated to the design and manufacture of barrier property bedding for the hospital, hotel, and home. Gabriel Scientific products are CE marked medical devices, used by Infection Control and Tissue Viability Departments to combat medical bedding contamination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SleepAngel products with PneumaPure Filter Technology are scientifically proven to block hospital pathogens and reduce the risk of patient cross-infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SleepAngel home bedding is scientifically proven to block germs and allergens that can trigger asthma and allergic reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Web: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sleepangel-medical.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"http:\/\/www.sleepangel-medical.com\/  (opens in a new tab)\">http:\/\/www.sleepangel-medical.com\/ <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SleepAngelTweet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@<strong>SleepAngelTweet<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/2345058\/?pathWildcard=2345058\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gabriel Scientific on LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are two things I can say for sure. First, healthcare-associated infections (HAI) cause a lot of suffering and cost a lot of money. Second, it\u2019s really hard to sell into healthcare, even when you have an innovative product that attacks a well-known problem in a common-sense way. On this episode, we get to dive into both of those things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147,"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions\/147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deepdive.tips\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}