Part 2: A Fresh Perspective on What It Means to Be Best in KLAS
This three-part blog series will discuss the Best in KLAS awards from a provider, vendor, and inside-KLAS perspective.
In last week’s post (linked in the sidebar), I examined what it means to be Best in KLAS from a healthcare provider’s perspective. Through this first leg of my investigation, I discovered how KLAS data assists providers with making critical decisions and ultimately improves healthcare. With this new perspective in mind, I set off on the next step of my journey: to examine what Best in KLAS means from a vendor’s perspective.
In interviews with 2012 Best in KLAS winners Hologic, Elekta, and Omnicell, I discovered three consistent themes in what Best in KLAS means for vendors.
1) Direction
Vendors are constantly looking for feedback. Are they headed toward their goals? What should they be doing differently? Companies look for signs to make sure they are on the right path.
Best in KLAS gives healthcare vendors direction on how to approach the market. Tomas Puusepp, CEO of Elekta, uses Best in KLAS to “identify where we can improve as well as areas that clearly indicate we are on the right track and should keep doing what we’re doing.” Marga Ortigas-Wedekind, EVP of global marketing and product development at Omnicell agrees, stating that “users provide candid feedback to KLAS when discussing their vendors. As a vendor, we gain immensely from those customer perceptions, and we not only take their comments to heart, we act on them! “
2) Motivation
Every company wants to be the best at what they do. One of the key takeaways from interviews with vendors was that Best in KLAS provides motivation for vendors to continually improve.
Peter Soltani, SVP and GM at Hologic, considers winning Best in KLAS to be “a big deal and a big honor. It is very motivating for those who work for Hologic, our suppliers, and the customers who believe in us to get this sort of recognition. KLAS rankings help us readjust the performance bar higher for our entire organization.”
Marga Ortigas-Wedekind at Omnicell explains that Omnicell has “a strong will to keep on winning. Even after being awarded the highest KLAS ranking for seven consecutive years, we never want to rest on our laurels!”
3) Improving Healthcare
Consistent with the provider's perspective, vendors discussed the importance of KLAS data in improving healthcare. Tomas Puusepp of Elekta explains that “the information makes the industry accountable to the consumers by showing what is important to the clinicians who are using the products. This benefits the ultimate consumer—the patients.” Peter Soltani of Hologic further explains that Best in KLAS data improves healthcare by encouraging “better products and continuous improvement,” things that will ultimately “help lower healthcare costs and deliver better clinical outcomes.”
As I am now two-thirds of the way through my investigation, I can confidently say that Best in KLAS has a significant impact on both providers and vendors. KLAS data creates a platform for providers to share their experiences, for vendors to listen and act upon those experiences, and ultimately for healthcare to improve. On Thursday I will share the last part of my investigation as I discuss what it means to be Best in KLAS with the founder of KLAS, Kent Gale.