Using Complaints Data & Insights to Spur Innovation

KPMG recently published a forward-looking report titled Medical Devices 2030. The opening line of the report was direct and powerful:

“Stake your claim in the medical device value chain of the future and avoid the commodity trap.”

While KPMG predicts the medical device sector will scale to USD 800 billion by 2030, it also presents compelling data on how the industry is being disrupted by world-class innovators who are embracing emerging technologies and research to bring highly innovative, never-seen-before solutions to the market.

Surprisingly, one of the most powerful catalysts for innovation can be found in an area often perceived as a problem: complaints handling.

Far from being just a necessary evil, effective complaint handling can drive significant improvements and innovations in medical devices. Here’s how leveraging customer feedback can transform complaints into opportunities for innovation in the medical device industry.

1. Understanding the Real Issues and Analyzing the Problem Deeply

When healthcare professionals and patients complain, they are essentially providing valuable insights into how they expect the medical device to function. Each complaint is a data point that highlights areas where your device might be falling short of user expectations. By systematically analyzing complaints, companies can uncover recurring issues and identify patterns that might not be visible through regular testing and Quality Control processes.

For example, the VP of Quality at a Fortune 1000 medical device company heard anecdotal information about healthcare professionals having issues with the display on one of the company’s product lines, which was otherwise a hit in the market. After some analysis, the quality leader understood the specific issue: the display on the patient monitoring device used in hospital settings (low-light conditions) was difficult to read.

The problem wasn’t ignored. He pushed this to the design and development team, who, after careful consideration, shifted suppliers and upgraded to a medical-grade display with touch capabilities.

This fix played a key role in not only addressing the complaint but also in upgrading the entire display to provide a better user experience for care providers.

2. Driving Continuous Improvement through Systematic Feedback Analysis

Effective complaint handling is integral to the continuous improvement cycle. By creating a robust system to capture, analyze, and act on feedback from healthcare professionals and patients, companies can make iterative enhancements to their devices. This process ensures that devices evolve to meet changing needs and expectations.

A medical device company received multiple complaints about the tubing on their infusion pump, which was prone to kinking and causing interruptions in medication delivery. The company systematically analyzed these complaints and discovered that the issue was more widespread than initially thought. The insights gained from this analysis prompted the quality assurance team to collaborate with the design and development team. Together, they explored alternative materials and designs for the tubing. Eventually, they implemented a new tubing design that was more flexible and resistant to kinking. This change not only resolved the existing complaints but also enhanced the reliability and performance of the infusion pump, demonstrating a clear commitment to continuous improvement driven by customer feedback.

3. Fostering Customer-Centric Innovation

Listening to users and valuing their input fosters a culture of customer-centric innovation. When companies show that they take complaints seriously and use them to drive product improvements, they build trust and loyalty among their customer base.

This approach not only improves existing devices but can also inspire new product ideas. By prioritizing the feedback from healthcare professionals and patients, companies can ensure that their innovations are directly aligned with the needs and expectations of the end-users, leading to products that are both innovative and highly functional.

4. Enhancing Competitive Advantage

Companies that excel in complaint handling can turn a potential weakness into a competitive advantage. By proactively addressing issues and demonstrating a commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, these companies differentiate themselves from competitors.

This responsiveness can lead to innovations that not only solve existing problems but also anticipate future user needs, keeping the company ahead of the curve. Effective complaints handling shows a dedication to continuous improvement and customer focus, which are crucial in maintaining and enhancing a company’s market position in the competitive medical device landscape.

5. Encouraging Cross-Functional Collaboration

Effective complaint handling requires collaboration across various departments, including customer service, product development, and quality assurance. This cross-functional approach ensures that feedback insights are integrated into the product development process. By fostering communication and collaboration among different teams, companies can drive holistic innovation.

For example, a medical device company received feedback about the sterilization process of one of their devices being too time-consuming. Parts had to be removed and assembled and the process took too long.

The issue required input from the engineering team, quality team, and a team of on-ground care providers. By working together, they developed a more efficient and compliant sterilization method. This collaboration not only resolved the complaint but also improved the overall design and compliance of the device, showcasing the power of cross-functional teamwork in driving innovation. The new design saved so much time for care providers that it became the preferred solution at most hospitals - only because taking apart and assembling the device for sterilization now took less time (an angle the design team had no idea about when the device was first conceptualized).

AI-powered Complaints Management: Enhancing Efficiency and Effectiveness from Intake to Closure

Complaints management can be a complicated process, especially for large, regulated businesses. Typically, many agents are involved in complaints intake, operating from either internal or external call centers. Additionally, complaints must be handled differently for each country and each product. Add to the mix a large volume of complaints, and the result is a combination of overburdened, busy agents, confusing and inconsistent processes, an enormous amount of data, and a high risk for manual errors.

CQ Complaints Management Solution is designed to:

• Automate the end-to-end complaints handling process from intake to closure.
• With intelligent automation, the complaints intake process is made more efficient, and similar complaints are batched together.
• CQ.AI can also classify complaints based on risk level and/or priority.
• The complaints investigation process is made more efficient with a modern EQMS solution.
• It helps decision-makers not only access complaints data but also actionable insights to plan the next steps.
• Most importantly, it allows quality/product design/development professionals to focus on high-level actions while mundane tasks associated with complaints handling are automated.

Using complaint data effectively is a vital component of the product development process. By systematically capturing and analyzing complaints, organizations can gain deep insights into customer experiences and pinpoint recurring issues. This data serves as a foundation for ideation and concept development, planning innovation and guiding the creation of products that address real customer pain points. During the design and prototyping phase, feedback from complaints helps identify necessary adjustments and innovations, ensuring that prototypes are aligned with customer expectations.

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