By JACK ALLEN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AND MARKETING
For over forty years Numed has provided health imaging solutions across the United States and continues to rapidly grow, especially in the past few years. Through this enormous growth period the Numed model has overcome challenges and allowed the company to maintain positive relationships with its partnering hospitals. In this post we will discuss Numed’s model, its history, its uniqueness and how the company is preparing for the future.
How has the Numed model significantly evolved and adapted throughout its history?
Numed started in 1975 with one employee servicing two hospitals in Denton, Texas. From a single mobile nuclear medicine unit Numed has progressed to a complete multi-modality diagnostic imaging company. The business model developed for nuclear medicine has been expanded and adapted to include MRI, CT and PET/CT. Although Numed has been providing equipment service internally for its nuclear medicine segment for over thirty years, its equipment service capabilities have also been broadened to include MRI, CT and PET/CT. As part of the natural evolution from a nuclear medicine focused company to a multi-modality focused company Numed is also a multi-vendor company in that services can be customized to include customer specific equipment and platform requirements.
Numed has always been a customer-centric company, originally dealing primarily with the smaller community hospitals and facilities in a tightly defined region of the US, that base has been expanded to include large urban and suburban hospitals and facilities from coast to coast and border to border. Numed has also established relationships and partnerships with a number of GPOs, IDNs and HMOs. These relationships provide Numed with opportunities and a mechanism to reach a broader customer base in need of alternative and creative imaging and equipment service solutions. Driven by strong and focused leadership, dedicated personnel, and an informed and loyal customer base, Numed is able to quickly adapt to changes without compromise to quality or care.
What makes Numed’s model unique and how does that create a competitive advantage?
Being able to quickly adapt the Numed model regardless of modality or engineering services required to meet the specific and unique needs of its customers is what gives Numed an extraordinary industry advantage and a formidable competitive edge. In support of its model, Numed continues to offer comprehensive expert assistance in the areas of marketing, reimbursement, engineering support, regulatory compliance and training. Value and dedication to patient care distinguish Numed as the leader of quality diagnostic imaging.
As stated on the Numed website, “Our industry knowledge is your competitive edge.” With over forty years of experience in the healthcare industry and, more specifically, diagnostic imaging, Numed’s experience far surpasses that of any of its competitors. Numed’s model is successful because of its simplicity and ability to adapt to changes at a macro- or micro-level. Macro-level meaning broad scope or sweeping changes to the healthcare industry whether that be regulatory, reimbursement, technological or economic; micro-level meaning changes unique to a customer or community including departmental and budgetary, staffing, leadership and ownership.
Historically, what is or has been the greatest challenge to the business model?
Working within the ever changing regulatory and budgetary hurdles as well as the changing technological landscape has always been a challenge. However, while working within these constraints, Numed has been able to adapt its service offerings to provide choices that allow medical providers to maintain quality care and convenience for patients.
How did Numed overcome this challenge?
Whether it be technological changes and advancements, regulatory changes with regard to service constraints and the transfer of information, or sweeping changes to reimbursement, Numed has always been able to quickly adjust without compromise to its relationships with its customers, service quality and most importantly, patient care. Numed dedicates whatever resources are necessary to adapt and ensure the company continues to move forward in a positive direction, especially with regard to its future and how that future might impact customer relationships.
How is the Numed model preparing for future growth?
Numed stands as a trusted partner in achieving diagnostic imaging excellence and operational efficiency for any size healthcare facility. As the recent shift in focus to a value-based healthcare system begins to impact rural clinics as well as urban and suburban hospital systems, Numed is able to customize solutions for each of its partners to better serve their communities, operate more efficiently and produce positive and manageable outcomes.
Whether improving its internal information technology systems to remain current, compliant and competitive or exploring new business opportunities Numed continues to be proactive rather than reactive. Always willing to change and adapt, Numed strives to anticipate and affect its future in a positive way. Reluctant to jump on any healthcare fads, Numed listens to its customers and responds to their specific needs with real-world solutions. This operational philosophy has been successful for over forty years and should continue to breed success in what Numed sees as a bright and promising future.