Let's face it. All the innovation in orthopedics comes from startups these days. However, your better technology and better outcomes may never make it into your targeted hospital systems.
For startup founders in the orthopedic and spine sectors, the hardest battle isn't designing a game-changing implant or securing a strong IP portfolio. It's the moment you try to scale—only to realize big health systems are engineered to keep you out.
You walk in with superior engineering, only to get shut down by a procurement wall designed to protect legacy contracts.
We had a productive BoneChat discussion with Michael McCullough (former Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at Wellstar Health System) who gave us an inside look at how hospital supply chains actually evaluate technology, construct formularies, and lock out new entrants. More importantly, he laid out the precise blueprint small med-tech companies need to penetrate these fortresses.
https://youtu.be/gu9It--hH1EWatch / Listen to the full discussion with Michael here - https://youtu.be/gu9It--hH1E
OK, let's jump into to Michael's advice for ortho startups.
Here is the operational breakdown of how the hospital lockout works—and...
