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Musculoskeletal and other clinicians often treat patients presenting with bilateral indications – osteoarthritis in both knees for example. Relatedly, a patient treated for OA in only one shoulder is likely to require treatment for the other soon. However, there are typically material differences in the clinical assessments, interventions and patient reported outcomes for each anatomical area. This poses a challenge in the efficient capture of data related to bilateral diagnoses, treatments, and outcome follow-up. These challenges are now accommodated through a major new Circles capability – Bilateral Surveys. Whether on a mobile or desktop device, practitioners or their staff can now easily capture in a single survey diverse clinical datapoints for each bilateral anatomical area. Similarly, patients can report outcomes on standardized or custom assessments for both areas in a single survey. This amplifies the statistical and clinical significance of aggregated datasets, since the clinical and outcomes data associated with each anatomical area are reported separately. It also allows a clinician or researcher to utilize one anatomical area as a control in the context of a study. Contact us to find out more about Bilateral Surveys and their use cases.

Reduction of operating expenses is a strategic imperative in all businesses. This is nowhere more true than in healthcare. Whether a large hospital system, an independent provider group, a product manufacturer, or a payer, continuing to drive financial efficiency is critical to survival. Reduced valuations, inability to grow, layoffs and even bankruptcies of every category of healthcare company are everyday occurrences.Data collection and analysis represent a major cost center for each of these categories. It is increasingly difficult to justify expensive EMR systems, research platforms, internal servers — and the personnel and vendor costs associated with them. “Data” was supposed to constitute a positive return on investment. In fact, not only is that ROI proving to be negative, it is so negative as to threaten financial stability of the entity. Healthcare data are undoubtedly important. Indeed, the right datasets are more important than ever. Validated fit-for-purpose datasets lead to better and more predictable clinical outcomes, to product development, to value-based care, to health equity. As such they can represent a profit center. Moreover, those datasets can be developed for a fraction of the price currently paid by healthcare companies. For the type of datasets which make a difference, modern technology enables superior substantial cost reduction and superior user experience for clinicians, support staff, researchers, and patients.Contact us to learn more.

Type image caption here (optional)Many provider groups and product manufacturers recognize the inherent value of validated, well-structured datasets generated in the busy clinical setting. (The FDA, payers and others refer to such datasets as real-world evidence.) A major category of thoughtfully-designed and executed real-world evidence programs is intellectual property – inventions, patents, trade secrets, and copyrights. Most large hospital systems now have “innovation centers”, “tech transfer departments” and similar units designed to generate license revenues. They generally fail, however, to tap into RWE, the richest source of such IP. Moreover, their revenue shares for clinician inventors, and complex IP processes, may often stifle rather than incentivize marketable inventions. Meanwhile, independent practice groups are now in an equally strong position to develop and capture IP value through real-world evidence programs. They can do so on their own, accumulating and curating fit-for-purpose RWE until its clinical significance warrants licensing and monetization. Alternatively, they can partner with product manufacturers in establishing an RWE program designed to maximize specific IP objectives from the beginning.In all cases, Circles represent a robust yet low-cost platform, with excellent user experience, for designing and implementing RWE programs leading to IP value. Contact us to learn more.

Type image caption here (optional)Michael Strøm is an international speaker, educator and men’s health shockwave specialist. He is the clinical director of The Academy of Shockwave Excellence, and starting in 2024, will be regularly conducting his own courses for international practitioners interested in learning about the use of shockwave for men’s health. Michael has designed several Circles to:1) help generate real-world data and outcomes against his specialized men’s health shockwave protocols and 2) enable other shockwave users to remotely contribute and benchmark their results from their home clinics. These aggregated real-world data will be the building blocks for real-world evidence, and that evidence is poised to help standardize protocols for shockwave users and their real-world patients. We are proud to work with evidence-based teachers and practitioners like Michael Strøm. Learn more about Michael Strøm's Circles below:Erectile Dysfunction CirclePeyronie’s Disease CircleChronic Pelvic Pain CircleIncontinence CircleContact us to learn more.

Type image caption here (optional)The recent IOF MAX Experience, organized by the Interventional Orthobiologics Foundation, brought together some of the world’s foremost experts on orthobiologics to share their proprietary real-world data and real-world evidence. Many of those experts proudly included a growing number of Circle founders, including: ‍Peter A. Everts, PhD, FRSM opened the show with some nuanced hypotheses for "Where will the Field of Orthobiologics be in 2030?". Those same hypotheses informed his launch of the Gulf Coast Biologics Knee and Shoulder Circles over a year ago.Imran Siddiqui, Research Director at Regenerative Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, presented statistically significant 1 year results from those same Circles. Numerous IOF members joined Dr. Everts and Siddiqui as expert co-investigators, including: Luga Podesta, MD, Glenn M. Flanagan II, Alberto J. Panero D.O., Shounuck Patel, DO, Walter I. Sussman, Gayan Poovendran MD,CAQSM, and Ariana De Mers. Special thanks as well to Dr. Chris Brown Mahoney for her statistical analyses, which is a critical component for elevating real-world "data" into "evidence". Lastly, IOF members and sponsors continue to launch and grow their own real-world studies in 2024. We present their headshots and studies proudly, as their proprietary real-world evidence are bound to play a role in future curriculums, standards and regulatory decisions.Contact us to learn more about Circles.