DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN MARKETING-DRIVEN AND TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN VENDORS OF MEDICAL INFORMATION-SYSTEMS

Buyers of medical information systems such as laboratory information s ystems need to recognize that the vendors of such systems may pursue c orporate strategies emphasizing expenditures on marketing and client s ervices, expenditures on technology and research and development (R&D) , or a more balanced approach. The strategic goals and objectives of a vendor of an information system should align closely with those of a potential hospital client. A restless hospital client seeking cutting- edge technology will probably be dissatisfied with a system vendor who emphasizes slow ongoing incremental system development. Objective cri teria for distinguishing between a marketing-driven vendor and a techn ology-driven vendor of medical information systems, and their variants , are presented based on the ratio of marketing expenditures to sales revenue compared with the ratio of research and development expenditur es to sales revenue of the company. More subjective narrative criteria are also offered for making such distinctions.