Health exports make good global business
Case study: The Coach Program
Exports aren’t always found in shipping containers on docks. For those involved in the export of an idea, the overheads are low, the ‘product’ is infinitely transportable, and the potential is limitless. Dr Margarite Vale, founder of The Coach Program, is one such person. Vale licenses her knowhow in the management of chronic disease to clients all over Australia and in the Netherlands. With her sights set on the Americas, the Australian innovator is ambitious: “We are working towards this program being the number one chronic disease management program in the world.”
Vale believes diseases like coronary heart disease can be stopped. With research showing that following a cardiac event, most patients do not reduce risk factors in their lives, Vale set out to develop a chronic disease management program that worked. The Coach Program now has a 15-year record, with an independent study showing that the program reduces hospitalisations by up to 20 percent compared to patients using standard care.
Vale and her team provide training and a specially developed software program to coaches employed by private health funds or public health departments. These coaches use the phone to monitor patients, coach to health targets, and report to the patient’s doctors.
The Coach Program is so successful that overseas clients approach them. “A private health fund in the Netherlands hired consultants to search the world for the most evidence-based cardiovascular disease management program,” Vale explains, “and they found us.” The Melbourne-based company translated its software to Dutch and developed a licensing agreement for export. Vale adds that the company is working towards expanding. “The model that we have for this is good because it makes it infinitely scalable, infinitely transportable.”
Unlike its competitors, it doesn’t operate a call centre, needs few staff, and thus has few overheads. “With this model we can set people up very quickly and spread widely in a short space of time,” Vale explains.
Although The Coach Program’s export business is still under development, Vale sees the overseas market as important. “Our main competitors are American-based disease management companies, and these companies don’t have the evidence base that ours does. We see this as giving us the advantage; we have the sausage, and not just the sizzle.”
Vale is confident about the future. “[Considering] the number of patients out there, the opportunities are really endless. There is such a huge number of people out there with these chronic conditions and these would be the ones that you can have the most impact on.”
Fit for freight
Healthcare and medical exports are sensitive, so exporters should choose freight carriers with care, according to Ross Gluer, general manager for International Exports at TNT.
Most clinical trials need to move product in controlled conditions; for example, tissue samples require a temperature control of between 2-8°C. “The product has a finite lifespan after which time the product ceases to be of any value,” Gluer says. He recommends choosing a freight company that understands the costs of failure in the clinical trial area.
For medical devices, packaging is critical as devices are shipped as general freight. “Freight companies take as much care as they can, but all the care in the world will not replace the manufacturer ensuring their packing is of the highest standard,” Gluer says. “That’s what gives equipment the highest chance of arriving in perfect condition.”
Shipping pharmaceuticals carries a security risk, so exporters should choose a carrier accredited by the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), which requires carriers to meet certain security criteria, including having dedicated security staff, he says. Finally, choose a carrier with regional reach. Some carriers use agents in regional areas, which creates gaps in the supply chain and reduces control and transparency.
Trade links
AusBiotech: www.ausbiotech.org
Austrade Health: www.austradehealth.gov.au
Australian Healthcare Association: www.aushealthcare.com.au
Australian Natural Health and Wellness Directory: www.australiannaturalhealthcare.com
Health-e-Directory Australia: www.health-e-directory.com.au
Medical Technology Association of Australia: www.mtaa.org.au
Medicines Australia: www.medicinesaustralia.com.au
The Therapeutic Goods Administration: www.tga.gov.au
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