A business school friend wrote me, “I recently took a senior-level strategic advisory role for medical devices. Here’s a list of organizations we may join: MDDI, AAOS, AHA, AACC, AdvaMed. Are there others we should consider?”

His was a classic, “Let me ask the Group” kind of question, so I hope you’ll comment in today discussion.

• Which are worth joining as paid members?
• Which host events you recommend attending (as non-member)?

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A very networked Medical Devices Group member told me,

For us, there are too many associations and we rarely ‘join’ any of them. But we attend various annual events depending upon the needs of our clients and to stay current on industry trends. Each year, we attend:
• JP Morgan
• MDM
• HIMSS
• Medica
• CMEF (largest in China, 2nd largest behind Medica)
• BIO
• AdvaMed
• 10x 😀

We attend these, as needed:
• CES
• AAOS
• ACS
• AHA
• ASA
• AACN
• AACC and more…

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So how about you? Which associations and events are “worth it” to you, and why?

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Make it a great week.

Joe Hage
Medical Devices Group Leader

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Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Nice, thank you both! Eager to hear more recommendations from our beloved Group members! 👍🏼

Julie Omohundro
Principal Consultant at Class Three, LLC
Courtland, what do you mean by “FDA fully sponsored organization”?

John Abbott
Consultant, Medical Devices & Regulatory Affairs
It really depends on the type of medical device you manufacture or are interested in. For diagnostic devices like CT, MR, Ultrasound etc. then MITA. Otherwise, probably AAMI. If you are interested in influencing the IEC and ISO medical device standards, then AAMI (and a few in MITA). A strong US lobbying presence? MITA and AdvaMED. Then there are the product specific organizations and medical professional societies like RSNA, AIUM, AAPM, AHA, ACC and so on. There is no “one-size-fits-all” in the medical device business.

Courtland Imel
Consultant to FDA Regulated Industries
Joe,
I only attend one – AFDO. AFDO is the only FDA fully sponsored organization. It is the FDA/Health Canada highest attended conference on the planet. I just invited my Health Canada inspection group to the meeting and introduced them to senior Health Canada personnel. It was interesting to see their disbelief vanish and tons of constant thank you. We hear new items from FDA directly.

Abhinav Thakur
Managing Director at Accurex Biomedical Pvt. Ltd.
MEDICA AND MEDLAB, DUBAI

Rick W Hogan
Vice President Sales & Marketing | Enterprise Account Executive | Healthcare | Medical | Consumer | Speaker
Medica is by far the best selling show and would save a global sales leader 6-8 international flights per year. Its a lot of ground to cover and I would bring a marketing manager to float with me starting at the other end. The rest all depend on the location they will be in that year. Example. AACC in San Diego was a great selling and networking show. Number one rule – make as many appointments as possible ahead of the show time with KDM’s.

Abhinav ThakurStatus
Managing Director at Accurex Biomedical Pvt. Ltd.
MEDICA AND MEDLAB, DUBAI

Mark Wehde
Healthcare Technology Leader-Medical Device Developer-Innovator-Collaborator-Diversity Ally-Teacher-Student-Author
As I would suggest that AAMI is a required membership for anyone involved in medical device development if for no other reason than access to the standards that drive our development efforts.

I also agree with the above comment regarding the MD&M Conference. We send several people to that each year and always find value in the program and the floor exhibits.

Rita Milan
International Trader
European Oncology/imaging/and Neuro Convention, London

Beth Killion
Experienced leader providing clients with expertise in worldwide medical device marketing.
Leave it to a consultant (me) to say…. it depends. How large is the company? What are its strategies? Example: Large medical companies should be engaged with AdvaMed which is lobbying on behalf of the industry… but I think thats less critical for a start-up who has significantly less individual influence and must be ruthless in prioritizing funds toward the key milestones its focused on. Joining an organization as a member, exhibiting at certain events – vs. attending events, reading the newsletters of those organizations, staying abreast of their educational opportunities or networking opportunities – are all different… so I wouldn’t provide a list – I would ask them more about their goals and customize the relationships to that – and it will change over time as they progress.

Cris Daugbjerg
Vice President of Development and Sales at GCX Corporation
It really depends on the type of device and what you’re looking for. As far as international shows, Arab Health has become a big one. HIMSS definitely. MD&M has a lot of engineers and component suppliers that work in the device industry.