By Laura Thill The goal of bundled payments is coordination of care across acute- and post-acute-care sites, and sales reps can help. Few would dispute that post-acute care represents an opportunity for providers to reduce spending while focusing on better quality care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service bundled payment program is a start to addressing this … [Read more...]
Medical Distribution Hall of Fame
Brad Connett: A Leader It could be the summers spent longlining swordfish on a commercial fishing vessel off the North Carolina coast. Or, the years spent getting to know, understand and integrate sales reps from multiple independent distributors whom his company acquired while growing its presence in the medical market. Perhaps it was hours spent as a kid in his … [Read more...]
It takes a village…
…to move a hospital system forward By Laura Thill Theoretically, a cost, quality and outcomes approach should lead to sound fiscal results for an IDN. But, as Christopher Fontana, director of strategic sourcing at Jefferson Health and the JHC Contracting Professional of the Year, discovered, without the full engagement of all players in the hospital system – including … [Read more...]
Bouncing back from a service mistake
By Elizabeth Hilla Do you remember the last time you or your company made a mistake? Maybe a customer didn’t get exactly what they ordered or you forgot to follow up with a prospect in need of important product information. Service disappointments occur every day in business. But how you react can mean the difference between losing a customer and demonstrating just how … [Read more...]
State Regulatory Issues Create New Distribution Challenges, Opportunities
By Linda Rouse O’Neill When pandemic or emergency events occur, our industry tends to experience a familiar pattern: product demand spikes, shortages can result, and excess inventory often gets returned or remains unused once the event passes. This can be frustrating for all trading partners involved, but we’re closer to reaching a permanent solution than we’ve ever been … [Read more...]
Why Change Fails
By Randy Chittum, Ph.D. The real reason behind why people find it hard to change A company decides to bring in a new warehouse management system. It is a fundamentally different way of operating a warehouse. Our normal move is to explain the need for the change with a heavy emphasis on how much better this new way of operating will be. We then provide training and … [Read more...]
Publisher’s Letter: Honoring One of the Best
Each year, Repertoire Editor Mark Thill does a feature story on the latest inductee into the Medical Distribution Hall of Fame. This year it’s Brad Connett, vice president and general manager, Henry Schein Medical. For those who don’t know Brad, please take the time to read this article. For those who do know Brad, please take the time to read this article. Through hard work … [Read more...]