Kaiser Permanente’s integrated medical-dental clinic is part of a larger trend changing the way doctors and dentists deliver care Primary care physicians are part of a growing movement to integrate medical and dental care. As Repertoire wrote about in its July 2016 issue, some insurers, including Medicaid, recently began reimbursing physicians for applying fluoride varnish … [Read more...]
Keeping Your Customers Safe from MRSA
By David Thill By taking certain precautions – and with the help of some new medical equipment – providers can prevent the spread of MRSA in their facilities A combination of patient screening, disinfectants, and disinfection devices can reduce the incidence of MRSA – or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – infections in healthcare facilities. After launching … [Read more...]
MACRA’s Biggest Chunk: Quality Measures
By David Thill An explanation of one of the legislation’s most crucial components Editor’s note: The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 – known as MACRA – will change the way physician practices work, as well as the way distributor reps sell products and services. Repertoire readers should be familiar with the law. But it’s long – almost 2,400 pages. … [Read more...]
Patrick Thombs: Sales educator
Patrick Thombs never wanted to be a teacher, like his mom and dad. But educate others – such as his distributor partners and end users – on medical products? That works. In fact, it has worked for more than 20 years for Thombs, Northeast regional sales manager for Clorox Healthcare, and recipient of the Repertoire/HIDA Excellence in Sales Award for a manufacturer … [Read more...]
Victor Bakkar: Filling customers’ needs
Victor Bakkar’s father, Saliba Bakkar, was a Ford man most of his life, though he did hop over to Chevy at one point. But it wasn’t the cars that Mr. Bakkar drove that had an impact on his son so much as the ones he sold – and how he sold them. The elder Bakkar was in automotive sales and management, and owned his own dealership. “He was fully invested in the car business,” … [Read more...]
Time-tested
The LIDN Group works because its members work together Some things grow better over time. It’s a question of experience and maturity. So it is with successful regional purchasing coalitions, like the Large IDN (LIDN) Group. “One thing that we knew when we started – but that gets more apparent over time – is how vital it is to select members who work well with each other,” … [Read more...]
Urgent Care Centers
‘Emergency medicine light, or family practice fast’ The United States faces a potential physician shortage in the coming decade, and some members of the healthcare community believe urgent care centers may help ease the deficit. These clinics, which typically offer drop-in care for non-life threatening ailments, tend to speed up patient visits, thus allowing more patients to … [Read more...]
PUBLISHER’S LETTER
Using Content to Your Advantage As I started writing this Publisher’s Letter it struck me how fast time flies, and that we are four months in to 2017. As you know, we have been writing about MACRA the better part of nine months. Yet, the last stat I read was that less than 45 percent of physicians have heard the term MACRA. I am not trying to beat a dead horse … [Read more...]