Mark Thill
Stay on task
Many thanks to lab expert Jim Poggi for fielding our questions about selling to today’s physician office lab. As always, his responses are well-thought-out. But one that sticks out is his response to our question, “Should physician office labs be worried about the impact of increased point-of-care testing in retail clinics?”
Our question was prompted by the announcement in January that PTS Diagnostics and Kroger Health (Kroger Company’s nationwide arm of health and wellness facilities) will install CardioChek Plus analyzers for point-of-care blood testing at all Kroger Health locations – more than 2,100 pharmacies and clinics. (The CardioChek Plus system tests lipid profile and glucose simultaneously with one fingerstick.)
In a statement, the two companies said, “Its [referring to CardioChek Plus] speed and portability combined with the reach and influence of Kroger Health pharmacies and clinics will increase the number of potential patients who are able to receive preventative health screenings and begin clinical protocols.”
We asked Jim, “How will this affect testing volume at physician offices?” His answer, in effect: “Wrong question.”
“Physician offices should be more concerned about the level of overall patient services and lab testing they offer their patients than what others, including Kroger, may be doing,” he told us. “With MACRA institutionalizing the need for better patient outcomes and better patient satisfaction, physician practices need to assess how effectively they are meeting customer needs and adjust their services and practices accordingly.
“Distributors can help by reminding the practices they call on that they need to be at the top of their game, and offer to be part of the assessment process. The exceptional distributor sales rep should approach this situation as an opportunity to learn their customer’s situation, objectives and needs, and be prepared with some ‘best practice’ consulting ideas to help the customer improve and be competitive in their market.”
Yes, physicians – and their distribution partners – always stay tuned into their competitive environment. But not so much that they lose sight of what’s right in front of them – in this case, physician practices who can use your help to stay ahead of the competition while offering up the very best care for their patients.