A “one-size-fits-all” strategy rarely works beyond socks and gloves—it’s certainly not a technique successful companies use to target or understand customers, or both! In this day and age audiences are receiving messages from all directions. So how do businesses ensure that their message isn’t lost in all the noise? Market (or audience) segmentation is defined by a … [Read more...]
Site neutrality and your physician customers
Health-system-based outpatient-care providers are nervous that Medicare may soon reimburse them the same amount of money for clinic visits it reimburses independent physician practices and ambulatory facilities. Physician practices, on the other hand, can’t wait. Medicare’s wheels are slowly moving in the direction of “site neutrality.” The reason is, site neutrality will … [Read more...]
What you need to know about physician payment changes
Nov. 15, 2019 On Nov. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule that includes updates to payment policies, payment rates, and quality provisions for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule effective on or after Jan. 1, 2020. Repertoire asked the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the Medical Group Management … [Read more...]
Decision point for retail clinics
Nov. 5, 2019 Maybe it was inevitable that operators of retail clinics would one day be forced to choose between expanding their healthcare offerings or scaling back their commitment to in-store clinics. Judging from developments in the latter half of the year, that day may be at hand. In October, Walgreens announced it would close all (157) of its company-managed … [Read more...]
Room for one more?
Are non-acute providers ready for one more e-commerce marketplace for healthcare and business supplies? Do med/surg distributors need another sales outlet? Premier is betting ‘Yes.’ On Oct. 21, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Premier announced it had launched its own e-commerce offering – called stockd.™, designed to meet the needs of small- to medium-sized, non-acute … [Read more...]
HAZMAT! Be The Change Agent
Scott Adams, publisher of Repertoire Magazine, sat down with Mark Steele, executive vice president of Nuance Medical, to discuss how distribution representatives can be the hero helping physicians address HAZMAT materials in their offices. With so many advances in healthcare safety, today’s product environment is more about change than ever before, especially … [Read more...]
Will today’s ‘kickback’ be tomorrow’s ‘value-based arrangement?’
Proposed rules from HHS could change what’s accepted and what’s not in today’s expanding continuum of care On Oct. 9, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released proposed rules that would revamp parts of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law. The proposed rules are intended to protect against overutilization of medical services while giving … [Read more...]
Sell waived molecular tests? Your customers will face some changes in April
Bobbi Pritt, MD, chair of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) microbiology committee, answers Repertoire’s questions about upcoming changes for CAP-accredited laboratories, coming up in April. Approximately 15,500 labs in the U.S. are accredited by a CMS-approved accreditation organization. Around 6,300 of those labs are CAP accredited. The CAP recently announce … [Read more...]
Get ready for flu season!
Baseball season may be ending (…well, over for us Braves fans), but flu season is just starting! Get caught up on everything you need to know about this year’s flu season – from the new testing methods available to codes and reimbursement changes. In this 10-minute podcast, Scott Adams talks with Jonathan Overbey, director of corporate relations and business development for … [Read more...]
Coming up short?
Supply disruption related to EtO plant closures difficult to measure Questions remain this fall about the capacity of commercial EtO sterilization facilities. The anticipated reopening of the Atlanta, Georgia, facility of Sterigenics was still on hold at press time due to drawn-out discussions with Cobb County officials about fire codes and other regulations, a … [Read more...]