It didn’t take long for Howard Shiffman to recognize what Bob Hutzelman could bring to the team at Cornell Surgical Co., Bergenfield, N.J. Shiffman, who is president of Cornell, met Hutzelman at an industry conference in 1990, and hired him about one year later. “He was very knowledgeable, had a great personality, and was very upbeat,” says Shiffman. “He made a nice … [Read more...]
Building a Larger Perspective
By David Thill With patient safety and population health at the forefront, Brody students gain the skills to become leaders in health systems management Editor’s note: Sensing a gap between how physicians are educated and the future needs of the U.S. healthcare system, the American Medical Association in 2013 launched its “Accelerating Change in Medical Education” … [Read more...]
‘Soar with Us’ is theme of Henry Schein Medical’s 18th annual national meeting
Henry Schein, Inc. hosted its annual Medical National Sales Meeting this spring at Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. The meeting brought together more than 1,400 attendees, including 600 supplier partners and 200 exhibitors. The theme of this year’s meeting was “Soar With Us.” The meeting featured presentations by Henry Schein executives, as well as … [Read more...]
All Under One Roof
By Laura Thill Pharmaceutical distributor uses in-house reps to connect with 25,000 clinics David MacFarlane’s decision to start his own pharmaceutical distributorship came in 1991, when the sales consultant realized this could enable him to make a greater impact on his customers. “At the time, it made sense to help clinicians manage the injectables they needed to run … [Read more...]
RepCorner: True Partners
By Laura Thill Amid change, one constant remains: the value of the distributor-manufacturer rep partnership Since joining Medtronic’s extended care sales team three years ago, Yelena Brusilovsky has wasted no time learning the industry and forging relationships with her customers. She was attracted to medical products sales by her “desire to work with others to help … [Read more...]
Bundled Up
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...]
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...]
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...]
Rep Corner: A Mission of Love
By Laura Thill Cardinal Health rep Monty Wallin focuses on service to his customers, as well as those in need When Monty Wallin joined the medical products sales profession 38 years ago, the industry looked nothing as it does today. “When I started, we were trained differently than today,” he explains. “Nothing was automated. We hand-wrote our orders. Inventory was … [Read more...]
Training Ground
By David Thill Simulated OR allows UAB students to take a dry run at medical sales Eight years ago, the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Business began its Medical Equipment and Supplies Distribution track – a unique opportunity for future distributor sales reps to learn skills for success. (See July 2008 Repertoire.) Since then, the program has evolved to … [Read more...]