Medical Distribution Hall of Fame For McKesson Medical-Surgical executive, actions speak louder than words Paul Julian gets things done. He built McKesson Medical-Surgical into a nationwide distributor for the non-acute market. He did it with speed, efficiency, discipline, leadership and focus. Julian was a key player in McKesson’s 1997 acquisition of General Medical, … [Read more...]
MARCA and HEDIS
Where will regulatory updates take physician offices? Ensuring a smooth continuum of care for discharged hospital patients, curbing opioid usage, and telehealth were all on the minds of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), as it issued new technical specifications for the 2018 edition of the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, or HEDIS. The … [Read more...]
PAMA: The Stage is Set
How will the new rates impact providers, distributors and manufacturers? The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its final rates for the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule in November, as part of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA). The new schedule – which was to become effective Jan. 1 – is an attempt to bring the rates that Medicare pays for lab … [Read more...]
Suppliers’ partner
With a background in consulting and process improvement, Jack Stephens is molding McKesson Medical-Surgical’s relationships with customers and suppliers. Not long ago, the position Jack Stephens holds at McKesson Medical-Surgical was referred to as supplier management. Stephens’ title today is senior vice president product strategy and supplier partnerships. It’s more … [Read more...]
Razor sharp: Ten manufacturer reps to watch
“Iron sharpens iron,” says Peter Green, MedTech/MedCare, quoting the Book of Psalms. (The full quotation is, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”) Green believes that manufacturer and distributor reps make a powerful selling team, if they work together. So do the other reps among this year’s “Ten Manufacturer Reps to Watch” feature. See what we mean … [Read more...]
Fingers crossed for new POL reimbursement
No doubt PAMA will change payment rates. Still unanswered: When, and how? There’s a good chance that, starting in January, your physician customers will experience a change in reimbursement for point-of-care testing for Medicare patients. At press time, it wasn’t clear just how much that change would be, or even in which direction – up or down – it would go. The Centers … [Read more...]
Flu Hunter: The technology to detect flu in the physician’s office keeps getting better
Is it a cold? Or is it the flu? That’s the question primary care providers face as the 2017-2018 flu season gets underway. Many will use diagnostic tests to make the determination and prescribe an appropriate course of action. The flu and the common cold are both respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses, according to the Centers for Disease Control … [Read more...]
Think Outside the Box
Successful equipment sales calls for a broader look at the customer’s wants and needs. A medical equipment sale used to be just about selling a table or light, says Kurt Forsthoefel, director, medical marketing, Midmark. “But, in today’s marketplace, the sale is about helping the customer determine the right equipment and technology, as well as helping them identify the … [Read more...]
Sharps Injuries
Providers face new reporting requirements New reporting requirements from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration may make it easier to ascertain just how many sharps injuries and/or needlesticks are incurred every year by healthcare workers. The agency is betting that the requirements will “nudge” providers to take extra steps to safeguard their … [Read more...]
Facing the Threat
Infection prevention will take a committed effort from providers across the care continuum At any given time, about one in 25 inpatients has an infection related to hospital care, according to federal government figures. In nursing homes, an estimated 1 to 3 million serious healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur every year resulting in hospitalizations and associated … [Read more...]