Hospitals kick sales reps out of the OR

Right on bro! Wanna arm wrestle?

 

I can't stand going into the OR either and welcome the pendulum swinging in the direction of kicking us all out. I can't wait for the day that hospital administrators have to earn their pay and actually tell their surgeons to use XYZ equipment to save money, no matter the shitty outcome. Face it, they use reps to do their dirty work now to run interference between the cost-cutting measures they want to take & their surgeon's anger over having to take it.

I agree that the hospitals, while crying poor on one hand, are a big part of the problem on the other. I saw a patient bill the other day and calculated the hospital mark-up based on what I know we charge them for our products. The mark-up was approx 8x on every product!!

 

And they don't have to pay taxes either. They have priced themselves right out of business. Only the insured and poor and downtrodden can receive medical attention without going into bankruptcy. A person can work all their life saving up for retirement and then suffer a heart attack or the equivalent and loose everything they have saved up in one GIANT Shocking BILL FROM THE HOSPITAL ECT. Nice. Guess it's better to just die sooner according to the Republican Party? Also , hey doctors you bitch and moan about Medicare and Medicaid and other government paid entities, who do you think has been supporting you since about 1963???

 

While I agree that some cases can be done without a rep present, in particular trauma ortho reps,( why a rep is needed for any plate and screw case is mind boggling to me) this post makes some great points.

Go to any OR and the lounge is filled with nurses on break. What other occupation gets this? I understand having breaks for meals, but circulators will take there break an hour into working- its insane to me. Why a circulator needs a break from a 3 hour case makes zero sense to me.

Before hospitals start kicking out reps, they better realize what they have now. That is a rep for every case they request, who knows how to walk their incompetent staff through a variety of cases. These reps may not have the hardest job on the planet, but they are there when needed- nights, weekends, even sometimes on one hour notice when the staff forgets to notify them. They don't ask for "relief" and don't punch out a 3:30 in the middle of a case.

 

No need to kick me out. I don't like going into disease/bacteria infested hospitals in the first place. Now with the (very real) threat of Ebola coming to a hospital near all of us, I'm not going anywhere close to the O/R. Keep an eye out for the 1st lawsuit against a major corporation filed by a rep forced to work in a deadly environment.

 

You are a true ignoramus. If someone is retirement age a hospital bill isn't going to wipe them out because Medicare pays the bill. Oh I forgot, Obomacare is going to slash Medicare to pay for all of those millions of uninsured who never signed up. Sorry granny.

 

Go ask a bankruptcy attorney who his clients are and what the major causes for bankruptcy in America! Its people thinking like you that pay 7 years on a car at some wild interest rate. "Let them eat cake." Yes, I am the ignoramus. Obviously, you are more informed please run for office and help people like me out. We need your tack, skill and general overall vision......

Try again "Churchill"

 

In order for this model to get any traction, there will have to be a top tier device manufacturer in on it.
The surgeons I work with are resisting the first push by the hospital right now because they don't want to use Alphatec level products, especially without a rep.
In the meantime, it is the rep's job to get their surgeons and the OR staff to understand what they bring to the table in expertise and their willingness/ability to support any case at any time of day or night. The repless model inherently carries with it a lower standard of patient care especially in the case of big revision or trauma surgeries.
To those of you who dislike going to the OR, maybe you need to look into another line of work.

 

I'm in it for the money. Sure I have morals and integrity, but if I wanted to stand all day in an OR I would have become a scrub tech or the equivent. Like you can compete with some one who has been to medical school!!! You can't even testify about the most basic surgical procedures. Your not qualified! Your a sales rep. Get a grip

 

Well, good luck with that.
If I am not mistaken, the surgeons I work for all went to medical school, and they are not uncomfortable looking to me for advice eventhough I did not.
This aversion to the OR must be something the manufacturers are instilling in the new breed of device rep. In the long run, it makes you more expendable which is why we are even in a position to discuss this happening.

 

If you have been in the OR longer than I have you were around before Howmedica was Stryker. Ok learned rep, consider writing and detailed 25 page presentation on how to approach one of your basic surgical procedures. Considering nerves, blood vessels and anatomical anomalies. Also consider in this paper other maladies that will be/should be considered when performing this surgery which you will present to a panel of surgeons for their approval.

Oops I forgot, I bet your surgeon calls you to the witnessstand, under oath, to back their opinion on how they performed their surgical procedure or when they took their Boards!

Just keeping it Real!

 

"Hospital Suits" (Administration) don't care!! It's a business to them only it seems sometimes.
I've have seen them cut a champion surgeons pay 40% in one swoop of a pen. This surgeon was also instrumental in joining the hospital and delivering them out of bankruptcy. The first chance the hospital had to replace them with a brand new, just out of school surgeon and more affordable surgeon, they did.

Yes folks, we are very expendable as sales reps no matter what we know or which doctor thinks we are great.

 

Keeping it real?
Nothing in your post has shit all to do with a device rep's responsibilities. In fact, assuming the role of advising a surgeon in the way you describe will put you in more legal risk than simply sticking to your employment description as a device rep. No reps are practicing surgeons and everyone involved in patient care should never convince themselves otherwise. I have been in this gig for 20yrs and have called on surgeons who lean too much on their rep for advice they have no business giving. Those docs and reps usually don't stick around for long.

 

There was a day when sales reps. Spent their time selling, not hanging out in the OR making sure the right boxes get opened. It's the new breed of device rep who sees their primary role as technical support to the OR staff. It's happening to some extent because the new breed of device rep has become a concern to the suits echo occupy the legal depts. in some hospitals. That and the mat. Mgt folks who see the new breed of device rep as an added expense is what will make you expendable.

 

To me, this sums up the entire thread. The surgeons I know appreciate when I am there not because they can't do the surgery without me but for any technical assistance about my product which can save time and assist with patient safety as it relates to my product. I have sat through product analysis meetings and it always makes me smile when I see non clinical hospital management with no exposure to the OR participate in the decision making process. One yutz even introduced herself and said her title was Administration Chief of Staff. I'm sure this draws huge laughs behind her back as she walks through the hospital with physicians. She is also one of the biggest advocates to keep vendors out.

 

FROM TODAY FORWARD all of us OR reps should add/charge a service fee for our assistance in the OR!!!! If you don't come in, no charge. If you do, a service fee will be applied.

How about a delivery charge for delivering total joint arthroplasty sets. Or non use of delivered instruments Ect! Try calling an electrician or plumber to your house for service and not paying for a service charge. It "ain't" happening! We once were paid enough to cover this kind of service. Now days I feel we are not.

Best thing that could happen is for the hospital management to kick us out for awhile. This should re establish our role in the OR and value. And by the way, let those hospital "monkeys" open your boxes. It's very nice when they open the wrong box and you get a "Twofer"! You open You buy!

Love all, serve all,

 

Doesn't anyone here see the irony of this thread?
Many claim that the rep is only there to make sure that the right box gets opened which, of course, is just a small part of it.
With that argument in mind, how often does the OR staff do everything correctly when you are not able to make it to the case? Damn near never in my experience. Correcting inaccurate documentation is a total PIA and the nurses at my hospital get called out on it when it does happen. It even effects their reviews.
One of my accounts is trying to go repless for certain implants but have neglected to discuss this with any of the OR staff or get their input. When I mention this to them, they have that "Oops, I just crapped my pants" look on their face.

 

I have yet to see a rep less physician owned distributorship. Pretty soon the hospital admin will want to get rid of those pesky, wanting surgeons as well. This will quieten down the hospital and get rid of those over charges that ruin the budget!!!
And the staff, they are a problem too!! Hurry get another government oversight agency in here to get things up to snuff.
And all of this new technology, it "ain't" worth a Dawm! Stemcell, hell no! Put that in a sling it will heal. We are not on call are we? Send that poly trauma to a community hospital we don't have time for that stuff.

It never ends. I don't care what the hospitals do. Smart sales people will find a way to sale their stuff! WE ARE PAID BY GETTING RESULTS not punching a time clock!!!

 

Let's see if I got this...
Hospitals want to go repless because they think they can get things cheaper. you want ot charge them more for your "service"
Hospitals quit paying delivery charges and shipping because they couldn't get reimbursed. you want to charge them
You walk into an account as their guest. You have no right to be there. You see your role as training "monkeys".
If your accounts are trying to get you out, perhaps we understand why. Your attitude is what's ruining it for the rest of us! You might want to take a closer look at your role. Hospital OR's think you can be replaced by those same "monkeys"!

 

I agree and wishful thinking, but will never happen. The problem is ALL the vendors would never band together and try this because of the stiff competition. If I tried this, I would be kicked to the curb and my sorry competition would get all my business by default. You are correct about the monkey statement. Golly, these hospitals can't do anything without a rep, even if you write down exactly what they need and what to do.