Opioids?

This may have been your most creative point, but i question if you really believe this, or if you are just trying to find a way to justify this greedy move.

Elective procedures were canceled because of the risk of COVID-19, depending on what state you live in. Other states canceled elective procedures to preserve the limited amount of PPE available to front line workers fighting the pandemic. The second group has been eliminated as hospitals and clinicians now have an adequate stock of PPE thanks to the combined efforts of PPE producers to increase manufacturing capacities of these products.

It sounds like you are suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic is going to wipe out dental industries supply of numbing/anesthetic medications. This is a new idea to me. Admittedly I need to do some reading to see if I can find any validity to that claim, but it sounds like a real stretch. Let’s pretend for the sake of argument that you are right. An opioid is still extreme overkill for a simple dental procedure like a dental implant. The answer is ibuprofen, not fentanyl.

Everyone should prefer shots of Everclear to be used as a numbing agent before fentanyl.

 

Propofol is manufactured in the USA and overseas
So is Ketamine
Articaine, bupivavaine, lidocaine, mepivacaine, and prilocaine have been manufactured in the USA, and are generics just like Propofol and Ketamine. They can quickly be manufactured at anytime in the USA. I’m not aware of any of these local anesthetics being used to treat COVID-19 patients. These local anesthetics are more than sufficient to facilitate dental surgery. Ibuprofen is sufficient for recovery from dental surgery.

Opioids have no place in the dental space. Is a slippery slope. If Opioids are deemed “necessary” for dental surgery, than it becomes common practice to offer them for the recovery phase of dental surgery. Now surgeons are sending patients home with narcotics, like opioids. Why even introduce them to begin with? Oh right, money.

 

We appreciate your opinion on this. We respectfully disagree. Not only do we disagree that COVID-19 is going to eliminate the dental industry in America, we also disagree that Zimmer is interested in offering this product for this “insulating” property. This appears to be a simple cash grab. We were told as much on yesterdays conference call. Sadly, Zimmer executives care more about quarterly revenues than they do about the patients they provide treatment for. If this wasn’t the case, why would we be so interested in securing an exclusive distribution agreement? If we were trying to insulate the market from China’s ability to cut us off and shut us down, we would offer it to all dental providers to make sure the American dental industry was protected against Chinese influence.

CASH GRAB.
Reprehensible, cash grab.

 

I have never heard a specialist complain about IV sedation. It makes the patient comfortable. It is a source of revenue for the office. It makes the procedure so much faster because the patient is asleep, and they can work faster, and be less gentle because the patient is asleep. This increases their production because they are able to see more cases per day when the patients are under a general anesthetic. They are able to turn the operatory over more times everyday after moving patients into their recovery area.

The willow project call mentioned that any office that is eligible for this product must carry the necessary equipment to care for patients under sedation. So these offices will still need oxygen, a crash cart, etc. No real savings here.

Most OMS already carry a very comprehensive liability and malpractice insurance.

 

I doubt that anyone is upset about adding opioids to our product offerings because it might bring GPs into the implant space. This is an insignificant detail when compared to the risks associated with introducing opioids to a new market, and to thousands of new individuals.

Having said that, do you think it is a good idea to push opioids into all our GP offices? Is this the job you signed up for? Will you be able to sleep at night after reading about number of deaths that occur in your market due to opioid use, knowing that you are now a part of that supply chain? How about if one of your docs becomes addicted and dies from abuse? How about a member of their family? What about a member of their staff? What about if it is a member of your family?

God forbid.

 

Cry baby’s. This company is full of them. Holy cow..........get another job. And for the original poster your friend CHOSE to be a junkie and failed his 5 children....don't blame the manufacturer

 

Nice post iTero rep. You are a bad person.

 

That was nice, huh? Almost sociopathic. An opiate addiction that starts with young adults experimenting with pills after they have their wisdom teeth removed is a well-documented, common occurrence. One of my "circle friends" from high-school that died of a drug overdose got started with percocets from his oral surgeon. He was lost, but you get the picture.

Between shoving unwanted products down their customers'/reps' throats and now dealing drugs, this board makes it obvious to me that Zimmer is no place I will ever work.

Thank you, CP.

 

A sublingual opiate introduced to a sales team that works with a network of physician speakers that travel to promote their products. HELLO??? Has anyone in our company ever heard of INSYS?

Who wants to go to jail???