Vendor representative credentialing

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-169961009.html

Has anybody been hit up for this bullshit yet?
My account wanted me to pay $250.00 a year for this crap on "rep tracks" to get a fucking badge.

BULLSHIT!

 

Yeah, a lot of hospitals are using RepTrax now. It sucks. Once you join though, you're a member for all RepTrax affiliated Hospitals. I think the fee is annual though. Have fun getting all the credentials up to date too! They'll inundate you w/ emails until they're taken care of.

 

Fucking bullshit. It is PER ACCOUNT with vendormate. It's going to cost my rep company 25,000 to join. The customer is going to take it in the as* over this one.

 

abs fucking re-DICK u lus!!! Reptrax is invading my territory!!!!!

 

Reptrax is 175.00 and only one of my hospitals are requiring us to pay it; it sucks

 

vendor clear wacked me for $200 but you know what, WHO GIVES A FUCK. We expense that shit anyway.

 

If my accounts begin this, I am going to charge them up the ass. Add another 100% increase!

 

Like I tell people, Pharma use to be a great gig, many years ago.

The BS will slowly start to hit us in device, just in different forms.

Fight on, brothers!

 

It is a form of blackmail. "Pay me or else" So, we pay. I sent the info to our legal dept. and asked them to look at it. My DM and my RM thought it was shady. They say the fee is to "help" our company but we know better. On the other hand, doing business with XYZ hospital is a priviledge.

 

It's a priviledge that I let the hospital buy my product. I will not pay this fee...

 

Did you also know that Reptrax puts public notes on you that all of the other hospitals can see? If someone puts a negative comment on you, you can't get it taken off unless you get the person who added it to take it off. So if someone doesn't like you they can write whatever they want. Just wait until you lose business because other accounts see those notes. B/S if you ask me. They also let you upload your own credentials so fake what you want.

 

Who within the hospital makes the decision to work with these companies? DMM?

 

check out the website..

http://www.reptrax.com/

Bullshit.

 

More and more hospitals and facilities are resorting to this type of "arrangement". I know Vanderbilt charges $100 for each and every rep for the priveledge to sell there. Think of every single rep in every single med device and pharma company and I am sure this is adding a nice chunk of annual revenue to the hospital.

What can you do? Just suck it up and pay it. Most of us can expense it to our company and move along. The one benefit to this is that they do keep you up to date by letting you know when you need to update your Healthstream records or if it i time to get another shot.

If you try and bully them, the hospitals will simply tell you to go away until you pay.

 

I like the benefits of my membership. I agree to the above. I like not having to carry my "proof to be in the OR" folder of credentialing docs...last year my PPD expired and I found out at the hospital when I was asked for it... This will not happ any longer. Besides, I get in many places around here with this membership so it is a value to me. Just pay the fee and go everywhere...better than having Vanderbuilt and every other hospital charging you 80 fees to work your territory. If hospitals figure that this is a revenue stream then watch out. You will have to turn in different docs at every different hospital and pay a fee to everyone. I would rather pay 1 fee to save money...$100 is nothing! I paid $600 total to 3 hospitals this year becuase they are doing their own at each hospitlal...THAT IS THE REAL BS if you ask me. Being an independant, if hospitlals decide to charge me a fee at every hospital I will have to raise my pricing to compensate...then they lose!

 

Yes, it's another way for the hospital to make extra money off of "another body" they know will go into the OR. But it is also a security precaution for several reasons. Just to name a new: -Should something happen in that OR and the patient (or family) files a lawsuit, and should the court realize you were not "trained" (i.e. "credentials) for the OR then the hospital could be in trouble for letting you in, and you and/or your company as well. -Any joe blow can walk into the OR suite and that can be a liability. In one of my hospitals (in a bad crime area) they have literally had homeless people wander around the hospital and "accidently" walk into the OR suite before.
- Documentation.... if you ever notice on the charts, etc. they write the names of everyone who is in the room, they keep a record who is in the OR suite/rooms (date/time, etc.) at all times. It's a safety precaution plain and simple.
Quit your bitching and decide whether you want to gain business or lose it at that particular facility "charging" you $250. You really think your doc is not going to schedule a case at "X Facility" because you are not credentialed or that your product has not been added to a formulary? No matter how "loyal" he is to you, he will use your competition's product at that facility.....

I've seen fee's range anywhere from $250 to $695 (includes all the online corses you take with HealthStream.) If you're a direct rep, expense it. If you're 1099, talk to your distributor to pay for it as it should be considered an "investment" in growing sales. If they won't, pay for it yourself and write it off at tax season. $250 divided by 52 weeks= $4.81 per week roughly... pretty cheap investment in my opinion to pick up more sales.

You're in medical sales- if you're shying away from a few sales a month because you don't want to pay a fee, then you need to find another career where "agressive" selling is not needed. Pussy's.

 

Lets face it they have figured out how to get rid of lost badges .....and make money . It would be one thing if it was reasonable .

T

 

I have to wear my badge at Wendy's

 

Yeah, but Vendormate only charges one rep per vendor (at each hospital). RepTrax charges every rep (but only once). Vendormate's charges also differ depending on how risky a hospital thinks you are. Some vendors are only charged $25. So, it evens out.

My understanding from seeing the two is that Vendormate pulls records and does checks on the whole vendor (and reps) and it's customized for each client, whereas RepTrax is focused on checking the reps and is more of a standardized thing.

 

I wonder what AdvaMed thinks about this. It almost sounds like a kickback to the hospitals, therefore illegal. Total bullshit to pay a fee. Whatever.