Archive for April, 2008
TNSTAAFL
This just came across our radar from Dail-eNews from MDSI:
The Association of American Medical Colleges (Washington, DC) plans to recommend a ban on all free samples, gifts, travel, dining and ghost writing offered by drug and medical device companies for physicians, staff, and students. The association’s recommendations are not binding, but are likely to be widely observed. To ensure that uninsured and charity patients can receive free samples, it will recommend that medical schools set up centralized systems for accepting the samples. (Italics added.)
I’m support anything that brings greater transparency to medical care and education practices. But this is an example of well-intentioned guidelines that seem simple enough on the surface, but have costs buried inside.
To their credit the AAMC recognizes that this isn’t necessarily a simple request:
If central management is not thought to be feasible, or would interfere with patient access to optimal therapeutics, the academic medical center should carefully consider whether or not there are alternative ways to manage pharmaceutical sample distribution that do not carry the risks to professionalism with which current practices are associated.
No matter what route the medical school chooses there will be cost. The cost? It’s not the opportunity cost of lost income to the physicians, staff, and students, etc. The cost is in the recommended “centralized systems for accepting the samples” or even “alternative ways to manage.” In other words, the medical school is being asked to create an administrative process for accepting and releasing free samples for uninsured/charity care cases. Enbedded in that would certainly be documenting the process (donor and recipient) and qualifying recipients.
Someone will have to fund this. It may be absorbed in the medical center operating costs or it may be absorbed in redirecting the supplier/vendor marketing and sales dollars.
TNSTAAFL. There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
Add comment April 30, 2008
A Shot in the Dark
As more of our client healthcare systems require proof of immunizations for access to patient care areas, we’ve been fielding more and more questions about what’s required. Our service people field questions about immunizations almost every day — what’s required? Which ones expire and which ones are lifetime?
NO EXPIRATION
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Varicella (Chickenpox)
DO EXPIRE
Tuberculosis (TB) — Annual
Tetanus/Diptheria — Every 10 years
Influenza — Annual
Immunizations requirements are different than watchlist requirements. OIG and OFAC checks help defend a healthcare system from government prosecution or non-payment for doing business with excluded entities or individuals. Healthcare systems’ immunization requirements, however, are based on the recommendations and guidelines of leading healthprovider organizations like AORN, the CDC, etc. While most healthcare systems adopt the guidelines as written, vendors will want to verify the requirements of each of their customers.
JUST FOR FUN: A new Vendormate ad campaign is about to launch. In one execution we’ve included a statement that reflects the confusion about immunizations. Send us a note: info@vendormate.com. If you’re one of the first 10 people to send us an email identifying the misconception and the publication where you saw it, we’ll send you a Vendormate flashlight.
Add comment April 24, 2008
42,000 Reasons for Vendor Credentialing
The latest OIG List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) was posted on April 11, 2008. It contains over 42,000 records. Some are entities. Others are individuals. The list is updated monthly with new exclusions as well as reinstatements. That’s a lot to keep up with.
Add comment April 16, 2008
“No Impact” Bankruptcy?
U.S. bankruptcy laws are an international anamoly. Here you can declare bankruptcy, cease operations, and liquidate (Chapter 7) or you can declare bankruptcy and continue to operate (Chapter 11 or Chapter 13). The U.S. may be the only country in the world that operates under the concept that an enterprise that can’t pay its bills should be allowed to continue to operate.
From a greater good aspect, reorganizing bankrupt companies is an appealing concept to many. A struggling company is given the chance to catch its breath, salvage the livelihoods of employees, and find a way to continue to contribute to the economy.
Sure as a shareholder, you may get nothing. And if you loaned the company money in the form of goods or services not yet paid for, you may be out of luck, too.
But as a supply chain manager, bankruptcy of any type almost certainly means a disruption. You know that. That’s why you check credit worthiness before signing contracts. Why you continue to watch for signs of shakiness, either directly or through monitoring agents.
I know a guy who cites airlines as a reason that supply chain manager’s don’t need to concern themselves with bankruptcies. At one time, something like 50% of the US airline seats were served by airlines in bankruptcy.
Sure, travellers adjusted and eventually bought tickets on bankrupt airlines. But those first weeks were ugly. Cancelled flights. Stranded travellers.
And we saw it all again in the last few weeks of airline bankruptcies — ATA, SkyBus, Aloha. Cancelled flights. Stranded travellers. And there’s no reason to worry about a supplier going bankrupt? I sure hope there weren’t any Igloo chests with transplant organs waiting for a flight on one of those carriers.
1 comment April 9, 2008
