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B U Y I N G
I N S T R U M E N T S
duties correctly). And, second, in case an instrument does break,
you'll have a backup available immediately and won't be crippled for
the day, the week — however long it takes to get a replacement.
Every set is stripped down and standardized to the essentials. To
accommodate surgeon preferences, any variances are in peel packs
and pulled just for those surgeons. For example, every ophthalmic
surgeon seems to have a preferred chopper.
If something new and shiny comes along, we'll trial it on the caveat
that it doesn't mean we're going to buy it. An instrument that's a hit
and, more importantly, can be used by many surgeons, gets heavier
consideration. For just 1 doc, though, we'll probably tell him it's not in
the budget. Because, well, it's not; you have to be choosy to keep
instrument costs down.
Develop trusting relationships
When we became multi-specialty and moved locations 3 years ago, we
had to bring our instrument supply up to speed. The process was surgeon-driven to some extent, but we went with vendors we already
trusted when adding ENT, urology and other specialty-specific instruments. That's because (a) we had developed good relationships with
the reps and (b) we could trust the companies to stand behind their
products for a long time.
It's not that you can't get some great instruments from boutique companies. And it's not that there aren't enduring boutique instrument-makers.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A R C H 2013
