Instrument and
implant manufacturers
have to supply instru-
ments, stock an inven-
tory of supplies and pay
reps to work cases and
organize materials at
facilities. Those are all
incurred expenses,
points out Dr. Botimer,
who approached the
manufacturers Loma
Linda works with about
selling their implants
directly to the hospital
at a fair price, eliminat-
ing the need for vendor
reps in the facility.
"We did everything
we could to take those
expenses away from the manufacturer," he says. "We tried to make it
a win-win. Except for the reps — it wasn't a win for them."
Administrators at Loma Linda picked top-performing orthopedic
techs — who were already familiar with the instrumentation and
knew how to perform knee replacements as well as, if not better than,
the reps — and contracted with a consulting firm to provide the same
6-month training vendors receive when major instrument manufactur-
ers hire them. The former techs are now known as OR device techni-
cians.
By eliminating reps, Loma Linda now buys implants for $1,500 to
1 6 9
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 | O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
z IN-HOUSE HELP
Surgical techs trained to
manage needed equip-
ment and supplies play
the role of vendor rep.
