Suppliers who compete with P&O

Suppliers who compete with P&O

Hello fellow practitioners:
    What are your thoughts/policies of your P&O facility in regard to
patronizing companies who are actively pursuing our referrals?
    Some of our supplier companies have salespeople who go in to the doctor's
offices/clinics, do the fittings and sometimes charge less that they charge
us. Some of these companies ask us for the referring doctor on the order
form or will charge us sales tax unless we give them a copy of the
prescription with the doctor's name on it.
    I know of one manufacturer which has contracts with large HMOs, directly
providing the prescription orthotic devices to the clients.
    There are other companies who only sell to P&O offices. Some will even
encourage the doctors to refer to the P&O facilities! They apparently feel
that their device needs to be properly fitted to provide the function it was
designed to give. Regardless of the manufacturer of the device, it is up to
the practitioner to assure proper fit and function when it goes on the
patient.
    In a court of law, I understand that an important criteria is whether an
action was in accordance to the standard practice of the community. Having
salesmen do castings and fittings in lieu of an ABC practitioner is
questionable, and I'm surprised that physicians allow this in their
practices.
    By the way, the Associated Press reported last month that the American
Medical Association recently adopted a policy that doctors should NOT be
selling health related products out of their offices for profit as it is
considered a financial conflict of interest. Unless the doctor discloses
their financial arrangement with the supplier, the items may be distributed
free or at cost.

    I will post a list of manufacturers who do and do not bypass the P&O
practitioner based on what is submitted to me. Please forward what you know
from personal experience, not what you have been told or have heard.

Please submit in this format: (I've included a few sample entries)

manufacturer sells only to P&O sells to non P&O
UltrafFlex yes no
Camp Swash brace yes no
Flex Tech yes no
Don Joy no yes
Lennox Hill no yes

Thanks,

Randy McFarland, CPO