< 1 min reading timeWhat happens when the medical device buyer is the specialist but the primary care physician is the influencer?
That’s the question at the heart of this #MedDevice chat. Maybe you can help with your thoughts in the comments.
Scott Nelson, an accomplished sales rep for Covidien’s Vascular Therapies unit, joined #MedDevice this week. He sells one device, the “Trellis,” a pharmaco-mechanical catheter device used for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) intervention.
Roughly 600,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with DVT; half develop post-thrombotic syndrome. Covidien’s competitors include Angioject (Medrad) and EKOS and Scott fights every day against the status quo: Primary care physicians prescribing blood thinners.
Something doesn’t add up for me.
I “get” that the primary care (PC) physician wants the best outcomes for patients. So she is open to Scott’s message. But there is no way for the PC to make money.
Why should she see Scott? She has detailers. Medical device distributors. And here’s Scott selling just an idea – with no potential revenue stream for the doctor.
Does the PC have time for this? Can’t Scott just “leave a brochure”?
And does the physician feel like the pawn in the game? Scott comes in to make money for himself, his company, and the interventionalist … everybody but her!
Note: Scott participated in subsequent chats. Read more about Influencing Physicians.
Your thoughts appreciated. As a medical device marketing consultant, it’s my job to help you sell devices into primary care. What’s going on in the doctor’s head with this dynamic?
