Key Findings
- How do you purchase devices now? We don't (aside from insulin pumps)
- Healthcare doesn't like to pay for preventative measures
Background
Matt works at the Cooper Center for Healing and our conversation focused on commercialization of the Dove device.
How do You Purchase Devices Now?
We don't, aside form insulin pumps. The trouble is that for the pumps, patients have to prove that they can manage their insulin without the pump first, meaning that many patients who can't maintain stable blood sugar levels don't gain access to pumps. Matt's wife struggles to get devices like pumps all the time.
The device might also struggle because healthcare doesn't like paying for preventative measures. The best way to get devices into hospital systems would be to use the Buy and Bill system that allows hospitals to purchase supplies outright, and then get reimbursed when those supplies are administered. This would allow hospitals to have them onsite and ready to go as opposed to waiting for shipments etc. This program wouldn't cover 100% of the costs, but used in combination with the 340B Drug Pricing Program which allows hospitals to negotiate on price, might make a compelling proposition, but Matt is unsure if the program includes devices.
Hospital Metrics are "Bullshit"
Matt thinks hospital metrics are mostly related to money. Even if the device could save lives, the important metric is how it saves money for hospitals. Opioid related healthcare costs are 1 trillion dollars a year if you include overdoses, infection complications, days of work lost. It's important to express the benefits in terms of dollars and not lives. This is system, not just in Matt'sanization.
One example from his personal express is trying to create a metric to measure how many of his patients go on to see nutritionists, since maybe are under-weight. The hospital declined probably because it couldn't be measured in dollars.
Follow-Up
- Talk to a PCP about getting devices for patients
- Investigate if the 340B program allows the purchasing of devices