Inventory Management and Purchasing of Implants.
Well, we all know how important the implant is in our procedure. The outpatient joint replacement model, typically, has a young patient between the ages of 45 and 65. In fact, our average age over the last ten years is 57. Thank goodness for new technology that allows our patients to have a joint replacement opportunity at a younger age. We hope these implants are going to last 20, 25, maybe based on some of our laboratory studies and new materials, up to 30 years.
Well, that implant becomes incredibly important and so does your implant representative. What a valuable source of information as you try and build an outpatient joint replacement program. It’s important not only to get the right price, but also, most importantly, to get the right implants and materials. Get the right backup if something goes wrong. Be prepared. Managing all of this, obviously, is very difficult. However, over the ten years that we have been doing so we’ve developed a step by step plan to make sure implants are replaced. We always have the right implant. We’re never looking around town for implants that we don’t have during a procedure.
Our experience with our implant representative has been amazing and such a valuable resource in making the outpatient joint replacement program a great success.