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No Downside to VITAL SYSTEM

Sales Medical Device

BY LOIS THOMSON ance companies pay for the test – they
want it to be administered because it can
Is there a downside to the medical save them money in the long run.
device offered by VITAL SYSTEM Sales? The training needed to utilize the
The answer seems to be a definite "no." machine is minimal. The company sends
The device performs 37 non-invasive out two technicians with the machine,
tests that are able to help patients who along with a computer and a printer – all
are at a high risk of having a stroke, or for free. The technicians train the doctor,
who have issues that they may not know although the test is mostly managed by
about – such as diabetes, hypertension, nurses or assistants. They teach them
vascular abnormalities, disturbances everything from A-to-Z, and the testers
with the digestive system, or others – can start to use it right away. The tester
that could be critical if not discovered gets the report, and if there's an issue, the
and taken care of as soon as possible. doctor can step in and prescribe what to
That is one of the most important do, such as go to a specialist. The doctor
things about the device – it really does also supplies a copy of the test to the
work and it helps patients find out about patient for free – either by printout or by
problems they didn't know they had. email – so the patient can have it with
Most people go to a doctor because they him and show the results to the special-
have one particular issue, but the doctor ist.
doesn't test them for anything else The whole procedure of installing and
because they aren't aware that other training takes less than an hour, and it is
things might be a problem. And the pro- considered to be very easy because the
cedure is fast. The test can be adminis- computer actually tells you what to do.
tered in 15 minutes, and the doctor can In addition, the machine is portable, so if
then receive the results in 15 minutes. So a patient can't come to the office for
if something is wrong, the physician can some reason, the doctor can send a nurse
tell the patient, "Listen, you may be to the patient's home to administer the
about to have a stroke, you better go to test right there.
see a specialist." The patient doesn't have A final benefit is that when doctors
to come back a day or two later, or wait a receive the machine, they have no obliga-
week for a lab to send the results. tion to keep it; they do not have to sign a
The device works by having a practi- lease or purchase agreement. If for any
tioner attach a connector on one finger reason the doctor isn't happy, the compa-
and another on an arm, and two connec- ny takes back the machine with no finan-
tors on the bottom of the feet. All are cial penalty to the doctor.
then connected to the computer, and the So what about a downside? Apparently
computer reads what's going on through there isn't any, as it's a positive thing in
the electric currency in the body. The both the health world and the financial
concept is remarkable in the way it world. Doctors sometimes struggle to
works. make their work benefit them financially.
However, perhaps the most intriguing They go to college for a number of years
point is that VITAL SYSTEM Sales is pre- to earn their degree, and then they may
senting this medical device to doctors at open a clinic or work for another doctor, “ You can’t separate the clinical
no charge. The company is offering it at and they're limited in what they can do.
no out-of-pocket expense, so doctors can This is a way for doctors to make money, and the fi nancial – not anymore.”
utilize it to both help patients and but most importantly, to help people –
increase their own source of revenue for because the testing could point out seri- People who know Healthcare, know BDO.
their practice. The machine costs ous problems.
$150,000, but the company gives it to It's a win-win-win situation for doc-
doctors, who then pay the company a tors, patients, and insurance companies.
fee-for-service of $250 for each time they
test a patient. The doctor collects the For more information,
money from the insurance companies visit www.vitalsystemsales.com.
and can keep the difference. All insur-

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The BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation
As the healthcare industry enters an era of unprecedented transformation, anticipating and
understanding the future state model of healthcare is more important than ever. From advising on
complex joint ventures, to M&A services, to healthcare redesign, BDO’s multidisciplinary teams help
organizations plan for and implement the fi nancial and clinical changes needed to transform their
institutions — and thrive in the years to come.
Alfredo Cepero, Managing Partner, acepero@bdo.com
Angelo Pirozzi, Partner, apirozzi@bdo.com
BDO USA, LLP, 100 SE 2nd St. Suite 1700 Miami, FL 33131 / 305-381-8000

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