Q&A: Point-of-Care Solutions and the Changing Healthcare Environment
At PTS Diagnostics, people are essential to our organizational success. We caught up with Bridget Melland, Director of Corporate Accounts, to learn more about the impact that our solutions make on those with chronic conditions.
Here’s what she had to say:
Q: Describe your role and the impact that you hope to leave on population health.
A: I work with large corporate and retail accounts that utilize our point-of-care product lines. Together we introduce these chronic disease management solutions to end users with the goal of improving lives.
In order to develop chronic disease management programs at the corporate level, I first must ensure that I fully understand each client’s goals, objectives, and barriers. Active listening enables me to align the resources and tools that will help them reach their goals.
Successful programs have the potential to reach and improve the lives of individuals who may have been unreachable under the standard physician-centric healthcare model.
Q: What trends in the healthcare industry have you noticed over the past several years and how is PTS Diagnostics suited to take advantage of these trends?
A: Healthcare consumers are looking for care that is convenient and meets them where they are, e.g. pharmacies, dental offices, grocery stores, etc. More and more, wearables and apps are driving healthcare consumer engagement. I anticipate that this trend of digital reliance will only increase as younger generations become more comfortable with emergent technology.
Another prominent change that has occurred is in regard to healthcare reimbursement laws. Healthcare systems are now being rewarded, or penalized, based upon their ability to keep patients healthy – a reversal from the standard fee-for-service model.
Q: What does success look like to you and how do you achieve it?
A: To me, success comes through enabling consumers to access actionable results and engaged healthcare professionals in nontraditional settings.
Healthcare consumer testimonials that highlight how point-of-care technology and chronic disease management tools can improve the lives of those impacted by diabetes and associated comorbidities are incredibly exciting.
The ultimate reward is knowing that my day-to-day role can positively impact others.
Q: Why do you believe that partnerships are essential to generating positive outcomes?
A: With partnerships, it’s essential to go above and beyond the traditional approach in order to ensure that both sides will support each other’s business growth and needs.
For example, we recently partnered with Whitmire Medical, one of our valued distributors, to help onboard a client’s numerous clinics to our CardioChek® Plus for point-of-care cholesterol testing.
Whitmire was able to provide personalized logistic and implementation support, training, and troubleshooting assistance by educated point-of-care specialists. This extra layer of support ensured a successful experience.
Q: What do you like most about working with our corporate accounts?
A: Their goals and objectives always require an extremely high level of strategy and collaboration that will stretch the limits of all team members. Can-do attitudes, risk taking, teamwork, and innovation are a just a few of the traits that describe the companies and individuals that I work alongside. Their energy and passion for improving health outcomes is contagious.
Q: What else would you like to emphasize in regard to the healthcare industry and the accounts that you manage?
A: PTS Diagnostics understands the complexities of developing and implementing a chronic disease management program. Our experience with point-of-care technology and chronic disease management enables us to take key learnings from multiple clients and build a plan that is achievable.
Overall, all manufacturers and distributors are not created equal, so developing customized implementation plans are a must. Moreover, partnerships and business development must be continuous; as the industry changes, we must strategically adapt in order to achieve success.
We thank Bridget for lending us her time in order to highlight the importance of working with our retail partners in order to shed light on the positive changes being made as a result of our point-of-care solutions.
Readers with questions about any aspect of this blog are encouraged to connect with PTS Diagnostics.
Bridget Melland | Director of Corporate Accounts