Gem #46

"Selecting Products to Dispense"

So, if you find yourself in a practice rut, consider expanding the service base of your business.  Start by evaluating where you are today.  I recommend that you keep a running list for one month of all of the patients that you send out of your practice to buy goods or services from others.  Go through that list and decide which of those products or services you think you could effectively bring into the practice.  Approach it slowly, building one product or service expansion on top of the other.  Each success will lead to greater confidence and patient satisfaction.

If you decide to begin dispensing products in the office, take your time in examining the products that are available to you.  Use them yourself or ask a few patients to test them for you.  They are always willing to be involved in this type of “market research".   Start with the products you are currently sending your patients out to buy for themselves.  These probably include skin moisturizers, exfollients, antifungal preparations, sports pain relieving creams/gels, wart therapies or pre-fabricated orthotics.  You may want to visit some of the local pharmacies & supermarkets and explore their foot care areas.  I think you will be amazed at the variety of products out there.  Then you want to start to pay close attention to the advertisements in your podiatric journals and magazines.  They are full of foot care products that you can easily stock in your office.  Many of them are not widely available and become even more attractive from a business standpoint.  The decision in setting up a price point for these products is completely up to you.  They can be sold at your cost, or you can add some profit into the price.  If you do sell at cost, please be sure to factor in the cost of shipping for each product.

When searching for products to make available in your office, seek out those products that are as specific for your patient’s problems as possible.  For instance, if you can find products named “Cracked Heel Miracle”, stock it.  Patients become instantly interested in these products for many reasons.  First they can identify with the product because they have that problem, and secondly they are apt to purchase it because now they feel they are not alone in their misery, as there must be others out there who also suffer from the same problem!   If you look hard enough you will find these foot related products available to you, but you will not see many of them in your local pharmacy.

Like any business, the decision to add a new product line, or even begin to offer products for sale, is not one to be taken lightly.  Always provide the highest quality products that you have personally tried or have always recommended.  I think you will find that it becomes a large positive asset to the practice that your patients will appreciate.  The bottom line is that all products should be selected based upon clinical relevancy, product efficacy, price and availability.