Let's talk pharmaceuticals!

[Scot]

I don't know if this post is in the right thread, so mods feel free to move it!

I sell drugs for a living. Street pharmacist. Rolling around in my hooptie with a trunk full of product. Well.. Not quite. I'm a drug rep. I've been selling pharma for about 4 years now and have gained a lot of insight into the pharmaceutical world, healthcare and medicine.

I know starting up a pharma company is a bit beyond the reach of most people here (if you have a few billion in capital laying around, yay), but I'm sure a few of you have thought about getting into the super profitable healthcare space.

While I don't know everything, being in this industry makes you a fly on the wall to a lot of things behind the scenes in the industry. Any questions related to healthcare, the drug industry, insurance, I'll do my best!

Disclaimer, no you can't have what I'm selling. Trust me, you don't want what I got.

 

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[Scot]

Also, general salesmanship forum too. Any questions for non sales guys on how to sell, ask away.

 

[GMJimmy]

Looking forward to your thread as I'm in the industry as well.

 

[Scot]

Looking forward to your thread as I'm in the industry as well.

Hope someone replies, I love talking shop about this industry. My business plans are far removed from medicine, but I wouldn't mind owning medical practices some day.

 

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[Tapp001]

I do have some questions about medical equipment, pharmaceutical sales. I'm currently planning on moving to a sales position while I build my fastlane, to earn money while building some fastlane skills.

Do you need any physiology or health knowledge to get started? I have some health knowledge, having worked for my local Ministry of Health as an analyst.
What's the culture like?
How much of the industry do you learn?
Is travel a big part of the job?
Can I make enough to support a family?

Sorry if these seem pretty general. I'm trying to get a feel for a number of different industries, and pharmaceuticals / medical equipment is one of them.

 

[Scot]

I do have some questions about medical equipment, pharmaceutical sales. I'm currently planning on moving to a sales position while I build my fastlane, to earn money while building some fastlane skills.

Do you need any physiology or health knowledge to get started? I have some health knowledge, having worked for my local Ministry of Health as an analyst.
What's the culture like?
How much of the industry do you learn?
Is travel a big part of the job?
Can I make enough to support a family?

Sorry if these seem pretty general. I'm trying to get a feel for a number of different industries, and pharmaceuticals / medical equipment is one of them.

So, I'm assuming by mention of Ministry of Health, you're not in the US. I can't speak to the $ side of sales outside this country, because as we all know, American pharma and healthcare are substantially higher cost than most countries.

But I'll tell you my experiences here.

So a background in science is not required. It definitely helps. But I have a degree in History. Usually having either a strong sales background or strong science background will get your foot in the door. Culture is all based on your company and your boss. The great part about most medical sales is youre a territory rep, so you have a large geographic area you cover, by yourself. Pharma standard practice is a company car. You usually see your boss once a month. Culture is typically performance based. Sell well, they leave you alone, numbers go down, suddenly everything you do is important. Didn't make quota on one of your drugs? Explain to me why you didn't see anyone between 1pm and 3 pm last Tuesday..

So money. For a job without an advanced degree, the money is stupid. I'm on track to break 6 figures this year. Conversely, my wife, a veterinarian, makes less than me. You can definitely support your family.

Is this job fastlane? HELL NO! It's what you make it, but it sucks the life out of you, as with any sales job. But here's what it will do for you. It makes you a damn good salesman. If you can sell a shitty 4th to market insulin, you can sell anything. Selling prescriptions is harder than it sounds, because you're not selling a hard product. You don't hand them the drug, they hand you a check, Done. You actually never know if you sold anything. You're selling the idea of writing the drug. You're paid on trends. Medical equipment is a different story.

Here's why this is a good slow lane job. It gives you relative freedom. No office, free car, no one watching your every move. Exhausted? Take a 10 min nap in between calls in a parking lot! Have a dentist appointment? Cut out of work an hour early. So much downtime. I listened to MJ's book in about 3 days driving. And have listened to it about 3 times since. In the last 2 weeks I've gone through 4 business audio books. In waiting rooms I read almost every gold thread, read every one of @Andy Black 's Adwords threads, and done research on copy writing.

If you need a job that gives you a decent work/life balance and freedom while working towards your fastlane business, it's not a bad choice.

But, here's the but, job security does NOT exist. Layoffs and being fired are very big possibilities. Turn over is 30% at my company. It's normal to switch jobs every year. It's not fast lane, but it's not bad.

 

[Tapp001]

So, I'm assuming by mention of Ministry of Health, you're not in the US. I can't speak to the $ side of sales outside this country, because as we all know, American pharma and healthcare are substantially higher cost than most countries.

But I'll tell you my experiences here.

So a background in science is not required. It definitely helps. But I have a degree in History. Usually having either a strong sales background or strong science background will get your foot in the door. Culture is all based on your company and your boss. The great part about most medical sales is youre a territory rep, so you have a large geographic area you cover, by yourself. Pharma standard practice is a company car. You usually see your boss once a month. Culture is typically performance based. Sell well, they leave you alone, numbers go down, suddenly everything you do is important. Didn't make quota on one of your drugs? Explain to me why you didn't see anyone between 1pm and 3 pm last Tuesday..

So money. For a job without an advanced degree, the money is stupid. I'm on track to break 6 figures this year. Conversely, my wife, a veterinarian, makes less than me. You can definitely support your family.

Is this job fastlane? HELL NO! It's what you make it, but it sucks the life out of you, as with any sales job. But here's what it will do for you. It makes you a damn good salesman. If you can sell a shitty 4th to market insulin, you can sell anything. Selling prescriptions is harder than it sounds, because you're not selling a hard product. You don't hand them the drug, they hand you a check, Done. You actually never know if you sold anything. You're selling the idea of writing the drug. You're paid on trends. Medical equipment is a different story.

Here's why this is a good slow lane job. It gives you relative freedom. No office, free car, no one watching your every move. Exhausted? Take a 10 min nap in between calls in a parking lot! Have a dentist appointment? Cut out of work an hour early. So much downtime. I listened to MJ's book in about 3 days driving. And have listened to it about 3 times since. In the last 2 weeks I've gone through 4 business audio books. In waiting rooms I read almost every gold thread, read every one of @Andy Black 's Adwords threads, and done research on copy writing.

If you need a job that gives you a decent work/life balance and freedom while working towards your fastlane business, it's not a bad choice.

But, here's the but, job security does NOT exist. Layoffs and being fired are very big possibilities. Turn over is 30% at my company. It's normal to switch jobs every year. It's not fast lane, but it's not bad.

Thank you for the quality answer @Scot! I really appreciate the time you took to answer my question. I'll take a look at how pharmaceutical sales operates here in the great white north, but I don't think its too different.

 

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[Scot]

Thank you for the quality answer @Scot! I really appreciate the time you took to answer my question. I'll take a look at how pharmaceutical sales operates here in the great white north, but I don't think its too different.

Our old people need to stop getting cheap drugs from Canada! Haha

Thanks for the rep!

 

[Thiago Machado]

Hey man!

Thanks for sharing your insights with us here on the forum.

One thing that stuck out in my mind is: how you do you get past the gatekeepers?

Talking to a decision maker in this industry (a doctor) must be tough. They usually have no time to talk what-so-ever. So I was wondering how you go about that.

 

[Scot]

Hey man!

Thanks for sharing your insights with us here on the forum.

One thing that stuck out in my mind is: how you do you get past the gatekeepers?

Talking to a decision maker in this industry (a doctor) must be tough. They usually have no time to talk what-so-ever. So I was wondering how you go about that.

Absolutely. Gate keepers suck! There are several different tricks I use. Luckily in medicine, it's pretty standard that reps leave samples or bring lunch. So about 80% of the time, I'm able to see my target. Its just a matter of making my 30 seconds with the Dr super efficient.

However, there is that 20% of the time where Gate Keepers or even the doctors themselves don't want to see me. Here's what I do.

Literature:
I have a storage unit full of pamphlets. So for those offices where they won't see me, I stop by every week and remind them how incredibly important it is that the doctor see xyz information as this is a new drug to market which could greatly improve patients lives. I give the info to the receptionist. Charm is key here. Be funny, be charming, flirty. Get the receptionists to like you, there's a chance the info will make it back. Always leave a card with the info, you may get a phone call from the Dr asking to talk!

Circumvent:
I work mostly with gastroenterologists, so they typically spend half their work week outside their main office. They're either doing colonoscopies at the surgery center or doing rounds at the hospital. I have one GI who is the nicest guy in the world. Loves to talk about my drugs. But his staff hate reps. He even jokes he needs to fire them. I get no where at his office, so I brought breakfast to the endoscopy center where he scopes! Now, once every two weeks I get a good 10 minutes to talk over coffee with him in the morning between cases. This can apply to any sales. Find a way around the situation. Gate Keepers work 8-5. Call, email or visit before or after those times. Want to see a sales target, try going at 6pm. I also do this at networking events (conferences, educational dinners, journal club meetings). Find a networking event where your target is likely to go, and mingle.


Direct contact:
It's the golden age of the Internet. No ones personal info is sacred. If you know who the decision maker is, get their email address or phone number. If you've read the 4 hour Work Week, you already know this concept. Somewhere out there is their contact. Don't make your first contact an aggressive sales pitch. Make it cordial. "Mr So and so, my name is Scot and I'm the local rep for Acme Corp. I wanted to introduce myself so that I could be available to you as a resource in the future. Please contact me with any questions you may have" heck, if you can find out something personal like a hobby they do, ask about that "a colleague of mine told me you rock climb, where's the best rock gym around here to train at? I've always wanted to get into the sport" Or if they're a business owner, ask them a mentorship questions. Show interest.

When all else fails. Bribery. Receptionists love Starbucks or sweets.

Hope this helps!

 

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[JokerCrazyBeatz]

Question 1 are u sure u can't break me off a lil piece of what u got? Lol jk jk

Question 2 are u planning to make a FastLane business dealing with this ?

 

[Scot]

Question 1 are u sure u can't break me off a lil piece of what u got? Lol jk jk

Question 2 are u planning to make a FastLane business dealing with this ?

Trust me, you don't want what I have haha

And no, I'm no. I had an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a startup pharma company, but I didn't think the path they were taking and they were a think tank of PhD's and MBAs, they didn't see the advantage of having little ol me. Haha

This is a great job to have while building my fastlane though. My fastlane business is going to be a subscription based website unrelated to health care.

 

[JokerCrazyBeatz]

Trust me, you don't want what I have haha

And no, I'm no. I had an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a startup pharma company, but I didn't think the path they were taking and they were a think tank of PhD's and MBAs, they didn't see the advantage of having little ol me. Haha

This is a great job to have while building my fastlane though. My fastlane business is going to be a subscription based website unrelated to health care.

idk man I still would look to something in the industry , I would hate all that good knowledge to go to waste , even if it's just a blog or something , that's something not a lot of people know about , I'm sure you could provide a lot of value to some people with your knowledge and make a profit even if it's a small amount

 

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[Scot]

idk man I still would look to something in the industry , I would hate all that good knowledge to go to waste , even if it's just a blog or something , that's something not a lot of people know about , I'm sure you could provide a lot of value to some people with your knowledge and make a profit even if it's a small amount

One thing I'll probably end up doing in the future is maybe a blog or content site. I've had several friends ask me how to break into the industry. I really should make a "getting started" packet. That could be a good little blog that could make some small profits. But the healthcare industry is all big $$$. Once I get the capital to start my own VC firm, maybe.

Average cost to get a drug to market is a couple hundred million dollars. Don't have that yet.

 

[neellpatel]

How prevalent do you think bribing the doctors is in the industry? As an example I lived in a foreign country for a few years, where pharmaceutical companies paid the top doctors in the field to prescribe/recommend their drugs over other companies. Now, probably because of tax reasons, they offer things like paid vacations, cars, etc. This has become a norm in the pharmaceutical industry there since there is no major differentiation if the API is the same, so this makes them stand out. So now the companies compete on both their prices, and the perks they offer doctors.

Also, do you handle solely marketed formulations or drugs going under clinical trials as well? And if so, is your process different than what you mentioned above?

 

[Scot]

How prevalent do you think bribing the doctors is in the industry? As an example I lived in a foreign country for a few years, where pharmaceutical companies paid the top doctors in the field to prescribe/recommend their drugs over other companies. Now, probably because of tax reasons, they offer things like paid vacations, cars, etc. This has become a norm in the pharmaceutical industry there since there is no major differentiation if the API is the same, so this makes them stand out. So now the companies compete on both their prices, and the perks they offer doctors.

Also, do you handle solely marketed formulations or drugs going under clinical trials as well? And if so, is your process different than what you mentioned above?

I can't speak to foreign countries. China just sued one of the top 5 companies for supposed kick backs.

In the US it's super regulated. We have what's called the Sunshine Act and there also the federal anti-kickback laws. It's nothing like you see in the movies and on TV.

We can't give doctors anything except for FDA approved paper materials (pamphlets, data sheets, study reprints), drug samples, and food. Food must be provided to be eaten while going over educational materials (bring lunch for office and sit down in the office and talk about the data). No more going to bars or clubs or fancy restaurants.

Every meal is documented and reported to a national database. Google "dollars for docs". Any attempts to bribe or give kick backs equal jail time for the rep and multi million dollar fines.

 

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[shubham525]

My family's 30 year old medicine business here in India.

Doctor is the king here , if you can get him to write your medicine then you win.

 

[Iwokeup]

I can't speak to foreign countries. China just sued one of the top 5 companies for supposed kick backs.

In the US it's super regulated. We have what's called the Sunshine Act and there also the federal anti-kickback laws. It's nothing like you see in the movies and on TV.

We can't give doctors anything except for FDA approved paper materials (pamphlets, data sheets, study reprints), drug samples, and food. Food must be provided to be eaten while going over educational materials (bring lunch for office and sit down in the office and talk about the data). No more going to bars or clubs or fancy restaurants.

Every meal is documented and reported to a national database. Google "dollars for docs". Any attempts to bribe or give kick backs equal jail time for the rep and multi million dollar fines.

Nice thread!

As as physician, it's interesting to hear the other side. Also nice to see a former Marine killing it. Well done!

You know, the idea of a blog/info product isn't a bad one. I think about something similar for a side project that's been on my mind for years. But I have this other thing going, soooo.....

Have you seen this wonderful thread?

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...it-with-legendary-gold-follow-up-posts.68810/

 

[neellpatel]

I can't speak to foreign countries. China just sued one of the top 5 companies for supposed kick backs.

In the US it's super regulated. We have what's called the Sunshine Act and there also the federal anti-kickback laws. It's nothing like you see in the movies and on TV.

We can't give doctors anything except for FDA approved paper materials (pamphlets, data sheets, study reprints), drug samples, and food. Food must be provided to be eaten while going over educational materials (bring lunch for office and sit down in the office and talk about the data). No more going to bars or clubs or fancy restaurants.

Every meal is documented and reported to a national database. Google "dollars for docs". Any attempts to bribe or give kick backs equal jail time for the rep and multi million dollar fines.

That seems like a very efficient system compared to what I know. I have a pharmacy background, but since I studied outside of North America, I don't really have much knowledge on how different it is over here.

If FDA approved materials and samples are the only things you can provide, how would a generics manufacturer compete with another company on the same formulation? Does it then just depend on the doctor, or is it different compared to talking about a novel and patented formulation?

As for Dollars for Docs, it looks like a very bad way of getting publicity for both manufacturers and doctors.

 

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[Angelic]

How were you personally able to get into the industry? I know you briefly mentioned that you had a history degree and if one has a strong sales background or a science background that will be enough get you into the door, but I'd like to know a bit more in depth how you did it. Also, what was the hiring process like and how long did it take?

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Thanks for doing this. Here's my question:

Are there any chemical testing facilities that are cost effective? As in - if I wanted to test a few of the supplements I'm taking, to make sure they're real, is there somewhere I can go to get this done?

 

[Scot]

Nice thread!

As as physician, it's interesting to hear the other side. Also nice to see a former Marine killing it. Well done!

You know, the idea of a blog/info product isn't a bad one. I think about something similar for a side project that's been on my mind for years. But I have this other thing going, soooo.....

Have you seen this wonderful thread?

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...it-with-legendary-gold-follow-up-posts.68810/

Oh jeez, hope I didnt say anything to make you hate reps more than you already do! haha I know we can be annoying sometimes, for that I apologize. But I genuinely believe we do bring real value to the medical community. As for the blog, its something I may dabble into, but right now I really want to get my website/app off the ground. Once that starts rolling, I'll probably get into it more. As with the question below, I get asked a lot about breaking into the industry. It'll be more convenient to just send people to my blog haha.

How were you personally able to get into the industry? I know you briefly mentioned that you had a history degree and if one has a strong sales background or a science background that will be enough get you into the door, but I'd like to know a bit more in depth how you did it. Also, what was the hiring process like and how long did it take?

So its kind of a hard industry to get into. It can be one of those situations of "who you know, not what you know". My break-in was a series of fortunate events. I previously had worked for Verizon selling phones. I was able to develop a pretty good sales record which helped. My wife's classmate at the time, his boyfriend was a rep. She had suggested I look into Pharma and to give him a call. He was a great mentor, still is to this day. He walked me through which companies to apply for, how to make a brag book (ill go into that in a minute) and set me up with a mock interview with his friend. His friend had an opening in her territory and she referred me off to her boss. Her boss was a Marine too, so the cards just kind of fell into place. Once you get into the industry, you're in.

So, for a newbie to get in. My recommendation is to have some foundation of sales. B2B sales are pretty strong to have. You'll want to start with companies that do contract work. Essentially a big or small company contacts a contract organization for a set number of reps for a set period of time (1-2 years usually). You still get all the normal benefits (car, insurance, bonus) without the long term stuff like 401k and stocks. Once you have that under your belt, you can get in with a regular company. You'll want to have a good sales record to build a brag book. Brag book is essentially a portfolio you make of your sales achievements and awards to show off at interviews to prove you have succeeded in the past.

Hiring process usually is about a month. Typical hiring is: Phone interview with recruiter, then face to face with hiring manager (possibly second manager present), then a follow up interview with same or different people, then usually a final interview with a regional director. Sometimes they have you do a ride along with the local rep as well (which is definitely part of the interview, so treat it as such). Then you have a full background check (they will confirm and verify all work references you put down, so DO NOT make up jobs), drug test, credit check. Finally, if all goes through, offer letter.

That seems like a very efficient system compared to what I know. I have a pharmacy background, but since I studied outside of North America, I don't really have much knowledge on how different it is over here.

If FDA approved materials and samples are the only things you can provide, how would a generics manufacturer compete with another company on the same formulation? Does it then just depend on the doctor, or is it different compared to talking about a novel and patented formulation?

As for Dollars for Docs, it looks like a very bad way of getting publicity for both manufacturers and doctors.

Usually if theres an exact generic for a product here, the pharma company typically doesn't try to market the brand name anymore. Its not worth it trying to sell their $200 branded, when you can get it at Walmart for $4 generic. So generics manufacturers usually just price war with each other.

However, when you're selling a novel formulation vs a generic, it really depends on your market. I dont compete all the much with generics in my current role, but I did a lot in my previous job. My previous drug was a newer drug in the class, more advanced, better targetting with less side effects. Typically in a branded vs generic sell, its going to be efficacy and side effect profile that is better vs generic. But that is hard to get across to Dr's too, because legally we cannot actively compare drugs. We just have to talk about the benefits of our drug. When it all comes down to it, when a new drug is introduced in a class of drugs, the FDA typically will not approve it if there isnt a noticeable improvement in efficacy or side effects vs older formulations.

And the dollars for docs thing, we hate it and dr's hate it. But its part of the Sunshine Act. Its very misleading too, because it lists dollar amounts, not what was given. So if I feed a 60 person office and the catering cost $500, all it shows on the website is that Company A gave Dr Smith $500 "for food". Kinda looks sketchy, buts really not.

Thanks for doing this. Here's my question:

Are there any chemical testing facilities that are cost effective? As in - if I wanted to test a few of the supplements I'm taking, to make sure they're real, is there somewhere I can go to get this done?

That I really cant help you with. I would just search for labs to see if they can do it. Its never anything that I deal with at all since everything I have is already super FDA and DEA regulated. But be very very careful with supplements from overseas. Pretty much, I dont trust anything thats not FDA or the european equivalent monitored.

 

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[Scot]

Nice thread!

As as physician, it's interesting to hear the other side. Also nice to see a former Marine killing it. Well done!

You know, the idea of a blog/info product isn't a bad one. I think about something similar for a side project that's been on my mind for years. But I have this other thing going, soooo.....

Have you seen this wonderful thread?

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...it-with-legendary-gold-follow-up-posts.68810/

Btw, this is my progress thread into what I'm currently working on. https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/first-time-entrepreneur-here-it-goes.68934/

 

[Captain Jack]

Nice thread!

As as physician, it's interesting to hear the other side. Also nice to see a former Marine killing it. Well done!

You know, the idea of a blog/info product isn't a bad one. I think about something similar for a side project that's been on my mind for years. But I have this other thing going, soooo.....

Have you seen this wonderful thread?

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...it-with-legendary-gold-follow-up-posts.68810/

Btw, this is my progress thread into what I'm currently working on. https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/first-time-entrepreneur-here-it-goes.68934/

Great thread!

I'm also in health care (PA) and a veteran (Air Force). My current boss is a very successful physician entrepreneur that owns an expanding practice. We have drug reps come in all the time and I completely agree with everything written here!

 

[Scot]

Great thread!

I'm also in health care (PA) and a veteran (Air Force). My current boss is a very successful physician entrepreneur that owns an expanding practice. We have drug reps come in all the time and I completely agree with everything written here!

Love my PA's. Especially in GI, y'all hold down the fort. I've toyed with the idea of practice ownership (I have several friends finishing residency or just starting practice, and my wife is a veterinarian). In the area where I live, it's just over saturated with corporate owned practice. You cannot survive as a single practice in this day and age anymore. Just too many overhead costs. If my current venture works out, I may end up reinvesting some money and see if I can get a practice off the ground.

Thanks for what you do!

 

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[Captain Jack]

Love my PA's. Especially in GI, y'all hold down the fort. I've toyed with the idea of practice ownership (I have several friends finishing residency or just starting practice, and my wife is a veterinarian). In the area where I live, it's just over saturated with corporate owned practice. You cannot survive as a single practice in this day and age anymore. Just too many overhead costs. If my current venture works out, I may end up reinvesting some money and see if I can get a practice off the ground.

Thanks for what you do!

I actually think it's possible to survive as a solo practice, but your billing department needs to be stellar. I've worked at multiple practices that had poor billing practices and it was a nightmare, to say the least. Multiple providers would need to see 30-40 patients per day to be profitable.

At my current practice, we see much less than that and are still extremely profitable because our office manager is amazing and really understands the billing process. I'm learning a lot about it, which is why going in this direction actually seems like a feasible option (although the headaches are considerable and may not be worth it).

And, yeah, I hear Florida is extremely saturated in just about every health care field.

And props to your wife for being a veterinarian. I have friends and patients in that field and it's definitely tough! Low pay and a lot of debt can be rough. The commitment I've seen from vets is definitely admirable!

 

[neellpatel]

Usually if theres an exact generic for a product here, the pharma company typically doesn't try to market the brand name anymore. Its not worth it trying to sell their $200 branded, when you can get it at Walmart for $4 generic. So generics manufacturers usually just price war with each other.

However, when you're selling a novel formulation vs a generic, it really depends on your market. I dont compete all the much with generics in my current role, but I did a lot in my previous job. My previous drug was a newer drug in the class, more advanced, better targetting with less side effects. Typically in a branded vs generic sell, its going to be efficacy and side effect profile that is better vs generic. But that is hard to get across to Dr's too, because legally we cannot actively compare drugs. We just have to talk about the benefits of our drug. When it all comes down to it, when a new drug is introduced in a class of drugs, the FDA typically will not approve it if there isnt a noticeable improvement in efficacy or side effects vs older formulations.

And the dollars for docs thing, we hate it and dr's hate it. But its part of the Sunshine Act. Its very misleading too, because it lists dollar amounts, not what was given. So if I feed a 60 person office and the catering cost $500, all it shows on the website is that Company A gave Dr Smith $500 "for food". Kinda looks sketchy, buts really not.

Makes sense. That's probably the reason why I've seen the generics manufacturers I'm familiar with market the same API in a different form.

Also, that explains what some of the numbers on that site mean. The top company paid out $10.2 million to a single doctor, which I thought was weird before you explained it, but it was the doctor's payment for his investment.

Thanks a lot for answering my questions in detail @Scot, it really gave me insight into how differently the FDA regulates the industry.

 

[Scot]

Makes sense. That's probably the reason why I've seen the generics manufacturers I'm familiar with market the same API in a different form.

Also, that explains what some of the numbers on that site mean. The top company paid out $10.2 million to a single doctor, which I thought was weird before you explained it, but it was the doctor's payment for his investment.

Thanks a lot for answering my questions in detail @Scot, it really gave me insight into how differently the FDA regulates the industry.

When you see big numbers like that it's usually doctors who received grant money to do a clinical study for a drug. Which is ludicrous that they count that as "income"

 

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[Scot]

I actually think it's possible to survive as a solo practice, but your billing department needs to be stellar. I've worked at multiple practices that had poor billing practices and it was a nightmare, to say the least. Multiple providers would need to see 30-40 patients per day to be profitable.

At my current practice, we see much less than that and are still extremely profitable because our office manager is amazing and really understands the billing process. I'm learning a lot about it, which is why going in this direction actually seems like a feasible option (although the headaches are considerable and may not be worth it).

And, yeah, I hear Florida is extremely saturated in just about every health care field.

And props to your wife for being a veterinarian. I have friends and patients in that field and it's definitely tough! Low pay and a lot of debt can be rough. The commitment I've seen from vets is definitely admirable!

I completely agree, a good billing department makes or breaks you. But just the money spent on EMR and E-scribing system alone make it hard to afford single practice.

I'm glad you recognize the debt/income for Vets. Most people in human med don't realize that. First stop if my business succeeds is to write a check to take care of her loans haha

 

[neellpatel]

When you see big numbers like that it's usually doctors who received grant money to do a clinical study for a drug. Which is ludicrous that they count that as "income"

Yea my first thought was clinical trials as well. But I saw it listed as investment income so then I thought it could be something else as well.

I can definitely see how the system is a partial implementation. If the doctor manages trials from phase 1, it's a long stretch of time where he made 'returns on investment' when he's not investing money in the first place.