Selling goods in clinic

A practitioner local to me charges £700 per pair. A demented price if you ask me, but lots of patients have bought insoles from him. Not at all ethical in my view, but I think it appears to be 'the sky's the limit' with orthotics.

 

I have heard of people paying up to £1000 for orthotics, way more than a 2.5% mark up!

 

Lizzy

They must be nuts!

But didn't we hear of a well-known high street chain that was charging - IMO - outrageous prices? So there must be a market somewhere.

Cynical Cat

 

What i find most difficult is when people ask me if they have been ripped off when they pay so much money. i usually ask if they have been helped by the orthotics and let people draw their own conclusions. i would never criticise a collegue indirectly via a client as we all know that we cant help everyone all the time and with this in mind I usually advise people to return to their provider if they are not happy.

 

Which is the only professional thing to do, If you say something negative against another podiatrist to a patient, the profession gets weaker.

ps Lizzy have you had a name change?

 

yes, i felt the username i had was a bit misleading i am most definately of the female persuasion, edward is my dog and a username i use a lot as its easy to remember, however in this forum i feel it is more appropriate to use my name.

 

This question just appeared in Yahoo! Answers:

 

One thing to consider in all this is who are you competing with? Shoe shops and pharmacies mostly in Aus anyway. These businesses have huge foot traffic and get lots of people looking for help and advice. I get loads of referrals from these businesses. What happens to refferals when you start to be a competitor to these large referral sources? It may not matter in a big city but it sure does in small and medium towns. What I could make out of sales is worth far less to me than the good will of the pharmacies and shoe shops, just something to consider on your way to taking over the world....and also the more products you sell the more you'll have people turn up for advice about buying a product to solve a problem and they will not be expecting to have a consultation and pay for your advice, just ask pharmacists how big a problem this is for them, all the time is "free"
regards Phill Carter

 

Nobody likes a hard sell, but it is a fact of life that people make a living out of selling things. If i buy a newspaper or magazine I know that companies have paid to target me with their adverts. If i go to the supermarket to buy milk i will be subconsciously sold bread and butter or donuts!. I dont think that providing goods in medical practices that will improve treatment outcome is wrong. Selling vulnerable people products they dont need to make a buck is wrong. I think most of us know the difference between right and wrong, although i accept that there for whom this is grey area.

 

Hi, I was wondering has anybody ever bought of Alibaba, I have come across them before, but have not ordered anything through them as I was unsure!

The products I sell are Lynco insoles, gehwol creams, silopads and gel hoppers etc, Mykored fungal infection treatment.
I would like to supply pre cut fleecy web, felt etc. and heel files, If anyone knows where I could get them at a reasonable price?. It would be great,
Any advice appreciated.

 

The minimum order from most of the suppliers listed there can be in the 1000's

 

Hi Craig,
Yes, I did notice that too, I heard of a company that supplies canonbury in the uk and they also sell directly to Pods, anyone know of there name???

Thanks for your reply Craig.

 

Hi whilst overseas we met with some company directors that we had found via alibaba. As we were interested in cream formulation for our own use in practice. They were seemingly unreliable and dodgy! So be careful, I am sure there are good companies out there. If any one knows of any companies formulating custom balms and foot care products let me know.
thanks
chellep

 

The profession is weakened by people who don't have the courage to express ethical opinions when asked for them. Closing ranks behind dodgy practitioners and not saying what you actually think takes us all to the lowest common denominator. Do you know how difficult it is to sue a lawyer?? do you think that helps anybody except dodgy lawyers? All professions have substandard practitioners, who should be condemned for their poor practices.....this is not unethical or unprofessional.
regards Phill Carter

 

Hi Footmaster
A Algeo is a manufacturer and supplier and don't have an MOQ (minimum ordere quantity) they are very good to deal with. Trycare and canonbury sell pre cut felts and pads and again no MOQ although the more you spend the more you save. Always ask for a discount
Regards
Lizzy

 

Thanks for all the helpfull advice

 

Pretty much I sell anything I recomend patients to use, such as foot cream with urea, silicone props/ pads, antifungal products, biofreeze, orthoses, meloline...

I even make corn pads from semi compressed felt, bag and sell them (3 for £1). It saves patients the time to do it for themselves.

For the price, I go to the next door chemist, and mark products pennies cheaper when possible. For specialist products I charge double of what I paid. The orthoses, I charge what most podiatrists in the area charge (2.5 marked up).

I never recomend patients to buy anything they don't need, but if I believe they would benefit with whatever, I try to provide it. Better me than the chemist making some profit.

 

C&P Supplies (www.myfootcaresupplies.co.uk) sell most of the routine clinic supplies and I've found these to be the cheapest with free delivery, I believe they also supply bigger firms like Canonbury. DLT Chiropody are also very reasonable

 

A descriptive study of chiropractors' opinions and practices regarding office-based health product sales
Stacey A Page, Jaroslaw P Grod and D Gordon McMorland
Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2012, 20:10

 

Warpol have a good variety of foot care products, like the shoe horns, heel grips...these sell well
silopos products
felt molefoam by the full or half sheet
anti fungals, skin or nail products
so do urea creams , alkiene
also the cutiplast or the cheaper boxes like nupor
i work on double the cost,or 80% . ie buy for $ 4 sell for $7 or $8
keep and eye on cost at pharmacy as sometimes they can sell cheaper than you buy for....doesn't make for happy patient if your double the pharmacy

 

Flexitol heel magic very popular also as is tea tree oil! Also gel heel sleeves and any small gel products. Usually at a 40-60% margin but always cheaper than high street. My patients love the convenience and quite often just pop in or their supplies!