TrakURep® eliminates the hassle when tracking sample medications
The pharmaceutical rep was making his last visit of the day, dropping off some requested samples of Entresto® to a small cardiology practice. But the office was in chaos. Patients were stacked in the waiting room, phones were ringing endlessly, and the woman who usually receives the samples was on maternity leave. The temp hadn’t been trained how to log and correctly store the samples (an often tedious and lengthy process) and had no idea what to do.
In a hurry, the rep passed over the drug samples and the young woman literally dropped them into a desk drawer with the intent to ask for help later. But that never happened, and the samples were virtually unaccounted for, a clear violation of state and federal regulations.
Common violations = big problems
Such situations are all too frequent in physician’s offices across the country despite the requirements under the Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) of 1987 and current The Joint Commission (JACHO) rules governing sample medications. And the potential for abuses among the overall sales force – estimated at roughly 70,000 – is even worse, a problem that’s plagued the industry for decades.
“Responsible for 90 percent of the total sample drops across the country, they [reps] represent the biggest regulatory risk to companies in terms of violations. Some sales reps may be tempted to sell pharma samples on the street,” according to Patrick O’Hara, in the article “PolicingCRM Sampling” on Pharmexec.com. “Others may accidentally leave samples of a blockbuster drug in an office building…want to swap samples with a colleague in a pinch, or neglect to get a practitioner signature after leaving a sample. Those are all plausible scenarios, and they occur every day.”
Eliminate potential abuses – and reduce paperwork
On top of those issues, the huge regulatory paper trail required for samples is virtually endless, requiring daily updates, counts of medications and checking recall notices and expiration dates – all headache-inducing for the office staff.
Enter TrakURep®, a simple, easy-to-use phone app that eliminates all the hassle. The innovative app, developed by a former pharmaceutical rep, bridges the gap of sample management compliance by providing a detailed policy and procedural system. This system enables physicians meet sample acceptance and distribution responsibilities to the patient, while complying with respective local, state, and federal regulatory requirements.
Additionally, for physicians and affiliated healthcare systems, TrakURep® reduces human error, streamlines the tracking of meds, and easily manages drug recalls and expiration dates. Essentially the app tracks the samples from the time they leave the factory to when they are placed in a patient’s hands and beyond, eliminating reams of paperwork.
Many benefits to the industry, too
The app also promises huge benefits for both the industry and its sales reps. There’s improved compliance with state and federal regulations (always a good thing!), improved tracking of drug samples received and distributed (eliminating potential liability for reps), and improved operational efficiency, giving reps more time for sales calls and actually servicing clients.
Best of all, TrakURep® actually facilitates continued face-to-face dialogue with physicians and office staff since the app eliminates much of the busy work.
Learn more about TrakURep® here.
