How do I get diabetes test strips approved by hospital formularies in
Minneapolis, MN?

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Request for Question Clarification by researcher-ga on 26 Apr 2002 14:10 PDT

Not exactly sure what you're looking for, possible interpretations
are:
You are looking for places to purchase/obtain approved test strips in
the Minneapolis area
You are looking for how to get test strips you currently have/made
approved by FDA
You are looking for how to get reimbursement for purchases of test
strips and where those test strips have to be purchased?

Thank you.

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Clarification of Question by chairman-ga on 29 Apr 2002 07:19 PDT

researcher-ga,

The clarification is provided in comment from joey-ga. We are trying
to get a hospital chain to accept, use and/or recommend a particular
brand of test strips for testing diabetes.  The question is:  what is
the process for gaining this approval.

Hello, Chairman,

Diabetes strips are a medical supply available without a prescription.
Rather than being listed on a hospital’s drug formulary, strips fall
under the category of hospital supplies.

Your best bet for getting your strips on a particular hospital’s
medical supply list is to call the hospital and talk to the purchasing
department. Tell them you’ve got a product you’d like to present to
them. Schedule an appointment to drop off samples and discuss the
benefits (efficacy, price) of your product. If they're not willing to
negotiate with you directly, find out what supply company they work
with.

You might also try contacting the hospital supply companies in your
area. Here’s a link to a list of suppliers in your area:

http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py?&&city=Minneapolis&state=MN&country=us&slt=44.980118&sln=-93.263924&cs=4&stp=y&stx=8300674

And a list of Minneapolis hospitals:

Allina Hospitals & Clinics
http://www.allina.com/ahs/home.nsf
612-775-5000

Abbott Northwestern Hospital
http://www.abbottnorthwestern.com/ahs/anw.nsf/
(612) 863-4000

Department of Emergency Medicine of Hennepin County Medical Center
(HCMC)
http://www.hcmcem.com/
(612) 347-5683

Children’s Hospital – Minneapolis
http://www.medhelpnet.com/minneapolishosp.html
(612) 863-4000

Fairview-University Medical Center
http://www.fairview-university.fairview.org/
(612) 273-3000 - University campus
(612) 672-6000 - Riverside campus

Methodist Hospital
http://www.methodisthospital.com/
952-993-5000

Twin Cities Shriner Hospital
http://www.shrinershq.org/shc/twincities/index.html
(612) 596-6100

Veterans Medical Ctr
http://www.va.gov/sta/guide/facility.asp?ID=90
(612) 725-2000

Doctors can also prescribe a specific diabetes strip brand to their
patients so that insurance will pay. Minnesota is a big managed care
state, so you might also work with the insurance companies to get your
product approved for insurance.

I found the following contacts in the January 2002 Formulary Guide of
Minnesota Health Plans.

http://www.mnhealthplans.org/collateral/mn_formulary_guide_jan2002.pdf

For questions about a particular health plan’s formulary, contact: 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield/
Blue Plus of Minnesota
Robert J Koziol, R. Ph.
651-286-4094
Fax: 651-286-4401
Fax: 218-834-7250

First Plan of Minnesota
Roger McDannold, R. Ph.
218-834-7263
Fax: 218-834-7250

HealthPartners
952-883-5813
800-492-7259
Fax: 952-883-5875
Fax: 888-883-5434

Medica Med Impact
Sarah Vanderlinde-Kuntz
952-992-2247

Metropolitan Health Plan
612-337-7116
Fax: 612-904-4265

PreferredOne
c/o Express Scripts
888-212-9380

UCare Minnesota
PCS Health Systems, Inc.
888-413-2723

Search terms

Minneapolis hospitals
Formulary management

://www.google.com/search?q=Minneapolis+hospitals
://www.google.com/search?q=Formulary+management

Hope this helps you get started,

Zrica

I think she wants to know how to get a particular hospital or hospital
chain to accept, use, and/or recommend for patients a particular brand
of strips.

From my understanding, this is typically accomplished by a sales
representative employed by the manufacturer spending time working with
doctors, nurses, etc. at hospitals to test the strips.  After a number
of positive reviews, the doctors may suggest to their superiors that
they would like to have that product added to formulary.

I unfortunately don't know any specifics about this, however, and
would recommend you contact the particular hospitals in question.

In the hospital where I worked 2 years ago, formulary decisions were
made by the Pharmacy Manager and possibly her superiors.  I would
start by contacting the manager of the hospital pharmacy first and see
where it goes.