My first real job after graduating college, back at the dawn of time, was as an editor for a twice-weekly newspaper that reported on current or upcoming construction projects. Our readers, who were construction contractors, paid a sizable subscription fee to learn about new projects they could get involved in – whether it was bidding on a public works project or contacting the owner of a soon-to-be-built office building. The newspaper was basically a lead service for contractors.
Having no experience in the construction industry, it was at this job that I learned all about bidding, and how construction project owners hire general contractors for jobs, who then subcontract out the numerous services/trades to other contractors to get the project done.
I spent two years at that job, and I honestly can say I did not like it. This was in the days before the internet and email. Fax machines were just becoming common and voicemail wasn’t widely used at the time. Everything was done over the phone. Owners of private/commercial construction jobs rarely picked up the phone and when they did, I was regularly hung up on – they had no obligation to tell me details about their project – even after I explained that the more people who knew about their project the better (less expensive) bids they would get.
Like it or not – this first job did give me a lot of insight into how contracting and subcontracting work and I suppose it gave me a decent foundation to build upon as I moved from covering the construction industry to covering the pharmaceutical industry.
In the healthcare industry, a recurring topic is increasing efficiency – reducing waste – and saving money. We hear it all the time – pharmaceutical prices are too high - healthcare costs are out of control.
Almost a year ago, I started using an insulin pump for my diabetes – honestly – it's been great. It's one of the newest devices – no tubes, low profile, barely noticeable. It syncs with my continuous glucose monitor through a separate controller – basically a cellphone-like device. All-in-all it’s a slick piece of tech.
Initially, the controller device and first batch of pumps came in an intro pack. This was delivered to me directly from my health insurance company. This was fine for a while, but then I was informed this process was being taken over by another pharmacy provider a subcontractor!
Then, before I even got a delivery from this second contractor, I was informed that a third pharmacy provider would be taking over delivery – a subcontractor to the previous subcontractor!
And this is where the waste, inefficiencies, and a prime example of why healthcare costs are out of control become apparent. This third subcontractor, who should have had access to all my records, and all my deliveries, insisted on sending me another intro pack – complete with another controller. So now I have two controllers – one sitting in the box – unused.
I suppose I could call the subcontractor of the subcontractor – the company that sent the duplicate device to me and ask what I should do with it. But, with my history of being hung up on – I feel like I already know how that will play out.
Mike Auerbach Editor-In-Chief [email protected]
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