By leveraging automation, Arizona Oncology receives more targeted education from reps

The manual process of scheduling life science reps had begun to weigh on Arizona Oncology in Phoenix, AZ.

Life science reps frequently came to various clinic locations unannounced, hoping to meet with physicians and staff, says Desma Caputo, MHA, Practice Administrator, who manages operations for all eight sites in the Phoenix division of Arizona Oncology. “When multiple reps show up unannounced throughout the day, it eats up time that managers should be using to help the physicians, deal with staff and patients, and make sure that everything runs smoothly.” she says.

Even though it took time to schedule these appointments, meeting with reps was important, says Alex Bernal, practice administrator. Not only did clinical staff receive valuable information about life-saving oncology medications, but financial counselors also learned a lot about patient assistance programs.

When RxVantage, a free-for-providers platform that allows reps to self-schedule meetings through online calendars, approached the Cancer Center in July 2016 to join a pilot program, practice administrators were immediately on board.

Within minutes, Bernal created a six-month calendar of availability. Then, he sent a mass message to all Arizona Oncology reps, notifying them of available appointment slots. The reps subsequently logged onto the RxVantage website and scheduled their own meetings. “When the calendar goes live, it is like watching concert tickets go on sale,” says Bernal. “All appointments book up in 30 minutes or less. It is crazy! I have never seen anything like it.”

Since he began using RxVantage, Bernal continues to publish calendars every six months. “Bringing reps in is the best way to get new information about the products we use every day,” he says.

RxVantage makes it easier for us to communicate with reps so we continue to receive the education we need.