Main Subject - Business

#1 Understand What Services You Are Purchasing

Before authorizing any services to be performed, discuss what the consultant will do and how much it will cost. If you are purchasing more than $300 in services, ask the consultant f

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

or a written estimate or a fixed-price for the project.

#2 Repair vs. Upgrade: Understand the Differences

Ask yourself how much it would cost to just buy a new piece of equipment or software instead of servicing the old one. Bec

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

use of how quickly computer parts are updated, it may be less expensive to purchase new hardware or software. Ask your consultant about the maintenance costs for the old product versus the new one and whether the new product would have a

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

y features you would be able to utilize.

#3 Determine What You Should Do and What the Consultant Should Do

If you are cost-conscious when working with a computer consultant, determine which services the consultant will perform a

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

d what you can do by yourself. For example, if you are adding a new computer to your wireless network, the computer consultant may install the wireless network card and set up appropriate security for the network. You may be able to save

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

money by installing software and configuring basic services such as e-mail.

#4 Ask Your Consultant for Advice Before Making Software or Hardware Purchases

Most consultants offer free advice by phone or e-mail. When purchasing s

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

mething new, ask the consultant whether it will be compatible with your system, what the warranty options are, which vendors offer the most robust products, and where to buy for the best prices.

#5 Choose the Best Support Method

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

Many consultants charge for phone and on-site support, but not for e-mail. E-mail is quick and easy because you will be doing the work under the consultant’s guidance. In many cases, if the consultant charges for phone support, it may be

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

more efficient to schedule a service call because the consultant will be doing the work and can see the problem directly instead of giving you guidance over the phone.

#6 Get Training

Many on-site service calls can be prevented

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

if you ask the consultant to show you how to fix the problem. For example, a router may drop your internet connection occasionally. If you know how to restart the router, you can avoid having to wait for a service appointment and paying

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

or repair service. Printer problems are often repetitive and generate many unnecessary service calls. Don’t be afraid to learn about the details – it will often be much easier than you think.

#7 Determine Who Will Purchase Equipment<

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

b>

When purchasing parts for service, determine whether you or your consultant will purchase the parts. Often it may not be a good idea for you to purchase them, because your consultant may have exact specifications for the product that

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

must be purchased and often will have sources to buy at the lowest prices.

#8 Determine How to Protect Your Technology Investment

Extended warranties are very effective for printers and laptops which break often but of little us

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

e for routers and desktop computers. Having proper firewall and anti-virus protection can prevent your computer from virus infection. Talk with your consultant about maintenance for your new software or hardware.

#9 Be Prepared for Y

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

ur Service Call

Organize your original software CDs, usernames, passwords, and account information. If you do not have this information prepared before the consultant arrives, the consultant will spend billable time locating this in

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

ormation which will increase your service fee.

#10 Understand the Consultant’s Qualifications and Experience

For complex systems and niche areas such as Linux, Macintosh, Cisco Routers ask the consultant what their qualificatio

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

s and prior experience are. This can make a huge difference in your bill because if you hire a generalist, you will likely spend money training them before they can do the job. If you hire a specialist, the hourly rate will be higher, bu

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

t the work will be done faster and often more cost-effectively.

#11 Demand Written Documentation if Necessary

If you absolutely cannot have any downtime or another consultant or service provider may need to access your system, d

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

mand written documentation from your consultant for all work performed. This should include all technical specifications, system configuration, usernames and passwords.

#12 Understand the Consultant’s Policies

Many consultants b

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ll a minimum of one or two hours for on-site service calls. Some charge for phone support while others don’t. Some offer fixed-price services. By understanding the policy, you can structure their work in a way that is most cost-effective

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Main Subject - Top 12 Ways to Minimize Costs When Working With a Computer Consultant

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