Puchasing Baxter supplies in Panama

[debra]

I am so frustrated with Baxter International!  My husband, who is on Peritoneal Dialysis, and I have reservations to spend two weeks in the country of Panama.  Baxter has a huge business there, just down the road from Punta Pacifica hospital in downtown Panama.

We are getting the run around on receiving supplies.  Baxter wants to ship our supplies from the US - and of course, charge Medicare and our credit card for fees and shipping expenses.  We want to pay for our own supplies out of pocket, by purchasing our supplies in Panama.

We are being told it cannot be done!  What if we had to have our trip extended because of some emergency?  (what if I got sick and could not leave?)  Would they let my husband die instead of picking up our own supplies?

Also, they need an address to delver the supplies to.  Well, that would be great except for the fact that they would deliver them several days before we arrived, so we would have to pay extra for a hotel room just to store his fluid!   

So frustrated!  ITS ALL ABOUT THEM MONEY!

Any suggestions?






EDITED: changed font size-kitkatz,Moderator

[Lillupie]

you can take the boxes with you. It might be cheaper. You can also mail them, which would cost a penny.
 last year I went to Germany for two weeks and had to take the boxes on the place. Manuals will be cheaper. One box is two days for me. From what I heard Baxter boxes are $200 a day! Go to the USPS website, or UPS site to check it out. The way you are traveling, the boxes might have to go wth you.

Good luck,
Lisa

[Simon Dog]

Classic price discrimination.  This is no different that charging a middle class kid from the suburbs full price for college and offering the same product to someone of lesser means for a lower price.  The key to effective price discrimination is having the ability to prevent transfer of products from your low price point market to the high price point market outside official channels.

This makes perfect sense when you realize that Baxter is in business to maximize shareholder value, and patient care is simply a means towards that end.

[blondie1746]

As far as the hotel, they should be able to store the boxes for you for a few days without "paying for a room."  That's what we did in Sept.  I called the hotel ahead and told them I needed to ship my dialysis supplies there and that they would arrive a day or 2 before we arrive.  They said not a problem.  They stored them until we arrived, no extra charge.  We have been told Baxter charges to sihp outside of the US, so we haven't figured out the logistics for a trip to Europe, if we are ever able to go.  But I didn't think about Baxter facilities in other countries.  Don't know why that wouldn't be an option for you.

[debra]

 
So, we just returned from the Country of Panama.  BAXTER INTERNATIONAL HAS NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE DOING!  We were told that Nocturnal dialsysis supplies were not available there, so if we brought our machine, and it malfunctioned, we were screwed.  So, we paid to have manuals shipped, and were going to pick up the supplies ourselves.  We were instructed to pick them up at a warehouse near the airport.  We were staying at a family members home, and they were not there to accept supplies ahead of time.

My husband had an appointment set up with a Nephrologist in Panama City, the same day we were to pick up supplies (we brought 2 days of supplies with us).  When this doctor found out we were told machines and supplies were not available, she immediately got on the phone, had a brand new machine and supplies ready to go for us!  She said that most of her patients were on PD, and Baxter was very misinformed!

The dialysis clinic was a five minute drive from the doctors office (compared to another 30 to the warehouse.)  Went, picked up our supplies (exactly what we use at home), and had a wonderful 14 days in this beautiful country.  The clinic cancelled our pickup.

In the meantime, our dialysis nurse had been informed that we did not pick up the manual supplies, and my husband decided not to do dialysis on this trip!  WHAT?  THATS RIGHT, BAXTER IDIOTS, HE DECIDED TO DIE INSTEAD!  When we returned home, hubby placed a call to Robin (with Baxter International) to set THEIR record straight.  No return call yet.

BTW - our doctor appointment was for 2:00 p.m. Exactly at 2:00, the doctor came herself to greet us in the waiting room, spent one hour and 15 minutes with us, no nurse was ever present, gave us her cell, home, office and assistance phone number.  She called us a few days later to make sure all was well, and sent us an email thanking us for choosing her as our doctor.  All this for - wait for it - $40.00!!

Baxter International has a lot of explaining to do - if they ever return phone calls!

[Simon Dog]

As far as the hotel, they should be able to store the boxes for you for a few days without "paying for a room."

Some hotels have a policy of charging a per package fee to accept deliveries, with this being the standard practice in Las Vegas.  Generally, if you ask for the hotel manager (not the bell captain) and explain the nature of the supplies, the fee will be waived.

If it's a domestic hotel and they won't waive the fee, or accept packages prior to your arrival, try telling them you are "requesting a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and need the contact information for their corporate counsel".  Or, take you business to a more cooperative venue.

[tito]

Hi Simon:

The "reasonable accommodation" in the ADA refers to an employer making accommodation for an employee, not a hotel offering to take your boxes in. 

I stay in my condo in Puerto Vallarta, México twice a year, and have been making arrangements for Baxter deliveries for 3 1/2 years now. Medicare will not pay for delivery outside the US. I pay Baxter a nice sum to deliver to PV. It comes from a warehouse in Guadalajara, some 4 hours by road. They never, ever deliver when they say. I always have to make lots of phone calls to get my order. One Christmas eve, it failed to get on the truck, so they hired someone to bring it in a pickup truck. That vehicle crashed (drunk driving, I believe), and some incredibly nice family picked up the boxes, drove out of their way to bring me my order. Talk about nice people, and the legal liability for Baxter!

Now what I do is order extra and store it in my condo so I'm covered for a few days. Plus, I bring one box with me on the plane - they don't charge since it's medical equipment. Baxter International is incredibly inefficient.

By the way, I've been to Panamá many, many times! Love it there! I even imported Café Duran for a time. Have been all over the country, from the jungles of Darien, to the mountains of Chiriqui.

[Riki]

When I went to New York on PD, I would send my supplies ahead of time via UPS.  I'd only stay for a week, so I usually had 4 boxes of  fluid and other supplies, which cost about $90 to send.  I always had a night's worth of supplies with the machine, in case I got held over somewhere, but I never had any problems.  I did have a heck of a time finding a hotel that would accept the supplies for us, but my best friend, who lives in NY, called around until she found a hotel that would do it.  I almost exclusively use that hotel now, even though I'm no longer on PD and the staff there know me and my mom as soon as we walk in the door.

[Simon Dog]

The "reasonable accommodation" in the ADA refers to an employer making accommodation for an employee, not a hotel offering to take your boxes in. 

Yes, I know that ... but those words tend to get attention.  There are other ADA rules regarding accommodations  besides those for employers, which is why wheelchair access in new construction is required not just for employees, but for customers as well.  I am not fully versed in the ADA regs, but accepting boxes might (emphasis, might) be in the same category as accommodating a hotel guest with a wheelchair or assist animal.  One thing I do know - new hotels cannot simply say "we choose not to be wheelchair accessible" and get away with it.

Half of the battle in situations like this is getting through to someone who has the actual authority to make a decision (in which case the chances someone will try to help are excellent) and not have to worry about "getting in trouble for violating a policy".   It's the low-level, "you're not allowed to think" functionaries who are totally policy driven that can cause problems.

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

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