September 12, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
Medical sales reps command some of the higher salaries in the healthcare industry, but should hospitals look for ways to cut them out of surgery in order to save on costs?
Medical sales reps have long had a close relationship with physicians, providing services as a surgical consultant as well as a medtech dealer, but that dynamic may be about to change in a big way.
That may be good news for hospitals looking to cut their surgical costs, but it’s a mixed blessing for the industry. Anonymous readers offered a mixed reaction to the news, with some lauding the efforts to reduce sales reps’ unnecessary travel and on-site time while others warned that hospitals were misdirecting their cost-cutting efforts.
Medical sales jobs have long been among the more lucrative jobs in the healthcare industry and they continue to come with 6-figure salaries, according to a 2014 Medical Sales Salary Report fromMedReps.com. Considering base and commission, medical sales reps command an average of about $141,000, according to the survey of more 2,700 respondents.
