The Forgotten Totes

Pharmaceutical sales reps spend much of their time on the road driving from office to office and hospital to hospital. Besides a boatload of swag, they are carrying various drug samples with them.

What happens when those samples are temperature sensitive and require refrigeration?

Hopefully, the medications are in insulated containers with freezer packs to keep them at the proper temperature.

But, what if it's a 100°F day in Phoenix, AZ?

It depends.

How good is the cooler? How large are the freezer packs? Is the tote mostly empty or mostly full? How long has it been since the rep left the office?

These totes and this dilemma are all part of the Forgotten Mile.

Drug companies spend millions of dollars developing medications to treat life-threatening diseases. Many of which are temperature sensitive and require careful cold chain management. But there are links in the cold chain that may be weak, rusty, or broken. And these medications could be exposed to harmful conditions if not handled properly.

There are solutions to this problem.

Sales reps should be trained in cold chain best practices. And they should be armed with the right equipment to help protect the medications they carry. Specialized totes are recommended regardless of how short the sales rep’s trip. Freezer packs have evolved, and the latest designs can provide additional cooling capacity, when necessary. There are even refrigerated coolers such as those offered by FridgeFreeze that can operate from a vehicle’s 12V outlet or by battery backup.

Sales reps need tools that will provide them with critical insights if their equipment fails. SmartSense’s Bluetooth® sensors can monitor temperatures in totes and alert the rep if it’s getting too warm. From within Insights, our cloud-based remote monitoring platform, sales reps and regional managers can collaboratively track and manage incidents.

Don’t get tripped up by this link in the Forgotten Mile chain. Make sure sales reps are equipped with the tools and the insights to maintain the quality and safety of the medications they carry.