Question about Pacemaker Reps

I've read several comments on here from people who have mentioned their Pacemaker Representative, and how that rep was available to answer any question they might have. My question is, are these representatives exclusive to certain types or brands of PM's? I have a SJM pm, and I have never been contacted by any SJM representative. Was I supposed to get this info from the doctor before I left the hospital with the device, or was the hospital supposed to contact SJM and give them my contact info? Thanks in advance for your help!

7 Comments

through the dr

by Tracey_E - 2016-01-14 01:01:33

The rep won't ever deal with you directly, always through your doctor's office. My dr brings the rep in to do pacer checks so I see the rep regularly, but not all offices handle it that way.

Reps

by Cabg Patch - 2016-01-14 02:01:14

While not hard and fast rules here stateside, Pacer Reps must work under the supervision of a licensed medical doctor. It is illegal to practice medicine here without a license, and everything a Rep does is in that fine line area where it could easily be interpreted as practicing medicine.

I should mention all the Reps I know are degreed Engineers and quite sharp in their own right. They all know far more about the devices and proper set-up than the EP's and work hand in hand as a team.

My EP has the big 4 manufacturers reps in his office at all times because of the volume of patients and devices he serves. They are even with him when he is doing surgery in which case they provide the technical programming support necessary. In fact in mine they had 2 St. Jude's Reps.

My Cardiologist has a Nurse Practitioner who is a Rhythm specialist and handles the devices so he does not have a Rep present unless they encounter something they need help with, then a Rep comes in and works with the NP.

If I have a question, I can either call the office or email St. Jude's and get a quick response, but I never speak to them outside the office.

Same for me

by Theknotguy - 2016-01-14 03:01:27

My pacemaker tech is in the doctor's office and has been there for a while. Have been able to glean a lot of information from him. Mostly it's just, "Your pacemaker reports a number of incidents of ....". I don't ask him to interpret information - leave that to the EP. We get along fine. Oh, and I always ask for my pacemaker report. Don't understand everything on the report, but every once in a while you find a real gem of knowledge

I volunteer at a hospital and you occasionally run into a factory rep that works directly with the doctors. They're pretty closed mouthed and it's really hard to start a conversation with them. Since I haven't run into a Medtronic's rep, haven't been able to ask any questions. Point being, you have to be at a hospital to find these guys.

I've sent several e-mails to Medtronic (my pacemaker brand) and have called them directly but mostly I've gotten the standard you-will-have-to-talk-with-your-EP answer. Really frustrating when the doctor is too busy to go into details and you're not getting a clear answer. While I like my pacemaker and what it does, I get really frustrated with the company communications skills.

After that, it seems every doctor's office does it a different way. So you just have to keep plugging away at it until you can find someone. The only other source for good information (for me) has been this forum.

about pacemaker reps & techs

by AnaLena - 2016-01-14 06:01:52

My cardiologist's office has a pacemaker tech who does my interrogations about a week before I see my cardiologist. She's knowledgeable and helpful. When I first got my pacer and we were tweaking it a little, she consulted with my EP before making any changes.
It's a large office with 6 cardiologists and 2 Cardiologist EPs.
The only time I saw the Medtronic rep was in the hospital when she checked the pacer before discharge. Generally the manufacturers reps spend their time with the docs and not the patients.
The forum is a great source of information. Probably the best source. I learn a lot from answers to questions that don't even apply to me.
And I truly appreciate the knotguy's down to earth comments.
Ana Lena

Pacemaker Reps

by Good Dog - 2016-01-14 12:01:43

Generally, the pacemaker rep. communicates with you through the doctor's office. They might mail you some information directly, but that is about it. My experience has been (and what I've learned from others), is that they will only provide general info directly to you, if any at all. Of course, if they are instructed to do more by your doctor, that is a different story. I have found that they don't want to get (in the middle) between you and your doctor.
If anyone else has a different experience, hopefully they will chime in here.
I have my 4th Medtronic PM and in the past they have directly mailed me an I.D. card. However, all other info was passed along by my doctor.
Sorry I cannot give you a more specific answer, but I don't want to misinform you.
Sincerely,

David

Boston Scientific has been Great

by PJinSC - 2016-01-15 03:01:44

I had a Boston Scientific rep set me up the instant they turned my CRT-P+ on, and we scheduled my first several visits to the EP office for when she would be there. Then when I transferred care to my cardiologist, it has all been through the on site device lab. My device nurse is great and we get along and he answers my questions and we have tweaked to get this thing working pretty well right on. I did call Boston Scientific about setting up my Latitude monitor on our internet phone VOIP and it went well and have had no problems except when the internet goes out, but that's another song.

PJ

Medtronic rep in the hospital

by BetsyQ - 2016-01-16 06:01:33

There was a Medtronic rep. in the operating room when my pm was implanted. He visited me everyday at the hospital to interrogate the pm too. I was lucky, I had a rep who answered every question I had and was very friendly and even volunteered information. There is another Medtronic rep. that is in the EP's office when I have follow-up visits.
I have to have an MRI on my back next week and I was told that a Medtronic rep. will be there to turn the pm off during the procedure. There will also be a cardiologist in the room with me at all times. I guess Need to count my blessings that I have had representatives who haven't minded my questions and were pretty patient with me.

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