TZ Medical Profile
Hospital cath labs, critical-care departments and medical offices worldwide rely on TZ Medicals cardiac care products, such as their Neptune topical hemostasis pads, single use catheters and “Tele-Rhythms” pacemaker monitors and event recorders. Not long ago, however, this small supplier, started in 1992 by Tom Tribou and Byron Zahler, was finding it difficult to achieve the national recognition it needed to market its products to more than just their hospitals near its base in Portland, Oregon.
While TZ Medical could have succeeded as a regional success, the company had bigger ambitions. So, in 2003, TZ Medical’s relationship with Premier began. And now as a recognized leader in the cardiac and critical care device industry, TZ Medical owes a lot to Premier hospital members and support staff.
“The Premier contract managers never have treated us like a small company and have allowed us to take on as much as we could,” said Valerie Meyer, TZ Medical’s National Contracts Manager. “We continue to be dealt with in a manner that addresses our products – their quality, compatibility and competitive pricing – rather than our company’s size and public/private status.”
When TZ Medical began working with Premier, it was one of three organizations awarded a Premier cardiac closure device contract. At its contract review two years later, one of the larger competing companies was eliminated from the contract, giving TZ Medical the opportunity to capture a significantly larger portion of the market share. Although TZ Medical was a small company, Premier recognized that it could handle this increase in product demand.
After receiving its first contract with Premier, the company gradually expanded its network and began working with other GPOs. Through its increased customer reach from these GPO relationships; TZ Medical has grown its annual revenues by close to 30 percent since 2003. This growth has allowed the company to increase their clinical and support staff, and to contribute funds to hospital education efforts as well as new technology development.
Today, TZ Medical still holds itself to the standards of innovation and development on which it was founded. “At TZ Medical, we believe our shareholders are the hospitals and patients who benefit from our products,” said Meyer. “It is crucial for us to continuously be involved with companies like Premier that can assist us with that high level of customer-driven healthcare.”