Chicago / IL. (tni) Everyone knows that doctors are busy people, which is why pharmaceutical representatives in the U.S. have long relied on «lunch and learns» to introduce physicians to new product developments. But as currently written, the U.S. Physician Payment Sunshine Provision (Section 6002) of the Affordable Care Act will require pharmaceutical companies to report anything of value they provide to physicians above ten USD per item, or hundred USD per year.
The implications for the foodservice industry are an important area of examination in Technomic´s new study «Large Orders Off-Premise 2011», an update of its 2007 landmark research which revealed an 18,5 billion USD opportunity for restaurant operators to cultivate an alternate revenue stream through B2B catering.
«Restaurants and other operators that already have a thriving catering business are very interested in understanding how healthcare reform will impact their business, and ways they can respond», says Melissa Wilson, Technomic Principal and study director. «We are expanding the scope of this study to learn how the medical community expects this to impact catering orders. The study will also examine how limited-service and casual-dining operators can expand their presence in several other key business/office catering segments».
