HSE & Group Accounts
HSE and Group accounts operate on a business to business “on account” basis, where an official Purchase Order from the HSE or Group is required before the order is activated. As well as HSE hospitals and community care services, many other Groups operate accounts where an Official Purchase order is required. Groups include Private Hospitals, charitable organisations, larger private clinic practice groups and sporting bodies. Normally Practitioners must make a requisition for funding to the HSE or Group, and whilst order details can be given to PPL in advance, the order will not be activated until the official Purchase Order has been received. The HSE or Group make one monthly payment for all invoices over 30 days old.
Order Process
Orders from HSE & Group accounts, tend to be either an order for a single patient or a bulk order for stock products. Generally Practitioners must make a requisition for funding to the HSE or Group. For custom device orders, you must send the full order details such as prescription form, sketches and casts directly to PPL.
Orders for single patients are common within the HSE and are generally requested by practitioners for a named individual patient. To make a requisition for funding practitioners can complete a PPL HSE Single Patient Quotation Form referencing PPL’s Trade or online Price list and send this to the relevant HSE review committee, manager or purchasing department. These orders tend to be of a low value (under €250 as defined by the National Financial Regulations) and therefore an official written PPL Quotation is not required by the HSE. Once approval is gained for the requisition an official Purchase Order will be sent to us, which will allow us to activate the order. For stock product orders the official purchase order will generally contain all the information we require to process the order, however for Custom Devices additional information is required. Practitioners can send us their prescription forms, sketches and casts and we can hold the order until the HSE funding has been approved. Practitioners simply need to tick the “Await HSE Sanction” box in the Practitioner Information section of the prescription form. PPL will log and store the full order details for up to 12 months.
Bulk orders for stock products are generally organised by managers, who wish to have a stock of products for practitioners to issue to attending patients. The manager will generally request an official PPL Quotation and will often contact us before placing the order for advice on best value product selection. With the HSE and larger groups we also routinely assist the purchasing department by preparing tailored pricelists, often in exportable spreadsheet format. For larger bulk orders further discounts can be negotiated on request. When goods are dispatched to the HSE or a Group account, they will be accompanied by a delivery note detailing the Purchase Order Number, the name of the prescribing practitioner, and if relevant the patient name and custom device reference. The Invoice will be sent to the HSE Purchasing department or Group Head office with accompanying Proof of delivery if required.
New Accounts
New accounts of this sort are generally set up on receipt of an official Purchase Order from the HSE or Group. New medical practitioners names are also added to our prescribing practitioners list at the same time. Practitioners can instigate a new account by simply applying for funding to the HSE or Group, or they can ask the purchasing department of the HSE or Group to contact us to set up an account. HSE and Group Accounts normally have a Head Office address where the Invoice is directed to and then several delivery addresses to the different clinics and departments, where the goods will be dispatched to.
Prices of Goods & Delivery
Goods will be charged in accordance with our trade price list and prices displayed on our website. All orders due out on the same delivery date will be bundled and dispatched together and just one delivery charge will be applied for each bundled parcel or box (up to 25kg). Customers opting for a weekly delivery service will ensure even better savings on delivery costs.
Credit Terms
HSE & Group Accounts operate as standard under 30 days credit terms. Statements are issued by email on the last day of each calendar month, and settlement of the account of invoices over 30 day old is expected within a week. Late paying customers are subject to Interest charges. Interest at a rate of 5% will be applied to all invoices which are more than 60 days old, at the end of the month on the day statements are issued.
Payment
Most HSE and Group accounts choose to pay their monthly account payment via bank transfer, our bank details are printed on all invoices and statements.
Terms & Conditions
The HSE and other state funded groups operate in guidance with the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act, 1997. We are committed to working with other Group account holders where accounts fall into disorder due to late payment, as we understand from experience that most businesses at times experience cash flow issues. A repayment plan agreement can be arranged that will be practical for both PPL and the account holder. However, accounts will be placed on stopped goods if the agreement is breached or account holders do not respond to our communications. Account holders who are continually in breach of our credit terms and repayment agreements will have their accounts suspended and changed to Proforma Accounts where payment will be expected in full before any goods are dispatched. To cover the additional administration costs of processing payments as orders are dispatched, rather than one monthly payment, all Proforma accounts will also be invoiced using the Patient Pay Direct Price List. In the event of a breached repayment agreement, where we believe the account holder does not have an intention to settle the account within a reasonable timeframe we will employ the services of external debt collection agencies.