Clinical Resource Management
Sustainability, be it financial or environmental, is increasingly significant in these times of economic hardship and healthcare reform. Designated a best practice by environmental groups like Practice GreenHealth, and with two studies in the last eight years by the GAO indicating no harm to patients, reprocessing of single use devices is increasingly one of the tools of choice by health care providers hoping to control costs, and lessen their environmental foot print on the communities they serve. This session will provide an overview of FDA regulated third party reprocessing, and give participants the ability to ask questions on why so many groups increasingly view it as a healthcare economic and environmental best practice.
Kathryn Balmford, Partner, Olsson, Frank and Weeda, Washington, DC
Distribution
Supply Chain Managers are facing increasing pressure to find innovative ways to assist their facilities improve the bottom line and improve operations. While we work very hard to control prices and manage the inventory that we have direct responsibility over there are large amounts of unofficial inventories and physician preference items being purchased throughout our facilities that are going unmanaged. The presenters will share the approach they took to gain the support of Administration and the Clinical staff in the Cardiology department to initiate a strategic sourcing and inventory optimization project that resulted in Childrens Hospital Boston achieving $1.6 million in savings while making major inroads in improving the relationship with and raising the confidence level of the clinical departments with the supply chain functions and the materials management department.
Michael Neely, CMRP, FAHRMM, CPM, Senior Supply Chain Consultant, Appleseed Healthcare Resources, Atlanta, GA
Andrew Singer , Director Supply Chain, Childrens Hospital Boston, Boston, MA
Finance
PPI items as well as new procedures get done in the surgical areas without all the proper parties knowing and preparing for it. Materials management has not negotiated cost. Finance might not have it in CDM. It could even need new credentialing privileges. Materials management in our hospital has become the gatekeeper of how to let new PPI items through the door and including everyone in the process. Finance gives materials management estimated reimbursement, materials management negotiates off of those numbers. Depending on how profitable it is materials management gets marketing involved to market. The vendor has to help in this arena and then materials management lets credentialing know if it is something new. The doctor is used to help negotiate.
Carlos Maceda, Vice President, Management Services, Nexera Consulting, New York, NY
Professional Development
Developing an attitude of accepting and leading change is a skill necessary to succeed in healthcare. This presentation will provide the frame of mind necessary to embrace change; how to identify opportunities to lead a change; how to develop an attitude for career progression; and how to know when not to embrace or support change. Mindset is the first step in change, and it is one of conveying a positive outlook. Leading change requires taking the road less traveled using market and economic indicators as tools to identify these opportunities. Career progression requires demonstration of adapting and leading others through difficulties. Leading change also requires saying "no", but not before the full opportunity assessment is completed. These tools will provide for developing yourself.
Mark Holroyd , Regional Vice President, Sales, HealthTrust, Pickerington, OH
Purchasing
Device manufacturers can’t expect to charge hospitals more for new products if there is no evidence that the new is any better than the old. Manufacturers also cannot expect payers to reimburse for new products without evidence for superior comparative effectiveness. Materials managers need to know they can insist on this evidence bar. ECRI is a nonprofit research institute and AHRQ EPC providing health technology assessment and comparative effectiveness studies to federal & state agencies (e.g., Medicare) and private health insurers in support of clinical policy decisions. ECRIs health technology assessments and other information are also widely used by health systems, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations worldwide to decide which products to acquire, clinical services to provide, and new and emerging technologies to offer.
Vivian Coates , Vice President, Information Services and Health Technology Assessment, ECRI Institute, Plymouth Meeting, PA
Technology Solutions
Sponsor: Terso Solutions, Inc.
Patient safety is a concern for all of healthcare. There are technologies such as RFID that are able to assist with improving the patient and care giver experience. The process of implementing an RFID tracking system for equipment, bed, patient and staff tracking is not as cumbersome as one might think. Many facilities are installing wireless infrastructure to capture the need for technologies and this is one of those technologies. There are several departments that will need to be involved in the process. The justification and selection process and project plan will be discussed as well as pitfalls to avoid.
Christopher Petter , Director Materials Management, University Kentucky (UK) Healthcare, Lexington, KY
Jean Sargent , Director Supply Chain, USC Health Sciences, Los Angeles, CA
