Knowledge Center

On August 8, 2011, the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management hosted an Executive Thought Leader Event, sponsored by VHA. Held during the AHRMM11 Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, 26 seasoned healthcare supply chain executives discussed a broad range of strategic issues and challenges confronting supply chain executives today.

Purchasing in healthcare is largely based on a hierarchical management style. In an experimental case started in 2004, at Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Georgia, this standard was altered. The introduction of a team concept combined with lean manufacturing practices to this traditional purchasing setting was unique. The results of this radical change over the past eight years have been exceptional. The paper describes the steps taken to change the culture, the actions taken to implement lean tools, and the wins achieved by the team.

Jim Smoker, CMRP, MPA, CS, York, Pennsylvania

Dale L. Locklair, FAHRMM, CMRP Vice President of Procurement and Construction McLeod Health Florence, SC

Incorporating the targets for transformation set by the leader of our organization including unjustified variation, fragmentation of care-giving, perverse payment incentives, and the patient as a passive receipt of care, Supply Chain has developed a strategic model and plan that transforms our thinking from a focus on “chains” to a focus on “flow” and from “Supply Chain Services” to “Care Support Services.”

The purpose of this paper is to share lessons learned and successes in contract management. Five years ago, Contract Management consisted of signing a few Letters of Commitment through our Group Purchasing Organization and trying to keep track of them in a three ring notebook.

The initial purpose for developing a socially responsible, closed loop supply chain was to enhance our environmentally sustainable practices by purchasing more responsible and locally sourced products.

This is an on-going operational excellence initiative and our results have certainly validated our approach and produced an immediate beneficial impact. The methodology we have implemented truly drives improvements and bottom-line results. We are very proud that the Executive Leadership at our organization has promoted the use of Purchasing’s approach in assessing and managing other areas of the organization.

The surgical instrument management software (SIM) implementation began in October of 2003 and a Lean initiative to redesign processes began in October 2005. Implementation of all the initial recommendations was not complete until June of 2006.

A well-conceived strategic sourcing program starts with an analysis of the total spend or operating expenses of the organization utilizing an “ABC” analysis and category/spend segmentation matrix. This analysis allows for the prioritization of the “sourceable” or “manageable” spend as distinct from other expenses such as taxes, depreciation and interest for which different strategies should be effectively applied.

Increasingly, the hospital and health care delivery system executives are viewing the supply chain as a strategic asset that can be leveraged to meet operational, clinical, and financial performance imperatives. This has not always been the case. For years, the supply chain was seen as little more than a necessary but ancillary function – to buy and deliver products as needed – with the primary supply chain improvement strategy focused on buying those products at the lowest price possible.

This white paper was written as a recap of the AHRMM15 Cost, Quality, and Outcomes (CQO) Summit, held in August of 2015. The paper, which is split into four parts, opens with a review of the CQO Movement and description of activities conducted since its inception in 2013.

This paper provides a case-study on what Banner has done to implement and continuously improve this initiative. Three key components to successful supply utilization savings are reviewed.

This paper examines the journey that an organization travels to arrive at an outsource decision and the challenges that it should be alert to post contract. The Literature Review section provides a context for the recommendations offered in the case study illustration. The recommendations deliberately focus on providing proper governance and oversight during the operational phase after the contract has been awarded and is up and running.

This paper will present health care procurement strategies of four countries - the United States, Botswana, the United Kingdom, and China - as a means to evaluate volume aggregation under different health care delivery models.  

Overview With its commitment to delivering better outcomes more efficiently, Cook Medical formed a Supply Chain Improvement Team (SCIT) in late 2013, which is comprised of individuals who are dedicated solely to working with customers around the globe to develop and implement tools to improve purchasing, delivery, and inventory management activities.

Overview

Overview Providence Health & Services is the third largest not-for-profit health system in the United States serving patients across Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The organization operates 34 hospitals, 475 physician clinics, 22 long-term care facilities, 19 hospice, and home health programs, and 693 supportive housing units in 14 locations. Providence’s health plan serves its caregivers and other large employer groups covering 390,000 members.

Overview