Knowledge Center

This Awareness Brief provides a high level summary understanding of value based purchasing. The Hospital Value Based Purchasing (VBP) Program adjusts hospitals’ payments based on their performance in four domains that reflect hospital cost, quality and outcomes. This calendar year, 2016, is the Performance Measurement Period for the FY 2018 VBP Program.

This Awareness Brief provides a quick reference to the Draft Guidance for UDI Convenience Kits, released by the FDA in January 2016. The draft guidance defines the term “convenience kit” for purposes of compliance with UDI labeling and data submission requirements only.

Alarm safety is not a new topic; by now most of us have heard the term ‘Alarm Safety’ and recently the term ‘Alarm Fatigue’.  As supply chain professionals we are aware how important alarm management is when providing a safe environment for our patients.  To ensure supply chain remains cognizant of this topic as it continues to be a major safety issue, alarm management was highlighted during an AHRMM14 Annual Conference & Exhibition learning lab.

The Medical Device Excise Tax, a component of the Affordable Care Act, is approaching implementation at the beginning of 2013. The tax is intended to provide an estimated $20 billion in tax revenues to help pay for the expansion of health coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. Healthcare supply chain leaders have until May 7, 2012, to comment on the way in which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to implement this new tax.