Knowledge Center

Healthcare reform is driving unprecedented changes in the management, funding and delivery of care as hospitals develop and implement strategies to achieve higher quality care at lower cost. The problem many hospitals face involves the gaps in data between costly supplies, and how they are managed in the item master and chargemaster. Having links and systems in place to audit and validate the item to charge accuracy is crucial. Without this foundation, providers lose the ability to trust their physician quality outcome assessments and episodic care analytics.

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HealthTrust recently created the Physician Advisors Program, which is narrowing the chasm between those who purchase products and those who use them. The program solicits physicians’ input on clinical evidence reviews in product categories that have a significant impact on patient care, specifically physician preference items (PPI). Download Article

The evolution of our healthcare system from a volume-based to a value-based model is driving provider organizations to adopt patient-centric, outcomes-based success metrics for operational processes in both acute and non-acute settings. Download Article

When I started in supply chain, the position that was presented afforded me the opportunity to utilize my clinical and business skills with the goal to maximize relationships that I had cultivated over the years as a critical care nurse and leader. Healthcare was going through a transformative change with the introduction of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) and managed care impacting the way hospitals and ultimately physicians would be paid. The job description was for a clinical resource manager—a novel concept at the time.

This paper explores the application of the Baldrige Excellence Framework to the health care supply chain. Specifically, the paper will explore the reasons that the Baldrige Framework might be used to evaluate and improve supply chain systems and processes. An examination of the need of a systems perspective will be followed by a brief overview of the Baldrige program.

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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.

Executive Summary Today’s healthcare environment is rapidly changing. Hospitals and healthcare systems are being bombarded by myriad challenges, including the fluctuating economy, cuts in Medicare reimbursements, and new procedural, financial, and reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). All of these factors are pressuring healthcare organizations to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes without sacrificing the quality of care.

Background: In many locations across the country, cold weather or desert climates create dry environmental conditions.  In order to achieve the higher levels of humidity required by regulatory agencies, hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers have to add humidity into the building air, an activity that is expensive and creates its own unique set of challenges.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.