Knowledge Center

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.”

Overview Scottsdale Healthcare is a community-based, not-for-profit health system which includes Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak Hospital, Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center and Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare, Scottsdale Healthcare Primary Care centers, Scottsdale Healthcare Research Institute and outpatient services. A leader in medical innovation, talent, and technology, Scottsdale Healthcare was founded in 1962 and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Overview University of Virginia (UVA) Health System, based in Charlottesville, Va., includes a 604-bed hospital, level I trauma center, nationally recognized cancer and heart centers, and primary and specialty clinics throughout Central Virginia.

Overview Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), based in Nashville, is a comprehensive healthcare facility dedicated to patient care, research, and biomedical education. Its reputation for excellence in each of these areas has made VUMC a major patient referral center for the Mid-South. Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the Southeast choose VUMC for their healthcare needs, not only because of its excellence in medical science, but also because the faculty and staff are dedicated to treating patients with dignity and compassion.