As the House of Representatives prepares for tomorrow’s planned vote on whether to repeal the healthcare reform bill, the task remains the same for those responsible for the delivery of healthcare – they must seek new models of doing business in order to cut costs without sacrificing quality. The belief that this is critical to the long-term viability of our nation’s healthcare system, if not the survivability of many organizations, appears to be the one point of agreement in an otherwise highly contentious debate. So, while Republicans and Democrats continue to wage war (although with a much more civil tongue in the wake of the Tucson shootings), and the American public remains split, nearly 50-50, on whether they support the law, I take heart in the fact that the political (as well as legal) uncertainties are not distracting providers and suppliers from the task at hand.

In its 2011 Business Update:...

I am a fan of global supply chain standards for product and customer/location identification and the role they can play in improving operational efficiencies and patient safety. I am NOT a fan of how we talk about standards much of the time. Certainly the sheer volume has catapulted the industry toward adoption, such that this time, I think we just might get there. Certainly many of the major players, like Mayo Clinic and Sisters of Mercy Health System on the provider side, and Abbott and BD on the supplier side, have recognized the value and prioritized standards adoption and implementation. My concern is that the way we talk about standards, often more about the standards themselves than the problems we are trying to solve, is not compelling enough to convince the majority of hospitals and suppliers to take action. Studies find that a substantial portion of providers and suppliers, as much as half, are still waiting for someone to tell them what to do, including which standards to adopt, or for a compelling...