The Healthcare Hub

How to drive implant order change at your organization and with vendor partners

“You need at least one person—if you have more it's even better—that has a slightly unhealthy degree of stubbornness.” Robert Hatkins, Director, Procurement and Dock Services, Stanford Health Care

Resistance to change is a common problem faced by health systems when proposing initiatives that will impact how individuals and teams perform their jobs. It is human nature to fear the unknown, even if change has the potential to makes things easier for those involved.

How data supports initiatives to automate implant orders

“Not to beat a dead horse but I’m going to say it again. It starts with your data. You’ve got to clean your house up—make sure everything is clean, contracts aligned, pricing loaded—and then you can build from there. If that's not right, it gets messy, a lot of back and forth, and nobody is going to be satisfied.” -Franco Sagliocca, Corporate Director, Supply Chain, Mount Sinai Health System.

 After years of trying, health systems are successfully automating implant orders thanks to technology advancements, greater provider/supplier collaboration and the desire to find new ways to drive costs and waste out of the healthcare supply chain.

No Time for Mistakes: Defining a Clear Process for New Product Introductions

• Suzanne Smith, Solution Advisor, Lumere

As hospital supply chain and value analysis teams currently face unprecedented prioritization and efficiency challenges, they need to become nimbler than ever before. According to data from the American Hospital Association, labor and supply costs have recently seen 15-20% percent spikes driven by staffing issues and supply disruptions. At the same time, operating margins have declined by 20%. All this leads to more fires with fewer people to fight them.

Eye-opening Facts Increase Urgency to Automate Bill-only Implant Orders

If we’re automating orders for gloves and gauze, why not implants?

Health systems have long had the ability to automate ordering of common medical/surgical supplies that are stored at the hospital and replenished as needed. This is done through the GHX Exchange, using purchase orders (POs), and then are billed through invoices.

But orders for implantable devices, such as artificial hip and knee components, have been difficult for health systems to manage. This product category includes a very wide range of items, and they often come in as many shapes and sizes as patients do, greatly increasing the number of variations on a single item.

Why now is the time to automate your implant orders

“I would say that we were the driver in helping our teams understand what was possible. That would be one thing we had to continuously do and would say to all of you as well. This is possible. It can be done.”  Jack Koczela, Froedtert Health, Director of Supply Chain Services

Health systems and their suppliers have long looked for ways to simplify implant orders to reduce costs, save time, improve contract and invoice accuracy, and provide better patient care by making sure the right implants are available.

During the 2022 GHX Summit Automating Bill-Only Implant Orders panel presentation, supply chain leaders from three U.S. health systems, Froedtert Health, Mount Sinai Health System and Stanford Health Care, explained to attendees why the time to automate implant orders is now and shared their stories on how they did it.

WATCH ON-DEMAND: Navigating New Product Introductions in a Turbulent Era

With supply costs rising upwards of 20 percent since 2019, having an effective product evaluation process in place at your health system is more critical than ever. During this conversation, GHX Lumere’s Erinn Zacharias, Ph.D., and Suzanne Smith, BSN, RN, highlight the most important considerations for evaluating and approving new medical devices, particularly when a quick decision is needed.