The Healthcare Hub
As we all know, the healthcare industry is undergoing massive change as it moves toward a system that pays for value, not volume. The post-reform era requires savvy, informed and decisive leaders who are ready to drive supply chain management from the intersection of cost, quality and outcomes (or, as they are referred to in the industry, CQO).
At the Summit today, John Willi, the senior director of supply chain at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, offered a fascinating look at the new CQO AHRMM Movement and shared some valuable strategies and best practices on how to achieve success in the emerging healthcare landscape. John called on supply chain leaders to seek out evidence-based data on how they can positively impact patient outcomes and reimbursements and the supply chain’s contribution to their organizations’ operating margin.
Dave Reed, vice president of operations, vice president of healthcare business solutions and chief compliance officer at Cook Medical, spoke from the supplier’s perspective on ways to collaborate with providers to reduce costs and improve visibility across the supply chain. Cook started its journey to become an accountable supply chain organization more than a decade ago for two reasons: 1) to make it easier for its partners to do business with it, and 2) to meet customer demands for adoption of data standards. The effort required a cross-functional approach and involved all of the company’s service lines. By laying the foundation through service center consolidation and back-office systems integration, Cook has become one of the first suppliers to fully adopt GS1 standards across its product line and is now better positioned to engage in true partnerships with customers to reduce total costs and improve visibility across the entire supply chain.
Finally, Mary Beth Briscoe, the CFO at University of Alabama Health System (and former HFMA national chairperson), spoke on how traditional metrics used to measure supply chain performance no longer apply in a healthcare system where hospitals are focused on providing quality care at lower costs. She urged supply chain leaders to redesign their measurement systems to support overall organizational goals and to be focused on what can deliver the greatest value to their organizations.
We’ll continue to bring you updates from the Summit here at the Healthcare Hub, but to keep up with the action in real time, follow #GHX13 on Twitter.