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The Transparent Evolution

First few Article Sentences

Healthcare Reform is impacting hospital supply chain management and pushing its evolution. What is occurring is a re-definition as supply chain issues are found in presidential executive orders, health information technology standards, changes in HCPCC coding and Consumer Directed Health Care. Concerns with increases in expenses continue as do the seemingly futile efforts of cost control at the purchasing point. How hospitals and supply chain professionals evolve and re-define their view and approach toward managing medical supplies will, in part, determine their ability to meet the growing demands today and in the future.

Regarding supply revenue, hospitals have attempted to mitigate supply charge losses by bundling costs into room rates or procedures. The remaining opportunities for supply revenue were found in procedural areas where product coding and procedure specific products qualified for charge submittals. Charging activity often became relegated to clinicians in the patient record documentation processes. Billing opportunities were lost as the cost of capturing this information exceeded the revenue opportunities. If a supply wasn’t chargeable, there was little desire to know how it was being used. Hospitals lost correlative information between supply cost, overall treatment cost and patient outcomes. This is the contrast between current thought, management process and the direction requiring transparency in pricing and quality outcomes.


Paul, MBA, ACHE, Stephen, M.

 

CareFusion/Pyxis Perioperative Solutions

Supply Chain Management

April 18, 2011

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