Purchased Services Track
With expenses across the board under constant scrutiny, healthcare providers are looking into every possible avenue to cut costs. The area of purchased services provides a number of opportunities for cost savings, many of which are often overlooked. This track will explore the complexities of finding cost savings in purchased services, including clinical purchased services and the standardization of local agreements. Attention will be given to managing purchased services as mergers and acquisitions take place, in addition to methods for benchmarking purchased services.
1:00 pm – 2:15 pm Local Agreements Within the Supply Chain
Frank Lloyd Wright IJ
Moderator: Terry Cox, Interim Leadership Consultant
Presenters: Perry Sham, Senior Vice President, Nexera, Inc. and Kristin Tapley, Director Strategic Sourcing, Trinity Health
View the slide presentation here.
Listen to an audio recording of this session here.
Creating an approach for strategic sourcing is critically important for all supply chain leaders. Many times there are local agreements in place that need to be standardized in order to become more efficient and effective. Documenting and tracking all financial and clinical data is crucial to determining whether local agreements are producing the best outcomes. Such agreements can result in economic benefits and quality assurance, but tight budgets make for a complex dynamic.
When mergers and acquisitions occur, it can often be difficult to sort out the details of each agreement. Decisions must be made about whether to keep local agreements already in place, and if so, what changes may need to be made. It’s a challenging and time consuming process.
Two healthcare systems will give real-world examples of how they have standardized local agreements in order to best implement streamlining and cost-saving measures. Using local providers can be beneficial for all involved, if the correct protocols and procedures are in place. This session will detail the nuts and bolts of how to make local agreements work for your organization.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify opportunities for improved efficiencies and cost savings in local agreements.
- Outline the methods to best ensure that pricing is competitive and data is accurate.
- Compare tools and resources needed to achieve potential savings in local agreements.
2:30 pm – 3:45 pm Panel: An In-Depth Look at Clinical Purchased Services
Frank Lloyd Wright IJ
Moderator: Kristine Russell, Publisher, Healthcare Purchasing News
Panelists: Philip Hampton, AVP Materials Management & Contracting, Lovelace Health System; John Kautzer, System Director,
Contracting, Hospital Sisters Health System; and Jonathan Pumphrey, Vice President/Chief Supply Chain Officer, WellSpan Health
View the slide presentation here.
Listen to an audio recording of this session here.
As hospitals face mounting pressure to reduce costs without reducing the quality of patient care, executives are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for streamlining and cost savings opportunities. While in the past the focus of cost-cutting measures has traditionally been on supplies and big-ticket items, the potential for substantial savings is also available in the area of clinical purchased services.
A significant percentage of purchased services are made up in the area of clinical services, such as dialysis, pathology, physical therapy, pharmacy services, etc. This panel of supply chain executives will discuss how to identify opportunities for cost reduction in the area of clinical services. Attention will also be given to the pros and cons of the increased trend of outsourcing clinical purchased services. Gain insight on how their experiences in clinical purchased services could apply to your healthcare system.
Learning Objectives:
- Outline the varied dynamics and major cost cutting potential that can be realized in the area of clinical purchased services.
- Analyze the results of health systems who have implemented changes in the clinical purchased services area.
- Identify proven methods of clinical services streamlining and efficiencies that can positively impact your organization’s expenses.
4:00 pm - 5:15 pm Benchmarking Purchased Services
Frank Lloyd Wright IJ
Moderator: Frank Cirillo, Vice President, Business Strategy, Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) Ventures, Inc.
Presenters: Scott Alexander, Vice President of Sourcing, Innovation and Marketing, ROi; Burton Fuller, Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting;
and Kristi Ludwig Kline, Senior Manager, Strategy & Operations, Deloitte Consulting
View slide presentation here.
Listen to an audio recording of this session here.
It’s difficult to keep track of purchased service spending, but knowing where each and every dollar is going is the key to being able to lower costs while maintaining the highest quality. Purchased services spend is often difficult to quantify – there’s certainly much more involved than just comparing costs. Having accurate benchmarks can help identify and categorize purchased services spending. The result is being better prepared for supplier negotiations, which in turn leads to savings opportunities and reaching your goals.
This session will focus on the challenges faced when attempting to develop purchased services benchmarks. Finding reliable benchmark information that accurately and adequately represents data garnered from a variety of sources is difficult but not impossible. Learn how to implement strategic benchmarks that achieve their intended purpose – realistic purchased services savings opportunities.
Learning Objectives:
- Analyze the purchased services spend opportunities for utilization of benchmarks in your organization.
- Describe how to develop reliable, transparent and accurate purchased services benchmarks.
- Identify the purchased services savings that can be realized through benchmarks.