Mark Welch
Vice president, supply chain and strategic sourcing, Novant Health, Kannapolis, N.C.
Novant Health is a not-for-profit integrated system of 15 medical centers and more than 350 clinic locations, as well as various outpatient surgery centers, medical plazas, rehabilitation programs, diagnostic imaging centers and community health outreach programs. More than 1,200 physicians and 2,727 beds. Annual supply expense of $1.2 billion.
Mark Welch joined Novant Health in 2005 as the leader of supply chain operations in the Charlotte, N.C. market. Since then, he has served as director of Novant Health’s logistics center and leader of its strategic sourcing department. He assumed his current role as vice president of the system’s supply chain in 2012. His responsibilities include sourcing, contract administration, supply chain data integrity/analytics, self-distribution center, supply chain hospital operations, procurement and supply chain IT.
The Journal of Healthcare Contracting: What has been the most challenging and rewarding project you have been involved in recently?
Mark Welch: My most rewarding project involved a system overhaul of the way Novant Health looks at data management and integrity. Clean data has been a missing component over the years for several organizations. Whether you are collaborating with physician partners or with vendors, clean data is essential for trust and credibility. At Novant Health, we typically have had plenty of data, but we have lacked consistent, actionable information and did not have a way to pull data that was timely or useful. To address this, we developed a data integrity manager position to audit our item master and ensure that all data integration points were mapped correctly in our system. Today, with clean data and strong analytical skills, we can have direct, relevant conversations with physician and vendor partners.
JHC: Describe a project you look forward to implementing in the next year or two.
Welch: At Novant Health, we strive for clear communication and contract compliance. To accomplish this, we have introduced a pod model that is part of the sourcing process, from the beginning stages through implementation. The pods are service-line subject matter experts, including physicians, sourcing, contract administrators, catalog enablement leads, buyers, finance and analysts, who work together. The driving force is to ensure patient needs are met in the most affordable way. Through enhanced data and department scorecards, the pods’ efforts are tracked and measured for success across various matrixes. The process has enabled Novant Health to take a system approach to accomplish common goals across the organization, with the patient always at the center.
JHC: What is the most important quality you look for in a supplier partner?
Welch: We look for suppliers who excel in quality and price, and are able to align their goals with those of the healthcare system. At Novant Health, our focus is on the patient experience. This is challenging to most vendors, which typically are sales-volume oriented. If we all put the patient first, we will see a stronger, more affordable healthcare system.
JHC: What is the greatest change we can expect to see in healthcare contracting in the next five years?
Welch: At Novant Health, we are looking for vendor partners that put the patient first. Agreeing on this goal will result in a more efficient and streamlined logistic system, from raw materials to the patient bedside.