How to navigate value-based waters
“The Healthcare Supply Chain: Best Practices for Operating at the Intersection of Cost, Quality and Outcomes,” recently released by GNYHA Ventures Inc., is a guidebook designed to acquaint the newcomer with the demands of healthcare supply chain management, get the veteran up to speed, and demonstrate to both the opportunities that lie ahead for them.
Consulting Editor Christopher O’Connor, president of Acurity and Nexera (subsidiaries of GNYHA Ventures), has assembled a group of experts to help today’s supply chain professionals thrive in a value-based environment. It is a revised, second edition of a volume published in 2015, which sought to clarify the relationship between the healthcare supply chain and the Cost, Quality, and Outcomes (CQO) Movement, championed by the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management.
The authors state their case in the Introduction to the new edition. “Today, providers must be able to quantify and weigh the impact of total healthcare delivery costs against patient and financial outcomes. Hospitals must evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a device compared to its functional equivalent by examining the outcomes of the procedures in which each have been used.”
Through case studies, best practices and suggested key performance indicators, the 114-page book guides readers through the fundamentals of CQO, building its foundation, and next steps. Chapters range from creating efficient processes for requisitions, purchasing and inventory control; to applying alternative data sets, establishing a physician-led value analysis process and creating an outcomes-based contracting strategy.
Forward-looking as the book is, its authors caution readers to remember the basics. “Improve fundamental operations before exploring outcomes-based methods,” states one best practice. “The supply chain’s contracting process must be buttoned up before it can take on more strategic endeavors.”
Editor’s note: For more information on the book, go to www.acurity.com/CQO or www.nexerainccom/CQO. Those interested in taking the free online Hospital Supply Chain Performance Self-Assessment, which is referenced in the book, can visit www.nexerainc.com/CQOAssessment.