The Healthcare Supply Chain Association (HSCA) recently held two Capitol Hill briefings on the ways in which the healthcare supply chain enables cost savings. The briefings featured a panel of leading supply chain experts including Lawton Burns, PhD, Professor of Healthcare Systems in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; Gene Schneller, PhD, Professor of Health Care Supply Chain Management in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University; and Jim Scott, President and CEO of Applied Policy. The panel was moderated by HSCA President Curtis Rooney.
The briefing explored the impact of electronic health records (EHRs), unique device identifiers (UDIs), and drug serialization on supply chain cost savings and patient health; what Congress can do to promote savings in the healthcare supply chain; and the ongoing role of group purchasing organizations (GPOs) in providing value to the healthcare system.
“Hospitals are facing mounting pressure to tighten budgets and reduce the growth in spending,” said HSCA President Curtis Rooney. “Healthcare supply chain organizations are the sourcing and purchasing partners to hospitals and are uniquely situated to help bend the cost curve. GPOs deliver savings to nearly all of America’s 5,000+ hospitals by providing best products at the best value.”
“At the end of the day, I look at the micro-level because that is where healthcare costs can be controlled. The supply chain is where that can be achieved, and GPOs are a large part of that equation,” said Dr. Lawton Burns, professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Panelists also envisioned the future of the healthcare supply chain and described the ways in which GPOs are increasing their offerings to better serve hospitals and other healthcare providers.
“GPOs help in the standardization process and perform a variety of contracting processes to bring the best products to their clients and also identify and vet new technologies. In essence, they have been technology incubators for hospitals,” said Dr. Gene Schneller, professor at Arizona State University’s W.P Carey School of Management.
“In our research, we found GPOs have increased the number of additional services they offer hospitals. This includes supply chain analysis, clinical evaluation and standardization, benchmarking data and other services that have played a role in quality improvement,” said Jim Scott, president of Applied Policy.
To read Dr. Lawton Burns’ recent research on the supply chain, see his 2014 report prepared for the American Hospital Association (AHA)here.
To read Dr. Gene Schneller’s recent research on the value GPOs provide,click here.
To read Applied Policy’s 2014 report on GPOs,click here.