CME Insider's Blog Posts

Covid-19 has been devastating to the healthcare supply chain in many ways. Past due payments, lack of visibility, and match exceptions proliferated during the pandemic. This experience has made all of us in the supply chain look at ways to improve going forward. One of the processes that has emerged for healthcare systems is the Procure-to-Pay model. The first step is to mine all of your processes including preparing the Purchase Order (PO), confirming the ship date, receiving the product, and invoicing. Then determine gaps, redundancies, inefficiencies, best practices, and possible automation all along the way. When correctly implemented the end result should be a reduction in operating costs, improved efficiencies, better alignment with your suppliers, and supply chain resiliency. Here are four ways CME Corp can help.

With 100 healthcare facilities belonging to its cooperative, the Atlanta, Ga.-based nonprofit Partners Cooperative (Partners) is one of the oldest, longest-standing groups within Vizient Inc., the nation’s leading healthcare performance improvement company serving more than half of the health care organizations in the U.S.

“Time is money for healthcare facilities, and when it comes to getting the proper equipment installed, the logistics have to be executed in the most efficient way possible,” says Tim Farinholt, Director, National Accounts for CME. “With our vast experience in outfitting hospitals from remote islands in Alaska to the towers of New York City, CME is a trusted resource for healthcare facilities tackling the most complex logistical challenges.”  

In the summer of 2017, CME stood at the foundation of what would become the newest 740,000 square foot New York-Presbyterian facility, the David H. Koch Center for Ambulatory Care. The facility would be home to twelve operating suites, six interventional radiology procedure rooms, and eleven endoscopic rooms. With such size and complexity, this project was just the type the CME team has come to enjoy. Of course, as Cindy Juhas recently explained to Healthcare Business Today, this type of project carries several logistical challenges. 

Opening a new healthcare facility on-time is the number one goal of all those involved in planning a new construction project. Every day a new healthcare facility opening is delayed can cost the healthcare system 100s of thousands of revenue dollars. CME Corp has been helping healthcare systems open their new facilities on time for over 20 years.

As anyone involved in new construction knows, a myriad of issues can impact the overall plan, many outside of the healthcare system’s control. Permits, strikes, floods, accidents, bad inspections are just a few of the more drastic problems. In a recent Medical Construction & Design (MCD) survey over 50% of the responders said their projects do not finish on time.

CME Corp Debuts Software Solutions to Automate Logistics, Direct-to-Site Services

Purchasing a single capital equipment item is usually a pretty straight forward process. The purchasing department prepares a purchase order, sends it off to the manufacturer or selected distributor and then waits for the item to be received.  

However, when multiple items are being ordered from different vendors for a time sensitive, mid-sized to large construction project, a specified purchase order tracking process may be required so things don't get lost or fall through the cracks.

Constructing, expanding or remodeling your medical facility is an expensive venture.  Medical facilities, like any form of property, need the occasional tune-up or complete reconstruction to stay competitive within their market.  This can become a large undertaking for any business.