The Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, includes many stipulations.  One of these is to create a change in the way the federal government pays for healthcare services provided to patients on Medicare.  Specifically, the change is to move away from a quantity-based payment system to a quality-based system.  Another way it is described, is the process of moving away from a volume-based, to a value-based, system of purchasing services for the Medicare patients.  Quite literally, it is referred to as the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program, a program that has three objectives: 

"Industry best."

"Best practices.”

“Best in class.”

Here’s another often-cited quote:  “You can’t argue with success.”  If you want to be a high achiever and successful within your own organization, Bob Engel, C.P.M., says to look to the processes and practices used by the most successful industry leaders.  He says, “In today's economic environment, doing what you've always done—even if you do it very well—is no longer acceptable.  Under pressure to contain costs and produce results despite challenging circumstances, you (and many other supply chain managers) must transform rather than simply improve your operation.”

If you are an Amerinet GPO member you, doubtless, have realized that you have access to discounted pricing to purchase products from contracted manufacturers.  However, many purchasing managers and buyers fail to recognize the value of the additional discounts on the services provided by contracted distributors.  These discounts can be far more meaningful to your capital equipment purchases than you might realize.  The equipment procurement services to which you are now entitled will streamline the delivery process and assist in the installation of your equipment.  Here is how to get the most from these value-added services.

Working with a GPO allows hospitals to benefit from the buying power of combining hundreds of healthcare facilities.  This is a well-known fact among buyers and purchasing managers as it relates to purchasing products from manufacturers.  However, knowledge of the role that a medical distributor can play in the procurement and delivery services provided through a GPO is far less common.  A medical distributor can save you time and money by providing value added services focused on ordering efficiency and streamlining the delivery process.

Equipment planning involves three important steps that will help you avoid costly last minute purchases.  Whether you are engaged in a remodeling, facility expansion or new construction project, you can avoid costly errors and last minute purchases by following these three steps based on best practices for your hospital equipment project.

Lowering costs is on every healthcare facility`s agenda.  However, finding ways to reduce costs without having an impact on patient care is always a challenge.  A dedicated medical equipment distributor can provide you with a number of services that will streamline your ordering process, reduce staff required to procure equipment and help you maintain control over your deliveries and costs.  Here are five of the many advantages from using a medical equipment specific distributor for your capital equipment delivery:

With the multitude of tasks required in supply chain management, defining processes that are efficient and cost effective is important to ensure that you act in the best interests of both your own organization and that of your customers.  Since materials management and purchasing exist in all fields of business, best practices tend to be germane to all industries, but there are some that are more specific to given industries, including healthcare.  

Healthcare Supply Chain Strategist Lynn Everard, C.P.M., CBM, says the challenges faced by hospital equipment and supplies procurement managers include:

Hospital Associates is pleased to announce a new contract addendum to provide logistics services and direct-to-site delivery services to members of the MedAssets group purchasing organization.