On November 21, 2014, Henry Schein Medical and Cardinal Health announced a strategic arrangement to provide a unique, comprehensive product and service offerings to IDN health systems. The alignment provides a complete solution for the IDN continuum of care, combining Cardinal Health's products and services centered on acute health system needs, with Henry Schein's outstanding service capabilities and long history serving office-based care settings.
The Cardinal Health physician office-sales organization has been consolidated into Henry Schein Medical. This is providing customers with improved efficiency, a wider breadth of products, world-class service and value for the ultimate benefit of the patient. In other words, the agreement creates additional supply chain services and value for health systems as they focus on improving patient care.
This content is sponsored by Henry Schein Medical
Henry Schein is committed to being a reliable network of trusted advisors to office-based practitioners, in both their traditional individual practice and IDN's.
"Our agreement with Cardinal Health furthers this commitment by offering customers access to Cardinal Health's leading branded products and leveraging Cardinal Health's experience in serving healthcare systems across multiple sites of care," says Stanley M. Bergman, Henry Schein's chairman of the board and CEO.
This continuum of care partnership is the result of a detailed examination of the medical space, and the essential needs of a changing market to have a total solution. Henry Schein's programs, services and infrastructure are designed specifically for the non-acute care space. As Henry Schein Medical President Dave McKinley says, "Our entire focus has been on the non-acute-care space. It was a matter of looking into the mirror and asking, 'What are we good at, and how can we best support our customers going forward?' We know that the continuity across points of care is important. This is a good way to address it."
With over 80 years in the business of servicing physicians, dentists, and veterinarians, Henry Schein brings the highest possible level of consistency and proficiency in delivering products and services to the office-based practice. "This agreement is the first of its kind in the space," says Mr. McKinley. "Healthcare today is all about collaboration, and Cardinal Health and Henry Schein have taken a huge leap forward in putting the customer first to deliver optimal service across the continuum."
Efficiency and reliability
A key strength of Henry Schein is its ability to deliver a low unit of measure efficiently. The strong backbone of quality assurance, advanced supply distribution networks and a wide range of product and solution offerings makes Henry Schein one of the most advanced distributors in the marketplace. Customers also benefit from dedicated trusted advisors, who identify opportunities for enhancing physician office efficiencies with Henry Schein Medical's unique solutions.
A key component of Henry Schein's value proposition is reliability. When a customer orders from Henry Schein Medical, they can expect that order to be filled quickly, easily and on time. In fact, the company currently delivers products and services with a 99.9 percent fill rate, with 99 percent of those orders shipped the day they are received. As cold-chain experts, and as the largest distributor of vaccines and injectables in the office-based setting, they can fill perishable orders with the same efficiency as they do consumable healthcare products and capital equipment.
Practice efficiency is another key component of the Henry Schein value proposition, designed to help practitioners solve problems, eliminate obstacles, increase office services and deliver improved patient care. From medical waste disposal to electronic record-keeping, the Henry Schein SolutionsHub offers a comprehensive solution portfolio to help offices improve revenue and lower costs.
Compliance and standardization
A significant challenge of managing offsite offices is assuring contract compliance and product standardization. Inventory management and compliance can be a frustrating headache. Henry Schein recognizes that, and has put together programs to manage contract access, utilizing GPO and direct local contracts. Understanding the needs of non-acute sites, Henry Schein can execute a plan to help contract compliance within offices as the single point of contact. In 90 days or less, Henry Schein can implement programs that increase the utilization of contracts and facilitate product standardization for any size practice. These programs are managed by a dedicated and centralized team who focus on the coordination and execution of supply programs, and can increase contract compliance.
Henry Schein understands there are a wealth of options in selecting supplies and services for office-based networks, and it can be challenging to pick the best. Henry Schein confronts this problem with a focus on standardization, taking the cacophony of options and boiling them down to a clear and concise selection, using the best product lines and the best value. Adding the Cardinal Health line of products to Henry Schein's selection will only enhance the process.
Reputation performance
Henry Schein's exceptional customer service is not just a claim that the company makes, but rather a clear and definite fact, which has been proven time and again by their commitment to world-class service on the most competitive level. In addition to a reputation for quality service, the company is invested in offering new technology solutions to provide improved patient healthcare plans.
These patient plans address chronic conditions and general wellness. The physician may offer these plans to their patients to maintain their highest quality of health, using technology solutions for chronic and non-chronic conditions. These plans engage the patient in the healthcare process and help maintain their quality of life. These services and solutions can lead to increased patient wellness and better scores for value-based reimbursement models.
In essence, Henry Schein is committed to high-quality services focused on the non-acute office. These services increase revenue and lower costs, making them the best option for a growing business. Their partnership with Cardinal Health will only strengthen and expand their capabilities, and they are fully committed to providing superior service to their customers in the years to come.
