Implantable medical devices, including physician preference items, account for more than $40 billion in spending each year, but lack of efficiency and problematic manual process in the management and tracking of these devices, which leads to lost and expired product, are estimated to cost the healthcare industry $5 billion each year, according to healthcare services company GHX.
As a result, hospitals and other healthcare providers can uncover considerable savings by instituting processes to better manage these devices. Here are six best practices recommended by GHX to improve supply chain management of implantable devices.
1. Ensure contract price visibility and accuracy. Ensure pricing paid for devices matches contract price and identify non-contract items that could be added to supplier and/or onto group purchasing organization contracts.
2. Prepare for unique device identifiers. Although UDIs are not required until 2014, providers should begin collaborating with suppliers now to identify processes for sharing data on implantable devices.
3. Help improve demand forecasting for implantable devices. Collaborate with other providers and suppliers to explore ways to create sources of data that can be used to improve demand forecasting and planning.
4. Ensure accurate product data and inventory repositories. Ensure accurate data sources for products and product identifiers so that what providers actually use can be accurately tracked. This in turn will help supply chain managers identify what devices and how many are needed to keep the inventory stocked.
5. Deploy perfect PPI purchase orders. This means that each PO: (1) contains all required data elements, (2) contains accurate data, (3) supports having products available for the next procedure, (4) does not generate shipment of undesired product, (5) has the correct information and (6) does not result in an invoice dispute.
6. Be ready to change. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, providers must let go of current supply chain processes in order to improve them.
As a result, hospitals and other healthcare providers can uncover considerable savings by instituting processes to better manage these devices. Here are six best practices recommended by GHX to improve supply chain management of implantable devices.
1. Ensure contract price visibility and accuracy. Ensure pricing paid for devices matches contract price and identify non-contract items that could be added to supplier and/or onto group purchasing organization contracts.
2. Prepare for unique device identifiers. Although UDIs are not required until 2014, providers should begin collaborating with suppliers now to identify processes for sharing data on implantable devices.
3. Help improve demand forecasting for implantable devices. Collaborate with other providers and suppliers to explore ways to create sources of data that can be used to improve demand forecasting and planning.
4. Ensure accurate product data and inventory repositories. Ensure accurate data sources for products and product identifiers so that what providers actually use can be accurately tracked. This in turn will help supply chain managers identify what devices and how many are needed to keep the inventory stocked.
5. Deploy perfect PPI purchase orders. This means that each PO: (1) contains all required data elements, (2) contains accurate data, (3) supports having products available for the next procedure, (4) does not generate shipment of undesired product, (5) has the correct information and (6) does not result in an invoice dispute.
6. Be ready to change. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, providers must let go of current supply chain processes in order to improve them.
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