An organization focused on green practices and sustainability at healthcare organizations has developed guidance to help hospitals better manage their supply chain.
Practice Greenhealth, based in Reston, Va., released its Total Cost of Ownership Framework. Hospitals, group purchasing organizations and businesses helped the nonprofit group create the tool, which hospitals can obtain for free.
The TCO will help hospitals and health systems find ways to lower their purchasing costs by better evaluating costs that are not easily noticed. For example, hospitals that buy medical devices and products may not factor in "submerged costs," which include storage, maintenance and disposal.
Practice Greenhealth officials said in a news release the TCO tool will help hospitals pare their purchasing costs, as well as minimize "the environmental footprint of healthcare" by reducing the use of water, waste disposal and other areas tied to the supply chain.
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