Jim Webb is senior vice president of operations for Provista.
Q: Do you find GPOs that focus on the ASC market have better contracts that those that work with hospitals?
Jim Webb: Most GPOs serve both the hospital and surgery center markets. However, the GPO business models vary and are suited to meet the needs of different customers. For example, some GPOs offer choice and flexibility, while others have limited options but strong entry points for pricing on those contracts. Additionally, some GPOs have a specific team of individuals to serve the ASC market, while others have generalists to serve all markets. The best GPO for your organization is the one that best fits your specific needs.
Q: What type of things should a GPO do for an ASC?
JW: The first is to provide a high level of customer service. At a minimum, I think a center should expect to have a dedicated account executive, rather than calling into a call center. The account executive should be knowledgeable about the center's needs as an ASC, as opposed to having a primary focus on hospital customers. The account executive is an advocate with suppliers and distributors, helping to ensure that they comply with contract terms and helping centers to meet their obligations under the contract. The GPO should make it easy to access contract pricing.
A periodic review of contract utilization and proactive recommendations on how to find further savings is a very reasonable expectation of a GPO. A center should have a choice of distributors available to access the program. The GPO's contract portfolio should cover the majority of things that a center purchases, including having offerings outside of medical and surgical supplies. The key to savings is partnering with a GPO and working in tandem towards savings goals.
Q: Should a GPO be sharing reports with its clients and making recommendations based upon those metrics?
JW: Yes. Periodic review, perhaps as often as quarterly or monthly depending on the supply purchasing volume, should include a review of contract spend as reported by suppliers and distributors. The reporting challenge in our current environment is the execution of the action items. Administrators are busy managing the clinical operations, physician relationships and overall profitability and will sometimes push supply chain lower on the priority list out of necessity. Reporting for the sake of reporting is not helpful; however, reporting with advice and action planning is the key. Again, collaborating with a GPO and investing time to execute is paramount to an ASC's supply chain improvement initiatives.
Q: Are there criteria to find out which GPO to choose?
JW: Just as each GPO is different from one another, centers have different needs. The key to finding the right partner for a center is to evaluate the options on the basis of account service, product selection, breadth of spend coverage, distribution options and aggregate supply chain savings.
Q: How can a GPO help when negotiating with small manufacturers on unique products?
JW: Some GPOs contract for new technology and bring new, innovative devices, often made by smaller manufacturers, into the contract portfolio based on clinical evidence and/or market needs. If the manufacturer is not willing or able to contract with a GPO then a different approach is required.
Examine the cost of the innovative product in relation to its clinical, operational of financial impact. For example, what is the product's impact on time in the OR? Does the product increase the overall patient satisfaction or clinical outcome? Will the product reduce the overall cost per case or increase the number of procedures that can be performed in one day? Just be aware that these metrics may take some time to evaluate so consider the overall operational impact when introducing new innovations.
Q: Are there any benchmarking studies out there on GPO performance?
JW: The Healthcare Supply Chain Association (formerly the Healthcare Group Purchasing Association) is the trade association for the GPO industry. They may have some objective data comparing GPOs to one another. Otherwise, the dimensions of GPO performance can vary widely, and since two of the primary GPOs in the market are privately held (VHA, the parent of Provista, and Premier), data are not widely available.
More Articles Featuring Provista:
5 Points on Physician Involvement in Supply Chain
6 Factors to Consider When Choosing a GPO
How to Take Control of the Supply Chain
Q: Do you find GPOs that focus on the ASC market have better contracts that those that work with hospitals?
Jim Webb: Most GPOs serve both the hospital and surgery center markets. However, the GPO business models vary and are suited to meet the needs of different customers. For example, some GPOs offer choice and flexibility, while others have limited options but strong entry points for pricing on those contracts. Additionally, some GPOs have a specific team of individuals to serve the ASC market, while others have generalists to serve all markets. The best GPO for your organization is the one that best fits your specific needs.
Q: What type of things should a GPO do for an ASC?
JW: The first is to provide a high level of customer service. At a minimum, I think a center should expect to have a dedicated account executive, rather than calling into a call center. The account executive should be knowledgeable about the center's needs as an ASC, as opposed to having a primary focus on hospital customers. The account executive is an advocate with suppliers and distributors, helping to ensure that they comply with contract terms and helping centers to meet their obligations under the contract. The GPO should make it easy to access contract pricing.
A periodic review of contract utilization and proactive recommendations on how to find further savings is a very reasonable expectation of a GPO. A center should have a choice of distributors available to access the program. The GPO's contract portfolio should cover the majority of things that a center purchases, including having offerings outside of medical and surgical supplies. The key to savings is partnering with a GPO and working in tandem towards savings goals.
Q: Should a GPO be sharing reports with its clients and making recommendations based upon those metrics?
JW: Yes. Periodic review, perhaps as often as quarterly or monthly depending on the supply purchasing volume, should include a review of contract spend as reported by suppliers and distributors. The reporting challenge in our current environment is the execution of the action items. Administrators are busy managing the clinical operations, physician relationships and overall profitability and will sometimes push supply chain lower on the priority list out of necessity. Reporting for the sake of reporting is not helpful; however, reporting with advice and action planning is the key. Again, collaborating with a GPO and investing time to execute is paramount to an ASC's supply chain improvement initiatives.
Q: Are there criteria to find out which GPO to choose?
JW: Just as each GPO is different from one another, centers have different needs. The key to finding the right partner for a center is to evaluate the options on the basis of account service, product selection, breadth of spend coverage, distribution options and aggregate supply chain savings.
Q: How can a GPO help when negotiating with small manufacturers on unique products?
JW: Some GPOs contract for new technology and bring new, innovative devices, often made by smaller manufacturers, into the contract portfolio based on clinical evidence and/or market needs. If the manufacturer is not willing or able to contract with a GPO then a different approach is required.
Examine the cost of the innovative product in relation to its clinical, operational of financial impact. For example, what is the product's impact on time in the OR? Does the product increase the overall patient satisfaction or clinical outcome? Will the product reduce the overall cost per case or increase the number of procedures that can be performed in one day? Just be aware that these metrics may take some time to evaluate so consider the overall operational impact when introducing new innovations.
Q: Are there any benchmarking studies out there on GPO performance?
JW: The Healthcare Supply Chain Association (formerly the Healthcare Group Purchasing Association) is the trade association for the GPO industry. They may have some objective data comparing GPOs to one another. Otherwise, the dimensions of GPO performance can vary widely, and since two of the primary GPOs in the market are privately held (VHA, the parent of Provista, and Premier), data are not widely available.
More Articles Featuring Provista:
5 Points on Physician Involvement in Supply Chain
6 Factors to Consider When Choosing a GPO
How to Take Control of the Supply Chain