Physician preference items contribute to a large portion of ASC supply chain spending, according to an article in Medline's Outpatient Outcomes.
Medline outlined three ways ASCs can save money by managing physician preference items:
1. Distributor partnerships. More full-line distributors are serving physician preference items, meaning ASCs may be able to find savings through the distributor.
2. Clinical outcomes. ASCs can analyze data to compare which devices have the best outcomes, and then present that data to physicians when determining physician preference items.
3. Inventory management. ASCs can consolidate and standardize products to streamline the buying process to save costs.