Medical equipment procurement is a critical factor in ensuring that the process of opening, moving, or even upgrading a medical facility is handled in a manner that both lets the doors open when planned, and delivers the level of service promised right from the start.
Purchasing managers and facility equipment administrators across the country are becoming increasingly aware of the vital importance of bringing efficiency to this fairly complex undertaking as the healthcare marketplace continues to dictate the need to both cut costs and increase quality performance.
One of the best ways to effectively streamline the overall process, of going from an empty facility to one which is fully equipped and ready to go, is to evaluate getting from point A to Z in systematically achievable steps. With that in mind, let’s take a look at 5 Ways to Improve Medical Equipment Procurement Efficiency.
- Reduce operational drag – A major move in the direction of increased efficiency and streamlined management is that of breaking free of traditional paper-based, multi-step procedures that call for numerous purchase orders, departmental authorizations, reviews, comparisons, filing processes and related steps. An automated procurement solution that helps to organize the process is a more appropriate option.
- Minimize vendors – A preoccupation with cost reduction in equipment procurement scenarios often leads to a fixation on only price, thereby losing sight of the expanded expense demands of lost efficiency in dealing with a variety of vendors.
Finding a proven vendor that can provide everything from competitively priced equipment all the way through to delivery and set-up is often a better overall solution than simply focusing on just the price of an item itself. - Streamline the logistics chain – One of the main advantages of dealing with a single full-service medical equipment provider is the efficiency this brings in going from identified need to the right piece of equipment being in the right location, fully operational and ready to use at the right time.
That is the bottom line in the medical equipment procurement processes from the point of view of the purchasing manager, the medical professional and the client at the service end of the operation.
- Minimize potential problems – As with any complex procurement scenario, the chances for complications to create downtime exist. Employing a single procurement solutions’ provider both dramatically reduces the likelihood of such events, and minimizes their impact when they do occur.
Deliveries and service issues are integrated for increased operational efficiency; off-site storage fees are reduced; and damage repair and service issues are incorporated into the overall procurement process. - Leverage vendor experience – Seek out a vendor with years of experience working with a wide variety of medical facilities, helping those institutions pick the best, most cost efficient products to meet their needs, providing consultation regarding technological issues and locating difficult to find specialty equipment.
These five ways to improve medical equipment procurement efficiency essentially simplify what has historically been complex series of separate transactions and arrangements.
Keeping up with the advancements of the healthcare industry can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. When addressing medical equipment procurement, whether for new facility construction, building expansion or for an update to an existing one, having an efficient and cost conscious process is critical.
The four things to look for in the procurement provider should be:
- National Presence
- Adequate Sales/Support Force
- Quick Delivery System
- Plans for Growth
What are some operational challenges that health systems are having with their supply chain?
The big one is product standardization. Your health system is in a growth mode. You’re adding hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices, urgent-care centers, retail clinics and home care. When you do that, you’re adding sites of care that probably aren’t using the same medical supplies and equipment as you. And you’re probably not ordering all of your medical supplies and equipment the same way. With the right supply chain partner, you can start tracking all that and identify opportunities to standardize products and product ordering across all your care delivery sites.
According to a recent survey of 100 hospital supply chain leaders, nearly half of respondents still use a somewhat manual process such as Excel spreadsheets and other less sophisticated/outdated tools to manage inventory, supply expenses and other supply chain activities.
What other operational challenges do health systems face in supply chain management?
Your challenge as a health system is how to get the right products to the right places in the right quantity at the right time. That’s why your health system needs a customized supply chain that extends into each and every corner of your operation that provides care to patients.
How have new market entrants influenced how health systems think about their supply chain?
It’s exciting to think that you could order a box of surgical gloves over a voice assistant and have it delivered in two hours. But the excitement doesn’t always match the reality of what you need. And what you need is consistency. You want consistency of price, right? You don’t want the price changing all the time, and you don’t have the time to comparison shop for the best price every time you need something. You also want consistent availability. You never want the things that your patients need to be unavailable or out of stock.
What about delivery time from new market entrants? What do health systems say about that?
A lot of people that we talk to think that if you can get books the same or next day, you can get medical supplies the same or next day. There certainly are items that you can get the same or next day. But, those are general items for general use. When you dig deeper, you realize that your health system uses a lot of obscure items. One-time items. And our industry has a lot of obscure products that patients need. Getting that item from a new market entrant may take a week, two weeks or even three weeks. That just doesn’t work in healthcare. You need what you need in two days or less. Those are just table stakes for the healthcare supply chain.
What about the security of the supply chain? Should health systems be concerned about safety?
That’s always a challenge no matter who you buy from. You should know where your items are coming from. If you buy from a legacy distributor, you’re buying the original products from the original manufacturers who sell directly to the distributor. If you buy from a new market entrant, that line may not be so straight. The sellers may not be authorized distributors for the product. You don’t know where they got the product from. You don’t know who shipped and stored that product. If we’re talking about cold storage of drugs, that can be a real issue from a patient safety standpoint. You need to ask those questions of any of your supply chain partners.
Security is a hallmark of effective supply chain management. So is standardization. Yet new products come into the market all the time. How can a health system access those items with its supply chain?
There is a lot of innovation happening right now. A lot of those vendors and suppliers are trying to sell into your health system. That’s a good problem to have, and your supply chain needs to be flexible enough to accommodate new things that can help you deliver the best care to patients. But, at the same time, you can’t be flexible in the quality and cost criteria that you use to determine whether you should buy an item or not. At most of the health systems we work with, a new product needs to run through quite a gauntlet to get on to the menu of things you can buy. Supply chain leaders are under a lot of pressure. But they are the gatekeepers who can look at these innovations objectively and decide in consultation with clinicians whether to adopt them or not.
Beyond the innovations, what other supply chain trends should health systems stay on top of?
The supply chain leaders at your health system will need the technology and the information systems to know where every medical supply, piece of equipment or device came from, how your staff used it, who used it and where it went.