Insights

Rather than any early knockout in one of his epic matches, eulogies last month for boxing legend Muhammad Ali memorialized his three-decade, very public fight against Parkinson’s disease. The once fleet-footed heavyweight champion’s chronic condition, in the words of former president Bill Clinton, “made his life bigger, not smaller” as he championed greater awareness and resources for the condition.read more

One of the areas of greatest concern for pharmacy practice, in terms of both cost and impact on patient care, is the increasing development of pharmaceuticals that could be classified as “specialty.” While there is no universally accepted definition of a specialty drug, most characterizations include attributes such as: •High cost •Limited extent of use •Technical complexity of delivery and/or administration •Treatment of complex and/or...read more

Rather than any early knockout in one of his epic matches, eulogies last month for boxing legend Muhammad Ali memorialized his three-decade, very public fight against Parkinson’s disease. The once fleet-footed heavyweight champion’s chronic condition, in the words of former president Bill Clinton, “made his life bigger, not smaller” as he championed greater awareness and resources for the condition.read more

Rather than any early knockout in one of his epic matches, eulogies last month for boxing legend Muhammad Ali memorialized his three-decade, very public fight against Parkinson’s disease. The once fleet-footed heavyweight champion’s chronic condition, in the words of former president Bill Clinton, “made his life bigger, not smaller” as he championed greater awareness and resources for the condition.read more

It’s a generally accepted fact that purchased services account for 20 to 30% of a hospital’s total expenses. It’s also generally accepted that with more than 300 categories, it’s a largely untapped source of savings across the health care supply chain. And, with contract ownership spread over a multitude of departments in a typical health system, gaining traction around negotiating new agreements is a lot like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks—it isn’t...read more

It’s no surprise that reviewing purchased services contract categories like laundry, medical waste or language interpretation can seem like a daunting task—almost like trying to climb Mount Everest. How you and the group view the mountain is critical. Looking from the foot of the mountain, it might seem impossible. Conversely, looking from a higher vantage point, you would get a different perspective and see how to move around the mountain. It’s all about perspective.read more

In the past few months, I have received feedback from numerous hospital supply chain leaders on the topic of consultants. A consistent message I hear is that consultants must demonstrate the right skills to meet the needs of the business and also have the right chemistry to fit in with the member’s culture. It brings to mind the children’s fairy tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks tries the first bed to discover it's too big, then tries the second bed to find out...read more

Martin Luther once said, “Every man must do two things alone: he must do his own believing and his own dying.” A number of profound concepts are embedded in that statement, starting with the unavoidable entanglement between beliefs and the process of dying. Also noteworthy is the explicit recognition of dying as a verb and the assertion that it is something that we do rather than something that happens to us.read more

If you're a hospital administrator looking for cost savings, just follow your nose to the cafeteria. Among those cheeseburgers and tossed salads, your hospital cafeteria probably offers more savings opportunities than you imagined: Consider that the cost of food and food-related services in a hospital or health care system can represent between 8% and 12% of your annual purchased services spend.read more

I’m fortunate enough to work for a company that recognizes the importance of reducing chemical exposure and equally fortunate to serve in a role where my focus is educating our health care partners about the dangers of chemically laden products.read more

Like any business that relies on manufacturers across the globe for supplies, the health care industry sees its share of random product back orders, allocation situations and outright supply shortages.read more