Costs Rising? A Strategic Partnership Can Offer Solutions

Blog Sponsored By:

 

Doctor and nurse talkingLike so many sectors of our economy, health care costs are continuing to rise at a rapid rate. However, hospitals are not seeing a corresponding rise in revenue. The result is that costs are rising faster than reimbursement at most hospital leading to smaller and smaller margins. 

In times like these, you need a distribution and logistics partner who can offer creative solutions for bringing expenses under control. The right partner provides innovative methods for cost-effectively supplying the products and services your clinicians need, to deliver superior patient care.

What should you look for in such a partner? According to a recent survey by Owens & Minor, 227 hospital purchasing leaders identified three areas for improvement which matter most: Cost-effectiveness (78%), Supply Reliability (76%), and Operational Efficiency (75%).

For Cost-Effectiveness, Look for a Partner That Helps Streamline Procurement

Facilities can be served by hundreds of manufacturers. Multiple suppliers add extra costs and complexity to your supply chain, including additional freight and procurement expenses. The partner you choose should offer a program that identifies opportunities to consolidate your purchases through an extensive distribution network and save your facility significant time and money on procurement expenses.

For Supply Reliability, Look for a Partner with Americas-Based Manufacturing

The supply chain issues currently plaguing so many hospitals and healthcare systems could largely be prevented by partnering with a distribution and logistics firm offering products made in the Americas. While others are waiting on deliveries from around the world, your facility can maintain critical supply levels. You’ll have choices, access, and control to maximize impact, in terms of reduced cost and quality of care. Americas-based manufacturing results in both improved supply reliability and risk mitigation for your facility.

For Operational Efficiency, Look for a Partner that Excels in Standardization

Having too many suppliers and product variations can be a source of waste that can undermine quality and have a potentially adverse effect on patient satisfaction. Partnering with the right distribution and logistics company can give your facility actionable data and analytics to make informed, evidence-based decisions about product and supply spending. You can identify opportunities to consolidate and standardize across locations, contracts, suppliers, UOMs, product classes, and categories. The potential results? Better tiered pricing, fewer deliveries and SKUs, reduced freight costs, more predictable patient outcomes, and increased staff efficiency.

 

Contact Owens & Minor for More Valuable Information Like This

 

To learn about the many ways Owens & Minor can help you reduce overall costs and improve the health of your supply chain, contact us at omlearnmore@owens-minor.com or call 1-866-935-0798.

 

 

Related Resources

On-Demand Educational Webinars
Increased demand can lead to reactive replenishment but triggers be identified and assessed before rushing to order. Take control of your inventory…
Book
Presenting the core concepts and techniques of supply chain management in a clear, concise, and easily readable style, the Third Edition
On-Demand Educational Webinars
At Hershey Penn State Medical Center, the supply chain and ED nursing team came together in a Kaizen process to reinvent the way supplies were being…
On-Demand Educational Webinars
This webinar provides an overview of the reasons for drug shortages, recent advocacy efforts to ameliorate the situation, and action steps…
Webcast
In this three-part webcast and podcast series, Howard Mann, Vice President, Supply Chain Management at Cardiovascular Care Group discusses the basi
On-Demand Educational Webinars
This AHRMM webinar will help engage physicians to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.