New Thinking for Turbulent Times
In a recent conversation with a material manager on which he shared that his hospital’s admissions have slowed, their investment income is down and it’s getting harder for his hospital to make their bond payments. But his philosophy, to his credit about this whole financial mess we are all experiencing, was that it was time for him to work smarter — not harder to help his hospital work their way out of these turbulent times.
This should be your attitude as well! You can’t control the economic downturn we are all facing today, but you can decide how you can help your hospital weather this storm. Since supply chain professionals control 35% to 45% of their hospital’s operating budget, you have an unparallel opportunity to make a BIG impact on your hospital’s bottom line.
Here’s how it works in real-time! For every dollar you save in supply expenses (supplies and purchase services), 100% of that dollar will hit your hospital’s bottom line. For example, a client of ours just switched to a generic anesthesia tray and saved a whopping $9.58 per tray or, in other words, $52,298 annually. This savings alone can pay for a lot of expenses that this hospital needs to pay each month, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
I can’t think of any hospital department that can save more money faster than a supply chain department can if you decide to work smarter — not harder. By smarter, I mean that you need to benchmark where your best savings opportunities reside (as opposed to throwing darts at illusive targets). Then, investigate why you are different then your peer hospitals; and from that, implement all appropriate savings.
We have two roads to take as I see it in these uncertain times. We can blame, complain and get bent out of shape over this whole economic mess and become frozen or we can see it as an opportunity to show our management that we can make a significant economic difference in their bottom line when it counts in turbulent times. It’s your choice!
Filed Under: Best Practices • Healthcare Supply Chain • savingsblog
