Mark Van Sumeren, General Manager of Healthcare, LogicSource
LinkedIn: Mark Van Sumeren
X: @LogicSource
Medical breakthroughs, advanced diagnostic tools, and progressive treatments have revolutionized patient care over the years. However, when it comes to the healthcare supply chain, innovation has often taken a back seat, with many organizations relying on traditional practices for 20 to 30 years. Interestingly enough, healthcare supply chain is uniquely poised to help the industry with one of its most pressing challenges – cost. In a recent interview with FINN Voices, we discussed the untapped potential in healthcare’s indirect nonclinical purchases and why 2024 is the year to innovate.
Seizing the Innovation Opportunity in Healthcare’s Supply Chain
Much of the focus in healthcare has been on clinical excellence, leaving the supply chain largely untouched by innovation. I believe that indirect spend presents a significant opportunity for improvement.
Indirect spend includes expenses such as office supplies, janitorial services, and administrative overhead, which may not appear directly linked to patient care. Nevertheless, they play a pivotal role in the healthcare ecosystem. Neglecting these costs can lead to inefficiencies and bloated budgets.
The opportunity for innovation lies in shifting the approach to indirect spend. By doing so, healthcare organizations can unlock substantial cost-saving potential and allocate these savings for improving patient care and overall healthcare experiences.
Indirect spend often constitutes a significant portion of healthcare budgets. Ignoring these costs means wasting valuable resources that could be redirected to areas that directly impact patient outcomes. Moreover, the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, demands adaptability and efficient resource allocation.
Innovating in indirect spend isn’t just about cost-cutting. It’s also about strategic resource allocation. By optimizing these expenses, healthcare organizations can enhance their financial health, elevate care quality, and remain agile in an ever-changing healthcare environment.
The path to innovation in indirect spend involves data-driven insights, exploring new procurement methodologies, and reimagining traditional cost structures. It’s an opportunity for healthcare leaders to critically assess their nonclinical expenditures and create a roadmap for a more efficient and cost-effective supply chain.
Data-Driven Insights for Nonclinical Spend
In the pursuit of optimizing nonclinical spend within the healthcare sector, transitioning from traditional unit cost benchmarking toward data-driven insights represents a transformative shift. Here are four essential areas that can be bolstered by data-driven insights.
1. Shifting from Unit Cost Benchmarking. Unit cost benchmarking, the traditional approach, compares costs of items or services to industry averages, aiming for cost reductions. However, this approach oversimplifies the complexity of nonclinical spend. Data-driven insights offer depth by analyzing every facet of these expenses, revealing nuances, patterns, and optimization prospects. It moves beyond cost reduction to strategic decision-making based on the value contributed by each expenditure.
2. Precision in Spend Analysis. Data-driven insights allow granular spend analysis. Healthcare organizations can categorize and scrutinize nonclinical expenses to uncover potential for cost savings and process enhancements. This helps identify underperforming suppliers and consolidation opportunities for efficiency.
Moreover, data-driven insights go beyond cost-cutting. They enable the alignment of nonclinical spending with organizational goals. By understanding expenditure impact, healthcare leaders make decisions that optimize resource allocation while preserving or improving quality.
3. Predictive Analytics. Data-driven insights can predict future expenses through historical data and external factors analysis. This proactive approach equips organizations to manage budgets effectively and anticipate fluctuations.
4. Enhancing Supplier Relationships and Negotiations. Comprehensive data strengthens supplier relationships and negotiations. Armed with data, healthcare organizations negotiate contracts effectively, securing terms aligned with objectives and cost-saving targets. This fosters cost reduction and improves service quality.
The Role of GPOs
Group purchasing organizations (GPOs) are integral players in the healthcare supply chain. I emphasize their role in facilitating cost-effective procurement. GPOs leverage the collective buying power of multiple organizations to secure favorable pricing and terms from suppliers. Healthcare organizations can benefit significantly from collaborating with GPOs to optimize their indirect spend strategy.
Navigating the 2024 Budget
As healthcare CFOs face the challenges of the 2024 budget, they are confronted with the need for innovation and cost containment. The traditional approach of filling budget gaps is no longer sustainable. However, the interview suggests that indirect spend is the perfect area to bridge these financial gaps. By innovating in nonclinical purchases, healthcare organizations can free up valuable resources to invest in patient care without compromising quality.
To delve deeper into these insights and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the path forward on this episode of FINN Voices.