http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog Healthcare Supply Chain Savings Ideas, Knowledge and Resources Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:26:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en   I just read an article about how all of our nation’s hospitals aren’t reprocessing the numerous medical devices that have been approved as safe by the FDA to do so – even though you can save 50% of your medical devices’ original cost.  Wouldn’t you think this was a “no-brainer” ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/when-does-something-become-a-no-brainer/ Savings Beyond Price -Weekly eNewsletter - July 16, 2008   Robert T. Yokl President & Chief Value Strategist     Greetings! How to gain control over your supply chain When I sit back and analyze, as I do every week when I write this column, I ask myself what are the biggest challenges that supply chain professionals are ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/how-to-gain-control-of-your-hospitals-supply-chain/ Most hospitals, systems and IDNs have value analysis teams that evaluate and select the products, services and technologies that they are buying. The question I would like to pose to you is how do you identify the best VA team leaders and team members?  Is it by chance or fact?   For ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/how-to-identify-your-best-value-analysis-team-members/ We all think our supply chain is humming along with no perceived dangers lurking in our value streams, except this thinking couldn’t be farther from the truth. We are seeing numerous supply chain risks lying beneath most healthcare organizations’ supply chains that can be a danger to your hospital, system ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/three-hidden-risks-in-your-supply-chain/ Your management will be asking you to ratchet down your supply expenses even further this year due to the high cost of energy which affects almost everything your hospital buys. And still another reason is the slowing economy that could have an effect on your hospital’s revenues.   These challenging times ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/a-time-for-action%e2%80%a6not-rumination/ Robert T. Yokl President & Chief Value Strategist     Greetings! New Pay for New Work! We just held our summer session of our Certified Value Analysis 3-day Training Program which brought into the daylight that only a small number of healthcare organizations are rewarding and recognizing their value team members for the hard work that ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/new-pay-for-new-work/ At our CVAL Training Course last week one of my students, a supply chain operation’s manager for a large system in the Mid-West, told me that he goes out of his way to let his value team members know that it is OK to stumble, falter or even fail on ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/fail-often-to-quickly-succeed/ I know that we are all feeling the pain at the gas pump.  I just spent $74.41 today to fill up my own SUV. That’s more than I used to pay every two weeks -- just a few months ago. But this isn’t the worst effect of the energy predicament ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/the-supply-chain-energy-predicament/ Influence Your C-Suite for Positive Results! Webinar Objectives: What is Your C-Suite Thinking? What Are They Really Thinking? Solution: More and Better TLC TEACH to Gain Respect LEAD in the Right Direction COACH to Gain Commitment July 17, 2008 - 1:00pm EST. Register Here Webinar Leader - Robert T. Yokl, President/Chief Value Strategist Strategic Value Analysis in Healthcare Remember...The Webinar ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/new-supply-best-practices-webinar-announced/ I had an electronic interview last week with Rick Dana Barlow Senior Editor of Hospital Purchasing News, for a future article on LEAN Six Sigma.  This HPN interview got me thinking about how important it is for supply chain professionals to get on the LEAN Six Sigma train to meet ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/lean-six-sigma-the-future-is-now/ First of all, don’t confuse new or renewal GPO contracts as being value analysis projects, because they are not.  This is contract management in its purest sense, which is a whole other discipline that has its own rules and models. What I’m talking about here is the way in which you ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/how-are-you-selecting-your-value-analysis-projects/ Doing less with more is a mantra in healthcare organizations today. Everyone is scrambling to get their routine, but important work done, while trying to find time for those special projects that seem to be coming up more frequently than ever before.     Supply chain professionals are caught up in this ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/a-lean-way-of-thinking/ I can’t think of anyone in supply chain management who doesn’t want to save more in less time.  However, this isn’t going to happen with more GPO contracts, more standardization, more capitation or even more custom contracts, since this ripe fruit has almost been picked clean in your vineyard.  This ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/how-to-save-more-in-less-time/ I have been told by value analysis managers throughout the country that they spend 96% of their time evaluating new or renewal GPO contracts, which isn’t value analysis at all. When I tell them that there is only 1%, 2% or 3% savings to be achieved with their GPO contracts ... http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/stop-the-madness-with-your-gpo-contracts/ Click Here to View http://savingsbeyondprice.com/savingsblog/new-comic-persistence-is-key/