Value Analysis is a Never-Ending Job
There are times when we might think that we have cut all of the unnecessary and unwanted cost that is imaginable in a particular product line (e.g., pacemakers, oxisensors, orthopedics, wound care, etc.) and that our job is done as a value analysis practitioner. Nothing could be further than the truth!
In fact, value analysis is a never-ending job, since over time things change, circumstances change, technology changes and people change, so there is always more to save, manage, control and value justify. We call this never-ending best practice "cyclical vigilance" or there is always an opportunity to lower your cost, trim the fat or reinvent what you have been doing on a recurring basis within the same commodity groups.
A good example of "cyclical vigilance" is cardiac stents. When bare-metal stents first came on the market our job as value analysis practitioners was to manage price. A few years later, drug-eluding stents appeared and it was our job to manage variation in practices. And now absorbable stents are in development which will require value analysis practitioners to value justify their introduction into the marketplace. Do you see now how our job is never-ending?
For less exotic products, services and technologies it is also important for value analysis practitioners to schedule annual reviews of their top 100 products by dollar volume, since our studies show that at least 17% of these commodities will have new savings opportunities each and every year. For instance, our Utilizer® Dashboard just kicked out an alert for one of our clients showing that their floor glove usage jumped nine-percent, per adjusted patient day, in just one year. Wouldn't you agree that this utilization misalignment needs to be investigated?
The truth is…that there will never be a day when value analysis practitioners can just sit back, relax and kick back believing that their job is done. There is always more to be saved, managed, controlled and value justified. This is what makes healthcare value analysis so dynamic, exciting and challenging, since it is never-ending yet, rewarding for those who consider themselves value analysis professionals.
Filed Under: Value Analysis
