If you have spent any time searching for utilization misalignments (i.e., wasteful and inefficient consumption, misuse, misapplication, and value mismatches) in your supply streams, you quickly realize that supply utilization management is an art and science. Here are three critical mistakes healthcare organizations are making with their supply utilization management programs that you want to avoid:
- Thinking that your value analysis and contracting process is catching your utilization misalignments: Unless you have value analysis or contract protocols established to capture all of your utilization misalignments (UMs) on the products, services, or technologies you are studying or evaluating, you will discover that these UMs will be impossible to uncover. That’s why you need specific analytics that will point your value analysis and contract teams in the right direction.
- Thinking that GPOs will provide a quick and easy solution for your supply utilization management program: Although most GPOs say they can help you with your utilization management program, none have proven that they have the systems, analytics, and expertise to do so. So, make sure you are getting what you paid for with a proof of concept (or trial or test) before you buy.
- Searching for evidence to support your product, service, or technology utilization changes, but failing to look internally for your best utilization data: There is no better evidence showing a utilization misalignment in your supply streams than your own data showing quarter-over-quarter/ year-over-year metrics (see Volume 5/Issue Value Analysis & Utilization Magazine for details) that show your product, service, and technology usage patterns.
Value analysis and utilization management (VA & UM) are symbiotic, but they both need defined processes to be truly effective. Hopefully, by avoiding these three critical mistakes, VA & UM will become more of a science than an art at your healthcare organization.