There are certain ways of doing things in our industry and the Value Analysis world is no different when it comes to facilitating your Value Analysis Program for your hospital and/or health system. From a purely functional standpoint, there are many similarities between VA Programs, but not all are created equal as far as depth, efficiency, and overall performance. The key to getting results without getting run down and overworked is continually looking to challenge the status quo of the Value Analysis world and look for newer and better ways to run your health system’s Value Analysis Program.
Remember, Value Analysis is on the level of quality and cost improvement strategies such as Lean Management and Six Sigma that have been around for 80 years and work inside and outside of healthcare at a high level. Does your VA Program seem like it is operating at a high level on the same plane as Lean Management or Six Sigma? If not, then perhaps some of the ideas below may be helpful.
- What is Better, Quality or Quantity? I cannot tell you how many VA and Supply Chain Professionals I have talked with who were almost bragging about the sheer number of new product requests they handle year in and year out. Instead of seeing how many product evaluations you can do, you should want to try to reduce the number of new product requests whenever possible. These evaluations take time and resources away from other areas like Value Analysis and cost optimization studies that are vitally important to your health system’s bottom line. You can’t buy new products if you don’t have a healthy bottom line. It’s better to limit the number of new product requests now and filter through the quality new products that add value, outcomes, and new revenue to your organization.
- Does Adding VA Buzz Words Make Your Program Better? Buzz words are only that, buzz words, unless you have substantial work done to first understand these buzz words and then implement the strategies correctly. If you want to add a buzz worthy modality to your VA Program, then delve far into the meaning of it and understand the value it brings to your program.
- What Comes First, Cost or Quality? If you talk to a clinician, they will 99.9% of the time tell you quality and outcomes come first and the same goes for someone who is not a clinician. You know what? Neither is right! Value Analysis is neither about cost nor quality; it is about identifying key functional requirements of products and services and then meeting those requirements exactly with the contract products available with high reliability. Think about it, there are many options for products on your GPO contracts, but which one will meet the exact required specifications for your clinicians? The big idea here is to meet the functional requirements of clinicians reliably while equaling or improving quality of care. Cost is not a factor until you find the right options to choose from based on requirements. Function should come first, as quality is different for everyone but function is not.
- What Do You Do If Your C-Suite Asks for More Savings from VA? VA is a major savings modality but are you set up to make the savings happen? Is your team dynamic set up to handle projects beyond new product requests and contract conversions? Are your team members trained in value analysis to the point where they can perform a true value analysis study? Do you have a source to funnel viable proven savings opportunities for your VA team on an ongoing basis that doesn’t involve just price shopping? Value analysis savings is really what we call savings beyond price, and you need methods like benchmarking or utilization management reporting to have the savings come to you.
- Are You Falling Short Because of Time? Time is always a challenge with VA and it can limit how well we perform value analysis studies and evaluations when pressed for time. Look for areas that are costing you time in your VA workflow and program management. One of the best areas to improve your process and buy back more time is to remove paper reporting and even manual Word documents and spreadsheets. Instead, look for VA Workflow Software or at the minimum, databases that can speed up your processing, facilitation, and data gathering. Don’t just look at a price tag on these as that is short-term thinking, but instead look at the long-term results you will be able to bring about with the freed-up time you have to apply to them.
A lot of what I just pointed out could be deemed good old fashion common sense, but that is okay as there is nothing wrong with applying common sense methods to your Value Analysis Program to make it better. It is all about making your VA Program better, easier to facilitate, and running smoothly to bring bigger and more robust savings and quality outcomes to your healthcare organization. Open your mind to more possibilities and add methods, tools, and modalities that will make this happen. VA is about continuous improvement!
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