Volume 11| January 25, 2018
Insights-Trends-Opinions
Welcome to National Accounts Weekly!

This is the only publication dedicated to inform suppliers to healthcare on the good, bad and ugly of the U.S. contracting arena! Read this issue to be in the know!

We cover everything you need to know about GPOs, IDNs and RPCs!

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Supplier access to hospital allows cyber attack, hospital pays 4 bitcoin valued at $55,000 to regain control of patient records
In a story that plays out like a Stephen King novel, last week Hancock Regional Health had 1,400 patient files locked up for ransom.

What is so chilling is the attack came in through a vendors access to to the hospital's network.

This is the 2nd of my 5 predictions that 2018 has come true. Sad to say it, but I saw this coming. Here are my 5 predictions for 2018.

Against the advice of the F.B.I. Hancock Regional paid the ransom and quickly regained control of their records.

Suppliers need to really understand the threat of cyber security, their responsibility and liability in it.

IDNs: are they super tankers or the Titanic?
The most famous maritime disaster in history holds lessons for health care providers. Among them is the warning that the risks that we don’t see are often more treacherous than the ones that we do see.

I can't tell you how many boring Supply Chain blogs I read, I am an absolute gluten for punishment and I cannot help myself. But Tom Robertson from Vizient has crafted a beauty here comparing IDNs to the Titanic!

IDNs have to navigate "Ice Bergs" like:
  • Baby boomers aging into Medicare
  • Escalating percentage of family budget going to healthcare

This is a great read on the macro economic issues our IDNs need to navigate to ensure survival.

96 percent of patient complaints are customer-service related, while a mere 4 percent complain about quality of care or misdiagnosis
A recent study digs into patient reviews of their physician and finds that varying complaints have to do with the quality of their care.

This is quite troubling, considering for the past 8-10 years physicians, hospitals and care givers have been grinding to elevate their marks when it comes to quality. I just wonder if they are going through the same rigor to improve their bedside manner.

How can suppliers help? That is your riddle to solve, and what a reward awaits those that do!

Here are a couple interesting stats for you:

Of the customer service complaints:
  • 53 percent of complaints are related to communication
  • 35 percent of complaints are related to long wait times/waiting rooms
  • 12 percent of complaints are related to practice staff
  • 2 percent of complaints are related to billing
Of the compliments:
  • 40 percent of five-star compliments are related to bedside manner
  • 28 percent of five-star compliments are related to practice staff
  • 24 percent of five-star compliments are related to communication

Simrit Sandhu of Cleveland Clinic interviewed on ANAE Supply Chain Leader Webinar
ANAE invites you to listen in to one of the 12 monthly Supply Chain Leader webinars that gives listeners an inside look into the pressing issues in today's dynamic health care supply chain.

Hear Simrit Sandhu, Executive Director of Supply Chain, for Cleveland Clinic cover:
-Size and organization makeup
-Contracting protocol and strategic direction
-Supply Chain models like Amazon and Regional Aggregation
-Tactics that best-in-class suppliers should understand


Click on the link below to learn more about ANAE membership.

Fairview Health CEO declares EMR Supplier is an "Impediment to Innovation"
For years I have been coaching Suppliers that their competition is not just other Suppliers in their category but all the initiatives the IDNs are working on. Initiatives like:

  • Recent mergers
  • Physician integration
  • CSC development
  • EMR implementation

I have often said "if you offered your product for free they may not be able to convert because they have all hands on deck with a more pressing or prioritized project."

The human capital that goes into EMR implementation, adoption and continued progression is extensive.

Fairview CEO James Hereford states “I will submit that one of the biggest impediments to innovation in health care is Epic, because the way that Epic thinks about their [intellectual property] and the IP of others that develop on that platform.” 

Certainly EMR implementation is one of the many major projects that can keep IDNs from converting to better suppliers. Read the below article to understand a major top 5 concern of IDN CEOs everywhere.

Ginny Borncamp, Senior VP, Chief Sourcing Officer for
Providence St. Joseph Health, Renton, Washington on Healthcare Supply Chain Radio
Ginny Borncamp, Senior VP, chief sourcing officer, Providence St. Joseph Health, Renton, Washington is my guest on the latest edition of Healthcare Supply Chain Radio.

Ms. Borncamp is responsible for Strategic Sourcing, Accounts Payable and Value Analysis for Providence/St. Jospeh's 50 hospitals and over 1,000 physician offices.

Listen to where this progressive Supply Chain Leader is guiding this major IDN!

ROi opens new Manufacturing plant!
ROi’s Custom Pack Solutions (CPS) division began in ROi’s Consolidated Services Center in Springfield, Missouri, but has outgrown its current 30,000 square feet of space.

In the last five years, it has grown more than 400 percent in volume. Today, the program manages more than 760 different surgical packs and averages more than 630,000 packs produced each year.

With the expansion and added automation possible in a new 100,000-square-foot building in Republic, Missouri, more than 90 ROi co-workers will be able to produce up to 3 million packs each year.

People on the move....
Scott Pope is now Founder at In Scope Ventures
Philip A. Patterson is President Providence Health Network
Steven Papas is C.O.O. at U.S. Best Medical
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Thanks for reading this issue of National Accounts Weekly! Let me know what you think!

You are now in the know!

John Pritchard


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