How do mandates affect the supply chain; DHL to invest $400M in med dist; HCA reports 4Q results; plus Jobs!

February 4, 2022

Hello NAW Subscribers -

I hope you enjoy this issue of National Accounts Weekly!

Sincerely,

John Pritchard

President of ANAE

Publisher of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting

How will government mandates affect the supply chain?

With a supply chain that is still in duress, many of the quick fix solutions that policymakers are attempting to introduce could create more problems for an already complicated situation.

In order to emerge from the current situation, we need a better understanding of the root of the problem. The supply chain is facing challenges because of unprecedented demand during the pandemic, with every aspect of the supply chain being overloaded.

John Butler, an opinion contributor for The Hill, writes, “Here’s the reality that many politicians are missing when they shortsightedly dictate new regulations in the name of political expediency or out of frustration with the current supply chain challenges: Global trade is one interconnected network employing the same ships and containers in continuous service loops. You can’t favor one set of stakeholders without upsetting the balance of the entire system: delays would increase, service would be reduced, and the already-present bottlenecks would grow worse.”

DHL to invest $400M in U.S. medical distribution chain

DHL Supply Chain announced its Life Sciences and Healthcare (LSHC) sector is investing upwards of $400 million to expand its pharmaceutical and medical device distribution network footprint by 27% this year – nearly 3 million additional square feet.

With the ultimate goal of bringing critical healthcare products closer to trade partners and patients, DHL Supply Chain’s new investment includes six new U.S. sites by the end of 2022. The investment includes costs to invest in new buildings and technology, as well as the fit-out and start-up of new or expanded operations.

HCA reports 4Q results, provides 2022 guidance

HCA Healthcare (Nashville, TN) announced its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021. Key fourth quarter metrics:

Revenues totaled $15.064 billion.
Net income attributable to HCA Healthcare totaled $1.814 billion, or $5.75 per diluted share.
Adjusted EBITDA totaled $3.149 billion.
Cash flows provided by operating activities totaled $2.443 billion.
Same facility admissions and same facility equivalent admissions increased 0.6% and 4.1%, respectively.

“The Omicron surge started to influence our business in early December. Overall, our teams continued their tremendous response, and the effects of the pandemic’s ever-changing conditions were managed well as reflected in our fourth quarter financial results,” said Sam Hazen, Chief Executive Officer of HCA Healthcare. “Across many dimensions of our business, our teams demonstrated an impressive ability to adjust quickly and effectively to three different surges during the year and deliver for our patients, our communities, and our colleagues.”

HCA plans to build five new hospitals in Texas

HCA Healthcare recently announced plans to build five new full-service hospitals in Texas to help meet the state’s growing need for healthcare services.

The new hospitals will be located in the following locations across the state:

One new full-service hospital in the Dallas Fort-Worth area
One new full-service hospital in the Houston area
One new full-service hospital in the San Antonio area, in partnership with Methodist Healthcare Ministries
Two new full-service hospitals in the Austin area, in partnership with St. David’s Foundation and Georgetown Health Foundation

Great leaders in healthcare in 2022

The healthcare industry is in need of strong leadership right now as we move closer to the two-year mark of the onset of COVID-19. Even though the pandemic introduced a number of challenges to the industry, healthcare is no stranger to labor shortages and supply shortages. Becker’s Hospital Review compiled a list of 113 great leaders in healthcare across the country. The first five are listed here:

ASPI welcomes Craig Lukowski as Regional Vice President, Florida

Healthcare Account Management and Strategy Firm Access Strategy Partners Inc. (ASPI) announced that Craig Lukowski has joined the ASPI Commercialization Team as Regional Vice President, Florida. The new ASPI sales leader will support leading-edge MedTech companies to ensure market readiness and accelerate sales engagement with key healthcare IDNs and national GPOs.

Intermountain contributes $1M to enhance community health

Intermountain Healthcare (Salt Lake City, UT) is making significant contributions to the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) and Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT), to help enhance community health by focusing on the social determinants of health throughout Utah. The social determinants of health are non-medical factors that influence the health of a family and community, such as housing instability, transportation issues, and food insecurity.

Together at last

Now is a good time for medicine and public health to put their acts together.

Prior to COVID-19, did you know the names of the medical officers of your state or county public health departments? Did the physicians you call on know their names?

It was the lack of coordination between medical providers and public health that led to failures in testing and vaccination during the pandemic, writes healthcare expert Atul Gawande in an August 2021 New Yorker article, “Costa Ricans Live Longer Than We Do. What’s the Secret?” In many cases, public health departments “were forced to launch their own operations, such as drive-through testing sites and stadium vaccination clinics – and they had to do so from scratch, in a mad rush.” More proof, he says, that the U.S. healthcare system “is designed for the great breakthrough – not the great follow-through.”

And it’s been that way for a long time.

Social media for medical manufacturers: What you never thought would work

Social media for medical manufacturers is a strategic way to network with healthcare facilities since nearly every hospital in the U.S. has a social account. In addition, social media is also a way to extend your reach beyond the major players in healthcare, as 223 million people in the U.S. have a social media account.

This many social media users also means there is greater competition to stand out online. That’s why we are bringing you five strategies you never thought would work to reach your audience on social media.

Hospitals unable to discharge to LTC facilities due to lack of beds

With positive COVID-19 cases steadily climbing at nursing homes around the country, hospitals have been unable to discharge patients into skilled nursing facilities due to the lack of beds. This is a prime example of how the essential role skilled nursing facilities have played in the care continuum.

“Nursing homes, including the post-acute care parts, have just always been kind of secondary to hospitals, and I think that comes back to bite us. Because it turns out they’re a pretty essential link in the chain,” R. Tamara Konetzka, professor of public health sciences at the University of Chicago, told The Guardian.

Could free N95 masks help or hurt domestic mask makers?

The Biden administration recently announced plans to distribute 400 million N95 masks for free at thousands of pharmacies to adults for free, which could greatly encourage people to improve their COVID-19 safety practices. The masks are being distributed from the government’s Strategic National Stockpile, and will hopefully work to decrease transmission of the omicron variant and any other future variants that could emerge.

Willy Shih, a contributor to The Hill, writes that this plan could potentially hurt or help domestic mask makers. He says, “Will ‘free’ masks shut down [mask] sales? Early signs are not good. Armbrust USA in Texas saw its sales drop almost 50 percent overnight after the free-mask announcement, and Shawmut Advanced Materials in Massachusetts saw a 60 to 70 percent sales decline over the last two days. Even Premier, one of the largest GPOs, has expressed concerns about the free mask program.”

The Journal of Healthcare Contracting's Future Supply Chain Leaders

Who’s going to shape the future of the healthcare supply chain? The smart, energetic and creative young people who work for you and with you. The under-40 crowd.

Help the editors of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting spotlight some of these up-and-comers in an upcoming feature: “Future Supply Chain Leaders of 2022.” If you know someone under 40 from the provider side who has the energy, dedication and courage to shape tomorrow’s healthcare supply chain, please let us know.

Send Your Nominations