Omicron could impact 2022 surgeries; 9 changes in provider purchase behavior; HCA buys 59 urgent cares; plus Jobs!

January 7, 2022

Hello NAW Subscribers -

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy this issue of National Accounts Weekly.

Sincerely,

John Pritchard

President of ANAE

Publisher of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting

Expanding shortages of some medical supply commodities are more about economics than global logistics and that’s a problem

By E.V. Clarke, CEO of Health Products Xchange

While the global supply chain crisis has created severe shortages in every sector of business, medical supply commodities have been hit particularly hard. Crutches, suction canisters and blood collection tubes have seen serious scarcities, and some major health systems desperate for crutches have appealed to their local communities for donations.

The impacts are spreading to new product areas, but this crisis is much different than the PPE crisis faced early in the pandemic. There isn’t a sudden increase in demand for crutches or suction canisters. These are simply high-use, low-cost bulky medical commodities that have seen increases to their cost of production through growing expenditures for raw materials, particularly aluminum, and they are expensive to ship.

CoreTrust, a division of HealthTrust, partners with GEODIS to expand FTL transportation solution

CoreTrust, a commercial group purchasing organization (GPO) and a division of HealthTrust, and GEODIS announced a strategic alliance to provide a full truckload (FTL) managed transportation solution to CoreTrust members.

The alliance expands CoreTrust Logistics’ truckload freight offering to include a comprehensive FTL managed solution for member organizations. By tapping into the GEODIS network of more than 1,000 asset-based carriers, as well as its world-class managed transportation capabilities, CoreTrust members can achieve superior results in both procurement of contracted rates and end-to-end management of FTL shipments, the companies said.

Hospitals warn that Omicron could impact surgeries

A recent study conducted by William Blair found that the Omicron variant could further delay a return to normal patient volumes until mid-2022, which is consistent with a new study regarding surgeries and diagnostic testing. Analysts at BTIG ran a flash survey of 51 hospital administrators, which found that a mixture of healthcare staff shortages and rising COVID-19 admissions is forcing hospitals to cancel elective surgeries and postpone diagnostic and imaging procedures.

Lifesaving COVID-19 treatments face rationing as virus surges

Scarce supplies and surging COVID-19 cases have caused health officials, hospitals, doctors and patients to scramble for pills and infusions. (Source: New York Times)

Thermo Fisher Scientific completes $1.85B acquisition of PeproTech

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. completed its acquisition of PeproTech, Inc. (Cranbury, NJ) on Dec. 30, 2021 for a total cash purchase price of approximately $1.85 billion.

PeproTech is a privately held provider of bioscience reagents known as recombinant proteins, including cytokines and growth factors. Recombinant proteins are used in the development and manufacturing of cell and gene therapies as well as in broader cell culture applications, especially for use in cellular research models.

HCA Healthcare acquires MD Now Urgent Care's 59 Florida locations

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (Nashville, TN) has purchased MD Now Urgent Care, a network of 59 urgent care centers in Florida.

The transaction significantly expands HCA Healthcare’s reach as one of the nation’s largest providers of urgent care, currently operating more than 170 clinics across 19 markets. MD Now is the largest urgent care provider in Florida.

9 changes in the purchase behavior of healthcare providers

The healthcare industry has completely transformed because of technological advances in medicine and the supply chain.

In addition, it saw another drastic change during COVID-19. The purchase behavior of healthcare providers evolved along with the industry to meet the growing demand for telemedicine, value-based technology, and preparedness for future crises.

Allison Corry named head of supply chain for Intermountain Healthcare

Allison Corry has been named as the new chief supply chain officer and vice president of Intermountain Healthcare’s Supply Chain Organization (SCO).

Corry will lead the development of the Intermountain SCO’s future digital roadmap creating the vision and strategic plans for all aspects of the operation including materials management, logistics, services, operations integration, and procurement. She is the first woman to serve in this role at Intermountain.

Longtime Henry Schein CFO Steven Paladino to retire in April

Henry Schein, Inc., announced today that Steven Paladino plans to retire as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective April 29, 2022, after 35 years with the company. Ronald N. South, Henry Schein’s Vice President, Corporate Finance since 2008 and Chief Accounting Officer since 2013, has been named his successor and will become the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective April 29, 2022, reporting to Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. The organizational changes announced reflect the implementation of the company’s succession plan for its senior finance team.

AHRMM welcomes its new 2022 Advisory Board members

The AHRMM Advisory Board is comprised of thirteen health care supply chain professionals elected by the AHRMM membership. Advisory Board members serve three year terms. The executive team is made up of the chair, chair-elect and immediate past chair from provider organizations. The remainder of the board includes eight provider representatives and two affiliate representatives.

5 questions for Steve Downey, Cleveland Clinic's new chief supply chain officer

Downey comes to the new role from Vizient, where he oversaw supply chain operations while working with 35 acute care and 200 nonacute care facilities in its purview. (Source: HealthLeaders)

Virtua Health, Rowan University to create new academic health system

Virtua Health and Rowan University have signed an affiliation agreement to create a new academic health system. This partnership between the top 100 public research university and the largest health system in southern New Jersey will create the Virtua Health College of Medicine & Health Sciences of Rowan University.

The new college will encompass the state’s only osteopathic medical school; an expanded nursing and allied health professions school; a new school of translational biomedical engineering and sciences; multiple new research institutes; and aligned clinical practices to improve patient care and train the workforce of the future.

Draw inspiration from the best ads and commercials of 2021

Between a pandemic and the world struggling to get back to “normal,” ads and commercials in 2021 have transformed through the year. While savvy marketers remained focused on the overall strategy and audience targeting, creatives needed to deliver a memorable ad experience with more prospective buyers consuming media faster than ever before.

Burnout, staffing shortages fueled by COVID-19 in 2021 created a perfect storm

As COVID-19 continues to change the way hospitals and providers strategize their business models and care for patients, Healthcare Finance News reported on some top trends from the last year and an outlook for the future.

Here are some of the key trends in healthcare today: