Inflation and the healthcare supply chain; Nominate top non-acute supply chain leaders; plus Jobs!

March 18, 2022

Hello NAW Subscribers -

I hope you like this issue of National Accounts Weekly!

Remember to nominate top non-acute and alternate site supply chain leaders to JHC for its upcoming feature.

Please nominate them here.

Sincerely,

John Pritchard

President of ANAE

Publisher of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting (JHC)

Nominate top non-acute supply chain leaders

The Journal of Healthcare Contracting (JHC) is seeking your nominations for Top Non-Acute and Alternate Site Supply Chain Leaders. Non-acute facilities are playing an integral role in today’s care delivery and JHC would like to highlight their particular challenges and successes. The leaders will be featured in an upcoming JHC issue and interviewed in a JHC podcast series.

Nominees can be in an exclusive non-acute supply chain role or a role connecting non-acute care with the acute care supply chain. Deadline: March 31.

Nominate Here

Inflation and the healthcare supply chain

There’s no getting around it. Inflation has permeated every aspect of the economy – including the healthcare supply chain. Raw materials, energy, labor and logistics have all been affected, said Margaret Steele, Vizient Senior Vice President, Med/Surg.

Steele said the healthcare supply chain has been significantly impacted over the last several years due to many factors including world events. As a result, timely and accurate information is critical to minimize impact and determine risk mitigation strategies.

“Supply chain leaders use various tools, such as budget impact projection reports, market supply updates and category specific insights, to understand the impact of changes affecting raw materials, labor and logistics as they look to understand cost and risk for supply disruption,” Steele said. Now, supply chain leaders are utilizing these same sources to monitor the impact of the recent events that also have an impact on raw materials, manufacturing and transportation.

How does U.S. primary healthcare stack up?

Among high-income countries, U.S. adults were the second least likely to have a regular doctor or place to go for care, ahead of only Sweden, according to the Commonwealth Fund data, an international research group. The majority of adults in all 11 countries reported having a regular doctor or place of care, but adults in the U.S. and Sweden reported this at significantly lower rates than adults in most of the countries, Commonwealth reported in a recent examination of how the U.S. compares in primary care.

Some of the other findings:

U.S. adults are the least likely to have a longstanding relationship with a primary care provider.
Access to home visits or after-hours care is lowest in the U.S.
U.S. primary care providers are the most likely to screen for social service needs.
One-third of U.S. primary care physicians have mental health providers in their practice, compared with nearly all in the Netherlands and Sweden.
Half of U.S. primary care physicians report adequate coordination with specialists and hospitals — around the average for the 11 countries studied.

Vizient, Phrase Health partner for real-time insights into provider ordering practices

Vizient announced a strategic agreement with Phrase Health, a clinical process improvement analytics company, to offer quality improvement workflow and process solutions for improving patient outcomes. The partnership provides a platform for Vizient’s Clinician Decision Analytics offering, which will enable Vizient member health care organizations to capture near real-time data from electronic health records and gain insights into clinician ordering practices.

“We are committed to strengthening Vizient members’ ability to access actionable insights to further align cost, quality and market performance,” said Shannon Sims, senior vice president, data operations for Vizient. “The partnership between Vizient and Phrase Health will enable members to gather insights from electronic health records systems in near real time, including clinical decisions associated with each patient encounter, so that they can quickly identify opportunities to reduce variation that can lead to lower costs and care improvement.”

Collaboration for the win

From the March 2022 issue of JHC:

Yankee Alliance President and CEO Larry Kaufman believes there’s more value for healthcare stakeholders in working together than remaining insular.

Larry Kaufman has been president and CEO of Andover, Mass.-based Yankee Alliance, a national GPO and certified sponsor of Premier, Inc., for a little over a year, taking the helm last February, after former president and CEO Cathy Spinney retired. He has a demonstrated history of creating patient-focused cultures for serving health systems, most recently as president and CEO of Trivergent Health Alliance MSO in Maryland and 35 years with HCA Healthcare and HealthTrust, the HCA-initiated national GPO.

After more than 20 years running hospitals at the C-suite level for HCA, Kaufman moved into the CEO role for the eastern U.S. for HealthTrust and his responsibilities expanded to non-HCA facilities.

“That gave me exposure to a lot of organizations from Miami to Maine that had their unique challenges,” he said. “And states in between like Georgia that suffered from a large number of critical access facilities closing over the last several years and that was pre-COVID. Just challenges upon challenges, and then COVID hit.”

Yankee Alliance and The Claflin Company establish exclusive distribution agreement

Yankee Alliance and The Claflin Company have established an exclusive distribution agreement to provide Yankee Members access to Claflin’s wide range of logistics programs along with enhanced savings opportunities for Yankee aggregated contracts. The agreement, which will continue to add aggregations opportunities, will aim to provide Yankee members with the most aggressive customized contracting options in the industry.

Owens & Minor donates essential medical supplies to Ukraine

Owens & Minor made a donation of medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) including exam gloves, masks, and isolation gowns to support medical care in humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine. The total value of the donation is approximately $500,000.

Owens & Minor teammates, recognizing the urgency of the need in Ukraine, coordinated across multiple distribution centers, including Chicago, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, to fast-track packaging and shipping. These efforts made it possible to expedite the transfer of more than 30 pallets of PPE—the equivalent of two full truckloads of products—for delivery and distribution in Ukraine and other impacted countries via a global non-profit partner.

Thermo Fisher Scientific expanding clinical research lab capacity

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced it will invest $97 million to expand its clinical research operations in Richmond, Virginia. The facilities, which include laboratory operations acquired with the purchase of PPD, Inc. in December 2021, will support increasing demand across biopharma for consistent, high-quality laboratory services to accelerate drug development.

Over the next three years, Thermo Fisher expects to add nearly 150,000 square feet and more than 500 new employees in Richmond. The existing laboratory services operation in Richmond comprises more than 300,000 square feet, making it one of the largest laboratories of its kind in the world, and it employs more than 1,200 professionals, including Ph.D.-level scientists, analytical laboratory staff and other scientific professionals. The bulk of the expansion will occur in immunochemistry and chromatography functions, as well as subsequent enhancements in biomarker and vaccine sciences.

Midmark expands training program with leadership hire

Midmark Corp., the only clinical environmental design company providing medical, dental and veterinary solutions that enable a better experience at the point of care, today announced the hiring of Jaclyn Smith as director of education and development. The hiring signals an evolution of the current program, which will expand and take on a larger role within the company, advancing Midmark’s clinical and non-clinical training for Midmark teammates and customers.

Capitalizing on her robust understanding of the market landscape and educational programming, Smith will develop and provide oversight of Midmark’s clinical education, sales, training, and customer engagement resources. She will also work to ensure Midmark stays current with industry best practices and develop a network of external resources, including industry leaders and peer groups, to build content that augments the curriculum.

Medtronic names new operating unit presidents

Medtronic plc announced new executive appointments for three of its operating units: Diabetes, Robotics and Cardiac Rhythm Management.

Que Dallara joins the company as EVP and Operating Unit President, Diabetes, effective May 2, 2022.
In this role, Dallara succeeds Sean Salmon, EVP and president, Cardiovascular Portfolio and Diabetes Operating Unit, who now turns to focus exclusively on leading the Cardiovascular Portfolio.
Mike Marinaro was named as President, Surgical Robotics. Marinaro has more than 20 years of experience at Medtronic.
Dr. Kweli Thompson was named as President, Cardiac Rhythm Management. Dr. Thompson is an accomplished medical technology leader with two decades of experience in business development, clinical research, product marketing, and general management.

PWH announces John Sasen Memorial Scholarship recipient

PWH is excited to announce the recipient of the 2022 John Sasen Memorial Scholarship, Saran Ross, Sr. Manager, RX Sales Administration at McKesson. She is dedicated to improving, diversifying and providing equity in the health experience of others and is excited to join the PWH network. Congratulations Saran, on your well-deserved scholarship.

Several women were considered for this award that honors someone in the healthcare industry that is an inspiring individual, demonstrates leadership and is an ambassador to the industry. The scholarship is awarded to one woman each year and includes a one-year PWH membership as well as attendance to the HIDA Executive Conference.

Podcast: Fox News’ Shannon Bream

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, The Journal of Healthcare Contracting and Repertoire Magazine Publisher Scott Adams sat down with Fox News Anchor Shannon Bream to discuss leadership, content and her new book.

“I have been trying to get this interview for a few years and the timing finally worked out, and the wait was worth it,” said Adams.

Bream has been on Fox for more than 13 years covering the Supreme Court as well as anchoring her own show.

Listen Here

LinkedIn vs. Facebook for Healthcare: Where should the budget go?

Social media can turn into a black hole without goals and a strategy to guide your effort.

You know your medical supply or manufacturing company needs a social media presence. Figuring out where to budget your money, time, and energy is another story.

For medical supply manufacturers and distributors, weighing the benefits of LinkedIn vs. Facebook for healthcare is a critical part of any successful strategy – but the answer isn’t so obvious even for strict B2Bs.

They’re each so different. Instead, consider your company’s unique audience segments, products, and goals while considering the factors of each platform here.