Johns Hopkins' centralized supply chain; New Covid booster; Mid-term elections; plus Jobs!

October 21, 2022

Hello NAW Subscribers -

I hope you like this issue of National Accounts Weekly.

Please join us next Tuesday, Oct. 25, for an interactive webinar on the mid-term elections.

Here's a preview and you can register here.

Sincerely,

John Pritchard

President of ANAE

Publisher of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting (JHC)

A Centralized Supply Chain

A multitiered analytics tool helps Johns Hopkins maintain its supplier resiliency

Historically, Johns Hopkins Health System has had a fragmented supply chain reporting structure. And a few of its hospitals today have legacy structures in place for ORs and Cath labs with their own supply chains.

This can create varying degrees of sophistication using an ERP system and leveraging analytics and inventory management strategies. But transition is underway to a central reporting structure to manage supplies and mitigate disruptions.

“We have a broader strategy to integrate our supply chain across our health system, so it isn’t autonomous at each hospital,” said Burton Fuller, vice president and chief supply chain officer of Johns Hopkins Health System. “We’re modifying the process as we go through this integration effort. But the pandemic has made the conversations easy.”

CDC authorizes Novavax’s COVID-19 booster

The CDC cleared a third vaccine-maker’s COVID-19 booster for authorization in the U.S. on Oct. 19 following the FDA’s vote.

Novavax’s monovalent booster is authorized for adults 18 and older, and the CDC said the decision offers another option for those who have completed the primary vaccination series but have not received a booster shot. It also could interest those who are wary of mRNA-based vaccines, like Pfizer’s and Moderna’s shots, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said in a statement.

Report finds revenue cycle management as top priority investment for providers

A new report from Bain & Company and KLAS Research has found that 50% of surveyed providers listed revenue cycle management as a top five software investment priority over the next year.

The report found that RCM software is a critical component in the current environment given the direct link with cash collection as well as the labor-intensive nature of revenue cycle processes.

Please join us next Tuesday, Oct. 25, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET for ANAE's interactive webinar on the mid-term elections. The 2022 mid-term elections in November could be the most consequential in years, possibly defying political history and resetting modern political norms.

John Pritchard, President of ANAE, will interview Paul Keckley, Ph.D., of The Keckley Report, Jonathan Jagoda, Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Federation of American Hospitals, and Blair Childs, Senior Vice President of Premier.

There will be a 15-minute Q&A session after the interview for audience questions.

Mid-Term Elections Webinar Preview: What It Could Mean to Suppliers

Questions? Contact Anna McCormick at amccormick@sharemovingmedia.com.

Please join us for ANAE’s Supply Chain Leader webinars with UPMC, CommonSpirit Health and URMC.

John Pritchard will interview guests in 45-minute sessions covering their top priorities, how their supply chain is structured and what suppliers can do to best support the health systems and work with them more effectively. Dates and guests include:

Nov. 3, 2 p.m. ET - Kathryn Carpenter, VP, Sourcing, Contracting, Clinical Strategy and Implementation, CommonSpirit Health

Dec. 1, 2 p.m. ET - Carl Tietjen, AVP, Purchasing and Supply Chain, University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC)

Interested in our corporate membership packages?

Contact Anna McCormick at amccormick@sharemovingmedia.com.

Rheumatologists’ increasing confidence in biosimilars

Cardinal Health released its third edition of Rheumatology Insights, a research report based on surveys with more than 100 rheumatologists nationwide that focuses on key trends impacting one of the fastest-growing areas of specialty medicine.

The research revealed that rheumatologists are both more familiar with biosimilars and more comfortable prescribing them than they were in 2020, just in time for a wave of new biosimilars anticipated to hit the market in 2023. Biosimilars are medications that are highly similar to FDA-approved biologics, the fastest growing class of drugs in the U.S. They provide the same treatment benefits as their original biologics, called reference products, but are offered at lower costs and therefore expected to deliver meaningful cost savings to the healthcare system.

AHA receives CDC grant to build vaccine confidence

The American Hospital Association (AHA) announced that the organization received $1.5 million in grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support COVID-19 vaccine confidence efforts through September 2023. The AHA will work directly with the Children’s Hospital Association on pediatric vaccination as part of the year three grant.

The AHA previously received two grants totaling $3 million with a grant period ending last month. Since February 2021, the AHA has led a comprehensive vaccine education program to support the hospital field, clinicians and members of the public.

Mayo Clinic receives grant for breast cancer research

A team of researchers from Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center has been awarded a five-year, $12.1 million Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant in breast cancer from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This is the third renewal of Mayo Clinic’s breast cancer SPORE grant.

SPORE grants promote interdisciplinary research to speed research findings to patient care and to determine the biological basis for observations made in people with cancer or at higher risk for cancer.

Networking for National Account Managers

by Gary Gustafson, President

Preferred Marketing Programs

This is a briefcase guide for National Account Managers specifically targeting IDNs. Whether you are responsible for IDNs or GPOs, this shoe fits.

In the last segment we talked about Networking being the cornerstone of success. Let’s target a fictitious IDN and use it as an example. Top Dog Healthcare is located in Lucky, TX. It has 21 hospitals located in 4 states. Your products could be sold into several departments in any hospital. Between choices like the C-Suite, Safety, Regulatory, Engineering, Supply Chain and/or others, we should figure an average of five call points in each hospital. That is 105 call points in this IDN, not counting headquarters. There is no way you will cover those call points. Networking is now in play.

Possible Networking Partners:

1.) Your sales reps and sales managers.

2.) If distributor reps are involved, then you need to add them.

3.) GPO reps for each hospital.

4.) Hospital decision makers that you may know or develop.

5.) Sister division reps and managers of your company are good choices if you have them.

Networking Tools: (These are critical)

1.) Conference Calls on a regular basis.

2.) Zoom calls on a regular basis.

3.) Schedule separate breakfast or coffee sessions at your company sales meetings,

4.) Meet local networking partners at agreeable locations.

5.) Develop a newsletter for your sales networking partners.

At GPO meetings, schedule side meetings with appropriate reps. In addition to selected in-hospital calls, develop a strategy to meet with hospital decision makers at their IDN quarterly or annual meetings. Most department heads will have those meetings specific to their department. Host something.

These are just suggestions. Be creative and imaginative and build your own Networking Strategies. You will stand out. Don’t forget, data is king. Check out the link for an idea on the charts you could keep with the help of reps. The chart information is only an example. Create your own per your own individual needs.

NETWORKING CHART FOR NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS

Create your own chart in the style best suited for you. Add columns for issues relevant to your strategies.

Chart should contain at least the following:

IDN NAME

Name of Hospital 1

Department Choice of Product

Your company Rep

GPO & Rep

Distributor & Rep

Hospital Decision Makers

Pertinent Comments

Holzer Center for Cancer Care affiliates with Cleveland Clinic

Holzer Health System and Cleveland Clinic have announced a new formal affiliation between the Holzer Center for Cancer Care (HCCC) and Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center. This affiliation expands access to highly specialized cancer treatments, clinical resources, and clinical trials for patients in the southeastern Ohio and western West Virginia communities.

“This affiliation will provide advanced care options for our patients,” said Shane Maliszewski, MBA, service line director, Holzer Center for Cancer Care. “We look forward to working with Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center to expand our treatments and therapies, and provide advanced care for our patients.”