Here are five ways ambulatory surgery centers can improve their relationships with group purchasing organizations.
1. Simplify by working with one GPO. According to Glenda Beasley, RN, of Kentucky Surgery Center in Lexington, surgery centers may run into difficulties if they work with multiple GPOs. "I have only one GPO, and it's still a constant battle making sure contracts with vendors are up-to-date, monitoring pricing and doing inventory control, so it might be best to work with just one," she says. Limiting your center to one GPO can ensure your staffers are in regular contact with your GPO representative and that your efforts aren't spread too thin between multiple organizations.
From: Quick Tips for Working With GPOs: Q&A With Administrator Glenda Beasley of Kentucky Surgery Center
2. Audit order processing. Lisa Austin, RN, CASC, vice president of ASC operations for Pinnacle III, says every ASC should audit its ordering process quarterly, once a year or twice a year, depending on staff resources. The audit should make sure your center is receiving accurate GPO pricing and your distributors have your contracts loaded appropriately. "Oftentimes we'll find in an audit that the contract was never loaded, so an ASC has been paying a higher price for the last six months than what should have been paid when the ASC switched brands, "she says.
From: Critical ASC Mistake: Not Auditing Order Processing, Involving Vendors to Reduce Supply Costs
3. Keep in touch with your GPO representative. According to Sandy Berreth, administrator of Brainerd Lakes Surgery Center in Baxter, Minn., ASCs that affiliate with GPOs will be assigned a sales representative to act as a liaison between the center and the organization. "Sometimes those sales reps are really good and they keep you informed," she says. "Sometimes they're really busy people and they have multiple organizations they're working with, so you have to stay on top of them." To make sure your rep pays enough attention to your center, Ms. Berreth recommends talking to the sales representative once a week and finding out what the GPO is working on. "If they're working on a suture contract, we might ask them every week, 'What are the changes? What are you guys thinking?'" Don't wait for the representative to come to you. Be proactive and make the phone call.
From: 3 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your GPO Relationship
4. Customize pre-packages. Most GPOs allow surgery centers to customize pre-packages, which include all the supplies needed for a specific procedure. Customizing these packages allows the surgery center to eliminate the cost of unnecessary supplies. "We just customized pre-package trays for knee arthroscopies," says Steve Smith, director of Surgery Center of Wisconsin Rapids. "In these pre-packages, there should be everything you would need in order to perform a knee scope. By going through the packs and customizing it, we're able to lower cost by 10-15 percent without affecting patient safety or patient outcome. You always have to see if changing supply will affect either of those in any way."
From: 5 Ways to Reduce Supply Costs at Your Orthopedics-Driven ASC
5. Work with similar centers to promote a specialty-specific GPO. Nancy Le Nikolovski, administrator of Physicians Endoscopy Center in Houston, says centers should look into a specialty-specific GPO, especially for single-specialty centers that use different supplies than their multi-specialty counterparts. She says her GI-driven ASC worked with other GI centers in town to promote a GI-specific GPO, saying, "It would be better if we could align ourselves with the other GI centers in town and say, 'Hey, we'd like to commit to buying X amount if you give us a discount.'" She says this collaborative attitude can also help spread best practices among centers. For example, if a particular center has established a good relationship with a certain vendor, your center could benefit from that knowledge.
From: 5 Ways to Save Money on Supplies in a GI-Driven ASC
Read more supply chain best practices:
-10 Statistics About ASC Medical and Surgical Expenses
-5 Ways to Control OR Supply Costs
-6 Recent Articles on Ambulatory Surgery Center Reprocessing
1. Simplify by working with one GPO. According to Glenda Beasley, RN, of Kentucky Surgery Center in Lexington, surgery centers may run into difficulties if they work with multiple GPOs. "I have only one GPO, and it's still a constant battle making sure contracts with vendors are up-to-date, monitoring pricing and doing inventory control, so it might be best to work with just one," she says. Limiting your center to one GPO can ensure your staffers are in regular contact with your GPO representative and that your efforts aren't spread too thin between multiple organizations.
From: Quick Tips for Working With GPOs: Q&A With Administrator Glenda Beasley of Kentucky Surgery Center
2. Audit order processing. Lisa Austin, RN, CASC, vice president of ASC operations for Pinnacle III, says every ASC should audit its ordering process quarterly, once a year or twice a year, depending on staff resources. The audit should make sure your center is receiving accurate GPO pricing and your distributors have your contracts loaded appropriately. "Oftentimes we'll find in an audit that the contract was never loaded, so an ASC has been paying a higher price for the last six months than what should have been paid when the ASC switched brands, "she says.
From: Critical ASC Mistake: Not Auditing Order Processing, Involving Vendors to Reduce Supply Costs
3. Keep in touch with your GPO representative. According to Sandy Berreth, administrator of Brainerd Lakes Surgery Center in Baxter, Minn., ASCs that affiliate with GPOs will be assigned a sales representative to act as a liaison between the center and the organization. "Sometimes those sales reps are really good and they keep you informed," she says. "Sometimes they're really busy people and they have multiple organizations they're working with, so you have to stay on top of them." To make sure your rep pays enough attention to your center, Ms. Berreth recommends talking to the sales representative once a week and finding out what the GPO is working on. "If they're working on a suture contract, we might ask them every week, 'What are the changes? What are you guys thinking?'" Don't wait for the representative to come to you. Be proactive and make the phone call.
From: 3 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your GPO Relationship
4. Customize pre-packages. Most GPOs allow surgery centers to customize pre-packages, which include all the supplies needed for a specific procedure. Customizing these packages allows the surgery center to eliminate the cost of unnecessary supplies. "We just customized pre-package trays for knee arthroscopies," says Steve Smith, director of Surgery Center of Wisconsin Rapids. "In these pre-packages, there should be everything you would need in order to perform a knee scope. By going through the packs and customizing it, we're able to lower cost by 10-15 percent without affecting patient safety or patient outcome. You always have to see if changing supply will affect either of those in any way."
From: 5 Ways to Reduce Supply Costs at Your Orthopedics-Driven ASC
5. Work with similar centers to promote a specialty-specific GPO. Nancy Le Nikolovski, administrator of Physicians Endoscopy Center in Houston, says centers should look into a specialty-specific GPO, especially for single-specialty centers that use different supplies than their multi-specialty counterparts. She says her GI-driven ASC worked with other GI centers in town to promote a GI-specific GPO, saying, "It would be better if we could align ourselves with the other GI centers in town and say, 'Hey, we'd like to commit to buying X amount if you give us a discount.'" She says this collaborative attitude can also help spread best practices among centers. For example, if a particular center has established a good relationship with a certain vendor, your center could benefit from that knowledge.
From: 5 Ways to Save Money on Supplies in a GI-Driven ASC
Read more supply chain best practices:
-10 Statistics About ASC Medical and Surgical Expenses
-5 Ways to Control OR Supply Costs
-6 Recent Articles on Ambulatory Surgery Center Reprocessing