1. Keep a “bin” of unused supplies. Mr. Katz’s surgery center reviews customized packs on a regular basis to make sure they aren’t spending money on supplies that physicians don’t use. However, instead of reviewing supplies with physicians — who may not realize which supplies go unused — Mr. Katz says his center keeps a bin in the decontamination area to store leftover supplies. “Whatever that was in the pack that wasn’t used, we put in it in the bin,” he says. “Every week or two weeks, we look at what’s in there and decide whether we still need to order it.” He says if you perform 100 arthroscopies in two weeks and discover that the same drape is placed in the bin for every procedure, you probably don’t need to order the drape with the pack.
Eliminating an item from a custom pack doesn’t mean you have to stop ordering it entirely, Mr. Katz says. “You can have it on the shelf and pull it for the case,” he says. “You don’t need to open it until the doctor needs it.”
2. Reduce the cost of screws. Mr. Katz says a variety of manufacturers make stainless steel screws for orthopedic cases, the cost of which can vary significantly. “Everyone basically has the same screwdriver, but the cost of the screws can run from $12 to $27,” he says. “They’re all made out of the same stainless steel metal, and they all work just as well.” He says orthopedic surgery centers should pay attention to screw costs to make sure they’re not losing money needlessly on cases.
3. Ask for free samples of new products. When your vendor representative introduces a new gadget to your physicians, they may be excited to try it out right away. While a new supply can improve physician satisfaction and even clinical quality, Mr. Katz recommends asking for several free samples before committing to an order.
“If you have more than one doctor who wants to try it, every doctor should get to try it once for free, at no cost to the center,” says Mr. Katz. “If the manufacturer is interested in getting your business, they may not give you 20 of them, but they’ll probably give you two or three.”
4. Compare prices from vendors — especially on implants. When it comes to implants, even seemingly small items such as screws can have a significant impact on profitability. Especially if your payors refuse to carve-out implant costs, make sure to compare prices from various vendors before settling into a contract. Mr. Katz says that physicians in his surgery center commonly request to use different supplies because of a preference for a particular brand.
In order to save money, he sets a maximum price for what he’ll pay for a particular supply. “If both manufacturer X and manufacturer Y meet that price, we keep them both so that the doctor who wants X can use it and the doctor who wants Y can use it,” he says. Setting this price is important to encourage physicians to look at other, less-expensive options.
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