1. Maintain lean inventory. Closely monitoring inventory allows Dr. Leavitt to track precisely what supplies are needed and when.
“We try to standardize our equipment, so we don’t have one physician saying they need one particular forcep from a vendor and another physician saying they need another forcep from another vendor because then you don’t get a price break,” he says. “We try get all the forceps from one vendor with one price and keep inventory lean. It’s our goal to know exactly when to get supplies and from where.”
2. Find a balance between ordering supplies based on need and pricing opportunities. Dr. Leavitt orders supplies strictly based on what the facility needs, thereby keeping inventory lean while avoid unnecessary purchases. Although he is able to anticipate supply volume through close monitoring of inventory and usage, he also takes advantage of special pricing options from vendors as they come.
“We have one vendor that supplies us with disposable supplies like biopsy forceps, and if we buy it in large volumes we save a lot of money,” he says. “On this one occasion, we didn’t do lean inventory because it was such a giant cost saving, so we just bought it and stored it.”
3. Exercise authority. Galloway’s executive board, which is made up of some of the facility’s physicians, shop for best pricing as a team. Although the executive board is open to suggestions for certain supplies, the board comes to an executive decision for what is most useful and cost-effective for the entire facility.
“Some suggestions don’t make sense, so we don’t get them because there are other good substitutes that aren’t as expensive,” Dr. Leavitt says. “For example, an esophageal dilation balloon is an instrument used during procedures to stretch the esophagus. Well, it’s $300 or $400 and disposable. There may be special cases for the balloon, but we tell physicians to take those cases to a hospital.”
Learn more about Galloway Endoscopy Center.
