When I joined HealthTrust in 2018, I was impressed by the organization’s history of product sourcing, which included the influence of clinical evidence and research. While the vernacular description “clinically integrated supply chain” would come years later, the concept is a foundational premise of our organization.
A little history
In 1999, HealthTrust’s founder and CEO transitioned an advisory board process that was in place at HCA Healthcare to HealthTrust for the benefit of all member organizations. As membership needs have evolved over the course of the last 25 years, so too have our Clinical Advisory Boards.
Additional boards have been created to inform the Pharmacy and Commercial Products portfolios, modeling the success realized from the clinical sourcing process. We are grateful to members throughout the organization who participate in this process to enhance the work of the internal Strategic Sourcing Team by validating proposed contracting strategies, supporting final strategies, and driving compliance within their facilities and health systems once products and services are added to HealthTrust portfolios.
Resources & collaboration are critical
Part of the impact of the Clinical Services Team is providing members with actionable and relatable resources (such as those listed below) to help bridge the knowledge gap that often exists between clinical and supply chain colleagues within a healthcare system:
- Knowledge Insights Library
Supports members with clinical evidence, physician and clinician insights, conversion tools and an on-demand clinical request service. - HealthTrust Huddle
Enables all members to have a voice in discussions about various topics—many of which include product conversations. This type of sharing—combined with feedback from the Clinical Advisory Boards and insights from practicing physicians who are part of the HealthTrust Physician Advisor Network—is essential to the Strategic Sourcing Team in reviewing products, suppliers and emerging technologies. - Collaborative Summits
These two-day, topic-centric events provide an immersive think-tank experience that enables members to come together to discuss real-world challenges they are facing.
Most recently, my team hosted the Nursing Workforce 2.0 Summit. More than 30 participants from 10 health systems met in Nashville, Tennessee, to brainstorm ideas on how to leverage technology and innovation within the constraints of nurse staffing and workload.
Participants had 1:1 dialogue with five technology suppliers, heard from experts, brainstormed with colleagues and received insights to help form an action plan for their organization. Attendees left the event with 90-day next steps as well as a network of support. We look forward to sharing staffing summit insights with you in the Q3 edition of The Source. In the meantime, be well.
John Young, M.D., MBA, FACHE
Chief Medical Officer, HealthTrust Performance Group
Executive Publisher & Editor-at-large, The Source magazine
