Positively impacting patients & staff
When a patient experiences a life-threatening emergency, every second counts. Hospital staff shouldn’t have to waste precious time trying to find a crash cart. While it may seem surprising in this scenario, the IT Strategic Sourcing team at HealthTrust can actually help.
Here’s how…
Through research and conversations with members, peers and suppliers, the IT Strategic Sourcing team identified reliable and reputable suppliers of real-time location services that offer asset tracking technology for use on crash carts. The team leveraged the purchasing power of the HealthTrust membership to negotiate favorable contracts with three companies.
“Now, when completing a strategic analysis of a member’s IT needs and challenges,” explains Clay Posey, Assistant Vice President, IT Strategic Sourcing, “HealthTrust can recommend a contracted supplier who’s the best fit for their particular needs.” That way, when a life-threatening emergency does happen, the tracking technology is in place and hospital staff know instantly where to find the nearest crash cart.
“Reducing costs—& sometimes even saving lives—starts with a conversation between members & the IT Strategic Sourcing team. ”
Clay Posey
In addition to keeping track of crash carts, during the sourcing process, the IT Strategic Sourcing team also realized that real-time location services could help members save money. By knowing exactly where the equipment is and how much of it they have, members won’t inadvertently buy replacement items when enough inventory is already available.
The IT Strategic Sourcing team may also inform a member about a product or service that indirectly relieves an issue unrelated to the technology the product delivers, explains Nicholas Crowe, a Director on the team. As an example, consider the impact of real-time location services on employee turnover.
Besides locating assets like crash carts, real-time location services can also help assist nurses who are in danger. Identification badges with real-time location technology allow nurses to push a button on their badge that provides their location instantly to security staff. Crowe adds that while the technology’s goal is to safeguard staff, its impact reaches further.
“The right tools can have a positive impact on nurse retention.”
Nicholas Crowe
Savings abound
Recently the IT Strategic Sourcing team directed a member to a HealthTrust-contracted supplier that offered an array of services, diagnosing facility spend and digging into where there were opportunities to save money.
“The supplier analyzed the member’s software usage & discovered that a large percentage of it wasn’t necessary to run their business. By cutting out some of the software they weren’t required to have & that wasn’t being used, the supplier helped the IDN negotiate over $10 million worth of savings. The member was able to recognize that as capital savings.”
Mark Coleman, Director, IT Strategic Sourcing, HealthTrust
Empowering members
An unquantifiable benefit of HealthTrust’s Strategic Sourcing IT team is the burden it takes off members.
“They do the heavy lifting by identifying which suppliers are the best to contract with & then getting the legal terms in place. This helps to reduce the amount of negotiation that my team has to do, which is a big benefit. My team can prioritize & work on other things because HealthTrust is leading the charge on those efforts.”
Christi Lockhart, Assistant Vice President, HCA Healthcare
Put the IT Strategic Sourcing team to work for you. Contact your HealthTrust Account Manager or email commercial@healthtrustpg.com to start the conversation.
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