The ECRI Institute has released a Web-based tool that enables hospitals to create standard preliminary equipment “wish lists,” the first step in assembling an annual capital budget.
The interactive tool is designed to supply actual and accurate prices paid, saving purchasing staff from having to contact vendors for price quotes and tweak their data, according to ECRI, a nonprofit applied science researcher.
Multiple hospital employees can submit proposed or requested items with the tool, thus providing greater transparency across all departments in the annual capital budget process.
The tool populates standard pricing data in a simple list format that includes the name of staff, department, and facility if in a hospital system, for requesting a particular piece of equipment. Users can view the average price for a budget item over the past year, and the tool automatically recalculates totals as new items are added.