Supply Chain

While bottom line impact may be tough to measure when it comes to financial investment, patients just want their own bottoms covered.

The economic collapse in 2008 changed everything for the new CFO Amy Floria, plunging Goshen, both the city and hospital, into crisis. But smart cost management has helped the system bounce back.

Though antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" aren't new, their rise in U.S. healthcare institutions is leading hospitals to stock up on supplies to combat them.

Rebounding from a tough couple of years due to lack of availability of generic drugs, many healthcare facilities are weighing their options.

Group purchasing saves Kansas Hospital Association members up to 50 percent on natural gas contracts, 11 percent on air gas renewal, over 50 percent in radiology procedure supplies and realized a 5 to 12 percent reduction in the cost of facilities and construction.

Declines in inpatient volume, reimbursement and changes in the boundary between payers and providers are compelling CFOs across the country to develop new, innovative ways to cut costs.

Harvard Drug Group mainly distributes generic pharmaceuticals and pulled in more than $450 million in revenue in fiscal 2014.

According to tax and advisory firm KPMG, 74 percent of healthcare providers say they are either in the beginning stages or have not even begun to invest is systems for analytics and financial reporting.

Major cancer centers topped the list with tens of millions in payments and services from pharmaceutical giants.

Several teaching hospitals raked millions in payments from device and drug manufacturers in 2014, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released Tuesday that showed drug and medical device makers made close to $6.5 billion in payments to healthcare providers in 2014.