Supply Chain
Although there's little hardcore evidence to date that mobile health technology will dramatically reduce U.S. healthcare costs, several thought leaders are optimistic.
China has a lock on U.S. medical supplies because of cheap labor and low production costs. In the quest for savings, we have put our healthcare system in jeopardy and left strategic supply just one policy shift away from a severe crippling.
While certain key generic drugs will take billions in drug costs out of the healthcare system in the next 3 to 4 years, this anticipated decline in spending is masking the growth of specialty drug costs.
The delivery of coronary artery stents is a procedure that affects over 1 million patients each year in the United States. With an aging population, the declining cost of stents and reimbursement tracking with the consumer price index, the market for stenting continues to grow.
Hospital administrators are finding that inexpensive and unobtrusive radio frequency identification tags are saving thousands of dollars while increasing quality of care and patient satisfaction.
Purchasers can often achieve better deals on cardiac rhythm management devices with bulk purchases, system purchases, and market share agreements. But before committing to a bulk purchase, it's important to ensure that your volume warrants such an agreement.
Much attention has focused on the "patent cliff" faced by pharmaceutical companies. There is another patent cliff approaching that has not yet received much attention -- the end of patent protection for many minimally invasive surgery devices.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to finalize the Medicaid Federal Upper payment Limits (FULs) for multiple source drugs in July 2014. This will mean less drug price variance for state Medicaid programs.
Did you know that ultrasound, as a nonradiation modality, is expected to see an overall increase in reimbursement? Although there are some areas where threats of lower reimbursements are serious, overall, there will be incentives to utilize ultrasound where it is clinically warranted.
The hospital CFO's role has expanded thanks to healthcare reform, including taking a more hands-on approach to supply chain management.