Children’s Health Care System of Forth Worth, Texas, has signed a deal to implement multiple supply chain, human resources and contract management software applications in an effort to improve its business processes.
Cook Children’s has selected technology from St. Paul, Minn.-based Lawson Software. The health system will use Lawson’s Human Resource Management, Supply Chain Management, Mobile Supply Chain Management, Strategic Sourcing and Contract Management applications.
Cook Children’s has expanded in size and scope over the last decade, adding more than $100 million in new facilities. Tracy Waller, chief information officer for Cook Children’s Medical Center, said that with the addition of facilities and lines of care, the organization needed a business system that would help it manage supplies,contracts and staff.
“By better integrating our systems and data, we see opportunities to improve business processes and become more nimble as an overall organization,” said Waller.
Waller said the health system would use the supply chain management tools to automate the collection of supply usage data right where the work is done. Hospital staff members will be using handheld devices to capture and transmit supply data.
Jim Catalino, general manager for Lawson Healthcare, said U.S. hospitals are facing non-stop and intense pressure to hold the line on costs and become more efficient – all while managing staff most effectively to meet the needs of patients.
“It’s a difficult balancing act,” Catalino said, noting that greater efficiency and reduced costs are “paramount in today’s healthcare environment.”