The Cook Children's Health Care System of Forth Worth, Texas, has signed a deal to implement supply chain, human resources and contract management software applications in an effort to improve its business processes.
St. Paul, Minn.-based Lawson Software will provide the health system with Lawson's Human Resource Management, Supply Chain Management, Mobile Supply Chain Management, Strategic Sourcing and Contract Management applications, as well as the company's Business Intelligence, Learning Accelerator and ProcessFlow Integrator technology.
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 needs an advanced business system to help 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. "Access to relevant data is key to improving our efficiency and containing costs."
Waller said the health system would use the supply chain management tools to automate the collection of supply use data right where the work is done. Hospital supply chain staff members will carry handheld devices to capture and transmit supply data – in receiving, warehouses, storerooms, mailrooms and other locations.
The human resource management application should help Cook Children's streamline core human resources activities and have greater control and access to HR information, Waller said.
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," he said, noting that greater efficiency and reduced costs are "paramount in today's healthcare environment."