Before You Take the Plunge: Fred Crans explores benefits/risks of Consolidated Services Centers (CSCs) in Healthcare Purchasing News (2 of 2)
May 3, 2017 Topics: Media, NewsPressure to save costs in the supply chain is driving some Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs) and Regional Purchasing Coalitions (RPCs) in the provider space to consider managing their own distribution of supplies through a consolidated services center (CSC). Although cutting out “the middle man” seems intuitive, Sedlak's Fred Crans notes in a two-part series in Healthcare Purchasing News that there are a multitude of inputs that must be considered before deciding to move forward with a multi-million dollar investment.
In the May issue, Fred continues an exploration of these inputs with healthcare industry experts who have been involved in these decisions. These include considerations for geography, internal business acumen, expected cost savings, key stakeholder support, and alternate uses for the money that would need to be put into a CSC. Also critical is developing performance metrics.
“Service levels have to be perfect,” says Bob Simpson, president and CEO of LeeSar. “Surround yourself with a senior staff that knows what it is doing.” Is it very unlikely that you can simply “repurpose” existing personnel to the new roles required for a centralized operation. You need expertise, and expertise costs money.
Read the article here: http://digital.hpnonline.com/editions/z38o/0A148ky/1705-HPN/html/index.html?page=78
Read Part 1 of the article here: http://digital.hpnonline.com/editions/z38o/0A148ky/1704-HPN/html/index.html?page=68
