Smart product evaluation and purchasing, as well as knowing how to make the business case for infection prevention is all part of understanding and using healthcare economics to your advantage. As hospitals freeze budgets, it’s imperative that infection preventionists understand the pressures being exerted on healthcare institution administrators so that they may better negotiate for the resources and funding they need for their infection control programs.
“Healthcare organizations’ value-analysis committees typically include infection preventionists in their membership,“ says Deborah Davis, PHD, MBA, an independent consultant. “Infection preventionists are (or should be) familiar with clinical studies or other data that supports or refutes certain types of products or processes. Healthcare product manufacturers are now often providing return on investment (ROI) analyses and other ways to demonstrate the value of their products, including not only features and benefits comparisons, but also ways the products can minimize waste, save time or provide other advantages. Infection preventionists should seek out companies and their representatives who have done these analyses and who have a good grasp on what the scientific literature says about the particular product or process. Infection preventionists should consider how the product or process supports recommended practices and clinical guidelines.“ Davis continues, “In my experience, infection preventionists would often refuse to meet with industry sales representatives. Appropriately educated sales reps can provide the infection prevention professional with the data they need to make informed cost-balanced choices around needed medical products and other infection prevention resources. The infection prevention professional association, APIC, also has a number of tools for its members that can help them make the business case for necessary resources.“
The L.E.K. Consulting Hospital Purchasing Survey, a comprehensive tool for tracking changes in hospital purchasing attitudes and behavior, has shown that hospitals across the U.S. are employing highly sophisticated budget strategies to cut costs, make targeted investments to support growth, emphasize patient safety, and prepare for ramifications of the new healthcare legislation. L.E.K.’s study offers insight from more than 200 senior hospital decision-makers in the areas of general hospital trends, hospital strategy, unmet needs and legislative reform.
“New healthcare reform is dramatically changing the healthcare industry, and hospital executives realize that old business models no longer apply in today’s new healthcare landscape,” says Jeffrey Stevens, vice president and co-head of L.E.K. Consulting’s global MedTech practice. “While it’s well-documented that the healthcare industry has been cutting costs, L.E.K.’s new research uncovered innovative strategies that begin to differentiate hospitals in select areas while simultaneously bracing to support the projected increase in admissions caused by new federal legislation. This insight has critical implications for medical device and life sciences companies, equipment manufacturers, service providers and technology vendors alike.”