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SKU’d Czarist rushing


Within a month of highly publicized and emotionally frenzied reports of hospitals running out of medical supplies, thanks to the explosive demands ignited by the COVID-19 coronavirus, the government decided to take charge in its own inimitable – and predictable – ways.


Twin bills – one in the House and one in the Senate – call for the establishment of a centralized Medical Supply Czar to make things right and solve the problems that the private sector apparently cannot.


Quickly now, all of you must recall one of the climatic scenes in “The Sound of Music”


when the contest-winning on rapp family sang their fi nal numer, o ong, arewell, before their daring escape to the West. “So long, farewell…


“Auf wiedersehen, goodnight!”


Now change the lyrics a bit to celebrate the newest nationalized czarist fad. “A czar! A czar! A czar is what we need! “He’ll stock…“Our shelves…“With stuff at rapid speed!” Huzzah! he last time the federal government created a czar and a ureaucracy around the offi ce, it had wanted to promote the adoption and implementation of national health/medical records within the healthcare industry, integrating providers, patients, insurers and sup- pliers. That agency was created more than 16 years ago in late April 2004. How many of the 5,000+ hospitals have fully implemented electronic health records (EHRs) since then? Before many healthcare organizations were willing to give supply data standards a try (largely via the globally accepted GS1), they demanded case studies, and then more case studies and then even more case studies, to the point that it seemed as if the demand for case studies was a stalling tactic to keep advocates busy so healthcare facilities could continue delaying and procrastinating from taking their medicine to cure ineffi ciency, risk and waste. Not unlike trying to parent teenagers.


I’m willing to argue more hospitals use group purchasing organizations (GPOs) today than use EHRs. Granted, GPOs began 110 years ago in 1910, but then the government never created a GPO czar.


Intrigued by the premise, I reached out to the media reps for both the representative and


two senators for comment on their respective bills. Alas, my repeated requests for comment and my submitted questions (for authenticity, earnestness and legitimacy) went nowhere. While I appreciate the heart and intent of these Congressional leaders, I feel their legisla- tive plans haven’t been fully explored. Any Medical Supply Czar at least should possess some awareness of, if not experience in, healthcare supply chain or supply chain in general. urther, he or she needs to understand how private sector logistics works  including the use of GPOs, distributors and other third-party organizations supplying purchased services to healthcare facilities.


None of this should be foreign to the domestic government. Back in the 1990s, the Depart-


ments of Defense and Veterans Affairs converted to a private sector distribution model that succeeded the storied depot system or these revolutionary efforts, Healthcare Purchasing News awarded the os ara ally ird with its  aterials anagement eader- ship Award back when HPN honored and recognized individuals versus departments (See July 1996 HPN ellwether eague inducted the long-since-retired ird into its all of ame for ealthcare upply hain eadership in , followed y her late military colleague and compatriot, Capt. Terry R. Irgens (USN-Ret.) in 2019. The examples and leadership set by Bird and Irgens raise a better idea: The government should show us how to do it right – mastering supply by managing unpredictable demand during a pandemic  within its own confi nes


Set up a Medical Supply Chain Czar that oversees such operations for the DoD, VA and any other agencies involved with healthcare facilities. Based on my latest GPO Headlin- ers (See November 2019 HPN), the VA (No. 4) and DoD (No. 8) represent two of the top  largest parent s ased on annual purchasing volume alone at  illion and  illion, respectively hats nearly  illion in an estimated  illion industry Because these governmental agencies represent roughly 10 percent of the estimated total dollar volume of product funneled through s, they would make optimal fi rst mov- ers and case studies in federal efforts show the private sector how to achieve mastery of demand planning.


4


Just don’t misconstrue it as a stalling tactic. July 2020 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com


EDITORIAL


Publisher/Executive Editor Kristine Russell krussell@hpnonline.com


Senior Editor Rick Dana Barlow rickdanabarlow@hpnonline.com


Managing Editor Contributing Editors


Ebony Smith esmith@hpnonline.com (941) 259-0839 Kara Nadeau


knadeau@hpnonline.com Susan Cantrell susan_cantrell@bellsouth.net


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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD


Jimmy Chung, MD, FACS, Associate Vice President, Perioperative Portfolio, Providence St. Joseph Health, Renton, WA; Joe Colonna, Vice President, Supply Chain, Piedmont Healthcare, Atlanta, GA; Karen Conway, Vice President, Healthcare Value, GHX, Louisville, CO; Michele DeMeo, CSPDT, CRCST, Independent CS/SPD Consultant, MDD Virtual Consulting; Dee Donatelli, RN, CMRP, CVAHP, Vice President, Professional Services, TractManager, and Principal, Dee Donatelli Consulting, LLC, Overland Park, KS; Melanie Miller, RN, CVAHP, CNOR, CSPDM, Value Analysis Consult- ant, Healthcare Value Management Experts Inc. (HVME) Los Angeles, CA; Dennis Orthman, Consulting, Braintree, MA; Richard Perrin, CEO, Active Innovations LLC, Annapolis, MD; Jean Sargent, CMRP, FAHRMM, FCS, Principal, Sargent Healthcare Strategies, Port Charlotte, FL; Rose Seavey, RN, BS, MBA, CNOR, ACSP, Seavey Healthcare Consulting Inc., Denver, CO; Richard W. Schule, MBA, BS, FAST, CST, FCS, CRCST, CHMMC, CIS, CHL, AGTS, Managing Director Synergy Health NorthEast at STERIS Instrument Management Services; Robert Simpson, CMRP, Retired President, LeeSar and Cooperative Services of Florida, Fort Myers, FL; Barbara Strain, MA, CVAHP, Principal, Barbara Strain Consulting LLC, Charlottesville, VA ; Debo- rah Petretich Templeton, RPh, MHA, Chief Administrative Offi cer, System Support Services, Geisinger Health, Danville, PA; Ray Taurasi, Principal, Healthcare CS Solutions, Washington, DC area


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