SOURCING & LOGISTICS


optimize supply utilization that brings the best clinical, operational, and economical outcomes for the health system. The team has clinical experience to support intricate conversations with clinical end-users, yet robust supply chain knowledge to drive conversations that could lead to a prod- uct utilization change by a physician or clinician to achieve contract compliance and reduce cost per case.


CSO is proud but never satisfied and is always looking to set the bar higher through evaluating advanced technol- ogies with clinical, financial, and stra- tegic partners following their mission statement: To utilize evidence-based


analytics to optimize clinical, operational, and economical stewardship that drive decisions across the health system. The team connects with internal and exter- nal customers to enhance processes and build upon the workflows currently in place today to ensure long-term sustain- ability. Finally, the CSO team applies supportive technologies and systems to improve processes and communication with its customers. • The CSO team’s efforts continue to earn them national awards and recognitions this year, too:


• The University of Kansas Health System and the University of Kansas


Medical Center Safety Symposium Presentation—How Supplies Impact Patient Safety


• Vizient Connections Summit—A Robust Product Reprocessing Program, A Trifecta of Success


Together, the CSO team built a program designed to work in tandem with clinical teams and health system leadership to enhance patient safety, provide financial and operational data that help drive deci- sions, and incorporate clinical evidence into its workflows. Since inception, the program has helped achieve more than $23.8 million in savings, demonstrating the value of teamwork at its finest. HPN


Midwestern CSO team explains mindset, motivation for driving value


T


he Clinical Supply Optimization (CSO) team at The University of Kansas Health System fuses solid professional working relationships between clinicians and administrators that delivers value to the doctors, nurses and surgeons in the clinical theater as well as the administra- tors and supply chain professionals in the finance and operations theater. Together, these efforts at sourcing, contracting, acqui- sition, utilization and disposal constitute the lifecycle of support for high quality patient care within the communities they serve. Angie Bruns, senior director, Supply Chain Management and Administration shares with Healthcare Purchasing News Senior Editor Rick Dana Barlow the background and underpinnings of their success.


HPN: Does a clinically integrated supply chain hinge on the application/inclusion of value analysis? Why?


BRUNS: It does for The University of Kansas Health System. The Value Analysis team was the catalyst for this endeavor, taking time to listen to end users. As an industry, we recognized the challenges value analysis programs faced and began to develop a new program that could support the orga- nization’s needs. The initial focus was on building relationships between clinicians and supply chain by bringing forth clinical evidence data analyses.


The data drives the decisions. However,


it is the relationships with those end users that enable the team to share it effectively, timely and with ease. Those connections are essential in establishing the team now


known as “Clinical Supply Optimization,” which encompasses additional bodies of work that require supply chain support. The team’s work on recall management


and non-conforming products are exam- ples of two programs that enabled the team to collaborate closely with the quality and safety teams, risk management, and educa- tors to support the use of products.


There seems to be many definitions of the term “clinically integrated supply chain.” What’s yours and why does it matter?


The University of Kansas Health System defines a clinically integrated supply chain as an interdisciplinary model which utilizes evidence-based analytics to optimize clin- ical, operational, and economical steward- ship to produce world-class patient care at a fair cost. Everything we do is for the patient. This model places focus on quality, safety, and outcomes, it also brings essential ques- tions and topics of operational and financial components into focus. True clinical integration relies on the entire department to achieve outcomes. There are many components within the health system’s supply chain department as shown below. Clinical integration can- not occur without all the functional areas connecting, aligning, and collaborating on one goal: world-class patient care. What motivated you to create the CSO


model? And does it apply to all facilities within the University of Kansas Health System? How many facilities are serviced by this team?


The need to establish a clinically inte-


grated supply chain was the main moti- vation. The Value Analysis team was the driver, but the team does not stand alone. Without support from and collaboration with all the functional areas of supply chain and clinical leaders, becoming clinically integrated would not be possible. The CSO program is modeled throughout the health system. In January 2021, the orga- nization acquired a new facility with one of the goals through 2024 being to integrate the CSO program into that facility. End-users have joined clinical committees in which they review product requests and discuss contract opportunities to align the facility’s product utilization. Success rides on build- ing relationships, listening to clinicians, and providing evidence-based data outcomes to support patients’ needs.


What value analysis project success story are you most proud of so far and why? How replicable is it?


Most recently, the team partnered with the health system’s quality and safety teams to support CAUTI [catheter-associated urinary tract infections] reduction. One piece was to change patient bathing wipes to a different product which also came with significant savings of just over $49,000. The bigger win was a decrease in patient CAUTIs. This would not have been feasible without the support of clinical end users, supply chain team partners and supplier partners. The CSO program and its processes are meant to be replicable and scalable, leaving room for continuous process improvements.


hpnonline.com • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • October 2023 9


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