BUYLINE Connecting the dots


French post-impressionist Georges Seurat recognized and under- stood that chromoluminarism and pointillism could generate beautiful art using dots in the 19th


century, a philosophy shared


by Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist and abstract expres- sionist a century later. As consumers, we can benefi t emotionally from what we see.


Rick Dana Barlow Senior Editor


The same could be said – or hoped for – with the topsy-turvy contemporary American healthcare reform movement. So far, few, if any, seem to be connecting the dots in what could be described as conundrumism.


Unfortunately, the challenge with federal/national healthcare reform projects to date is that the efforts have been inverted. By inverted, the descriptor refers to efforts that start with the payers and move back-


ward. It’s all about the accountability, paperwork and records designed to make the payer process more effi cient for payers, but then their premiums and rates continue to climb with little accountability or even rational justifi cation outside of making insurance company executives and shareholders happy.


This does little for the patient, means more administrative work for the clinician, regardless of automation (including A.I., blockchain, etc.) and even less for supply chain. Authentic and meaningful healthcare reform should start with the patient and move forward in terms of behavioral modifi cation (yes, parenting) with appropriate incentives for compliance and penalties for non-compliance. The late corporate icon Steve Jobs was known for emphasizing that product development begins with the customer experience to which you then innovate and apply technology.


What have we accomplished so far? With the emphasis on electronic health/medical records usage, healthcare insurance coverage and supply data standards adoption and implementation as well as a host of other concerns, we’re still left with population ennui, clinician burnout and manic decisions/panic reactions to crises. Time travelers from the 1980s simply shake their heads in disappointment and exas- peration – and not just because we don’t have fl ying cars by now today. What do we need? Following are fi ve suggestions.


1. Everyone gets a baseline body scan – “free” as if either subsidized by the govern- ment or a credit by the insurance company that works with providers and imaging equipment suppliers to facilitate and enable access. This includes a full brain, heart, circulatory and digestive system scans.


2. Everyone gets an EHR/EMR using the same legal precedence as the government requiring the switch to digital TV and providing COVID-19 tests and vaccines. People can be incentivized to input data in some way – be it via tax breaks or stipend to use on insurance premiums. However, they’re also penalized for non-compliance in that they either pay a tax or pay extra on their insurance plan, not unlike paying extra to have your telephone number unlisted in the Yellow Pages of yore.


3. Everyone gets a baseline health app on their phone. HIPAA-protected data input then is automatically uploaded to their individual EHR/EMR and used to calculate their individual “health score,” to infl uence predictions, prescriptions, proscriptions and premiums.


4. One’s health score is like a credit score where your purchases and payoffs affect your number that banks and employers use to determine risk. Hence, doctor visits, phar- macy visits, adherence/compliance to clinical recommendations and demonstration of healthy activities, behaviors and habits elevate your score and make you more attractive to insurers (think premium savings, etc.) and vice versa.


5. Healthcare delivery, traffi c and transactions should be safe and seamless with secure electronic transactions and the capability of receiving proper (as in comfortable, convenient, effective and effi cient) care whether an inpatient, outpatient or at home. All this spans administrative, clinical, fi nancial and operational aspects. Supply Chain, Sterile Processing, Surgical Services, Infection Prevention, Environmental/Facility Services, among others, work together to connect the dots. They investigate and procure what’s needed. They maintain sterile instruments and fi elds to prevent infection, which reduces the need for inpatient services so that patients are not discharged, and visitors do not leave with bacterial or viral infections that perpetuate a cycle of sickness. Get the point? Work together to change behavior and generate healthy results.


4 December 2023 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com


PUBLISHER


Group Publisher Chris Driscoll cdriscoll@endeavorb2b.com


EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief


Janette Wider jwider@hpnonline.com


Senior Editor Rick Dana Barlow rickdanabarlow@wingfootmedia.biz


Senior Contributing Editor Kara Nadeau ADVERTISING SALES


knadeau@hpnonline.com


East & West Coast Kristen Hoff man khoff man@endeavorb2b.com 603-891-9122


Midwest & Central April Bruff y abruff y@hpnonline.com 713-992-0381


Strategic Accounts Sales Chris Driscoll cdriscoll@endeavorb2b.com 978-880-8345


ADVERTISING & ART PRODUCTION


Production Manager Ed Bartlett Art Director Tracy Arendt


Advertising Services Karen Runion krunion@endeavorb2b.com


Audience Development Laura Moulton lmoulton@endeavorb2b.com


EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD


Jimmy Chung, MD, MBA, FACS, FABQAURP, CMRP, Chief Medical Offi cer, Advantus Health Partners and Bon Secours Mercy Health, Cincinnati, OH; Joe Colonna, Chief Supply Chain and Project Management Offi cer, Piedmont Healthcare, Atlanta, GA; Karen Conway, Vice President, Healthcare Value, GHX, Louisville, CO; Dee Donatelli, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Director Spend symplr and Principal Dee Donatelli Consulting LLC, Austin, TX; Hudson Garrett Jr., PhD, FNAP, FSHEA, FIDSA, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Medicine; Melanie Miller, RN, CVAHP, CNOR, CSPDM, Value Analysis Consultant, Healthcare Value Management Experts Inc. (HVME) Los Angeles, CA; Dennis Orthman, Consulting, Braintree, MA; Janet Pate, Nurse Consultant and Educator, Ruhof Corp.; Richard Perrin, CEO, Active Innovations LLC, Annapolis, MD; Jean Sargent, CMRP, FAHRMM, FCS, Principal, Sargent Healthcare Strategies, Port Charlotte, FL; Richard W. Schule, MBA, BS, FAST, CST, FCS, CRCST, CHMMC, CIS, CHL, AGTS, Senior Director Enterprise Reprocessing, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH; Barbara Strain, MA, CVAHP, Principal, Barbara Strain Consulting LLC, Charlottesville, VA; Deborah Petretich Templeton, RPh, MHA,Chief Administrative Offi cer (Ret.), System Support Services, Geisinger Health, Danville, PA; Ray Taurasi, Principal, Healthcare CS Solutions, Washington, DC area


CORPORATE TEAM CEO Chris Ferrell | President June Griffi n


CFO Mark Zadell | COO Patrick Rains | CRO Reggie Lawrence Chief Digital Offi cer Jacquie Niemiec


Chief Administrative and Legal Offi cer Tracy Kane


EVP (Medical & Healthcare Technology) Amy Mularski EVP Endeavor Business Intelligence Paul Mattioli


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