If hospitals do not blend their procurement decisions with overall performance strategy, they risk patient harm and losing CMS accreditation, according to a Feb. 24 article from Vizient, a healthcare performance improvement company.
On Jan. 1, the Joint Commission implemented updated National Performance Goals, which pivoted from preventing harm to focusing on achieving measurable performance outcomes, such as clinical quality metrics, according to Vizient.
Several health systems and hospitals have pursued initiatives to strengthen collaboration between clinical and supply chain departments, but the Joint Commission’s NPG heightens the urgency of these aspirations.
Compared to other CMS accrediting agencies, the commission accredits a majority of U.S. hospitals.
“For healthcare leaders, this means procurement strategy is now inseparable from performance strategy,” Vizient said, “and organizations that don’t prioritize this shift risk patient harm and loss of accreditation.”
To that end, Vizient recommends these four strategies:
1. In the request for proposal process, consider the product’s clinical reliability and error prevention as core criteria.
2. Mitigate risk by “evaluating safety-engineered design, environmental factors and evidence-based infection reduction.”
3. Include usability, accessibility, communication and patient engagement criteria in the request for proposal process.
4. Partner with suppliers that align with enterprise goals, such as a healthcare organization’s clinical and operational priorities.
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