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Efficient Purchasing and Performance
September 2015
Spending on supplies and pharmaceutical services varies among U.S. hospitals. It is not uncommon for hospitals with similar types of patients, including case mix and severity, to have significant differences in purchasing intensity for certain clinical services. Even small changes in efficiency can make a difference for hospitals and health systems, because supply-chain spending typically accounts for hospitals’ biggest spend after labor costs. Costs totaled about $74 billion in 2012, according to the Healthcare Supply Chain Association.
The Truven Health 15 Top Health Systems study annually identifies those health system leadership teams that have most effectively aligned outstanding performance across their organizations, and achieved more reliable outcomes in every member hospital. Truven Health Analytics measures U.S. health systems based on a balanced scorecard across a range of performance factors: care quality, patient safety, use of evidence-based medicine, operational efficiency, and customer perception of care.
Healthcare organizations with strong bond ratings are regarded favorably from a financial perspective, of course. In addition, research by the Truven Health Analytics™ ActionOI® program shows that such organizations tend to excel in other categories, such as average length of stay and results of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys.
The annual Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals® identifies U.S. hospitals with the best overall performance across multiple organizational metrics, including clinical, operational, and financial. The ability of some hospitals to adapt as the industry is changing demonstrates leadership as the winners set the standards their peers seek to achieve. Study projections indicate that if the new national benchmarks of high performance were achieved by all hospitals in the United States, nearly 126,500 additional lives could be saved, almost 109,000 additional patients could be complication-free, and $1.8 billion in inpatient costs could be saved.
