by Dennis Orthman, senior director, SMI

Carol Stone (far right) of C.R. Bard Inc. moderated a panel with (far left to right), Andrew Van Ostrand of HIDA, John Tara of Pfizer, Kevin Stout of the Medical Device Supply Chain Council, Deborah Petretich Templeton of Geisinger Health System and Keith Lohkamp of Lawson

The SMI Forum, always an action-packed two day event, brings together members of the Strategic Marketplace Initiative, an industry collaboration of healthcare supply chain leaders focused on improving the industry. The Spring 2010 Forum included expert presentations, interactive panel discussions, and multiple breakout sessions – all focused on improving the industry’s supply chain. This Forum’s agenda was designed to start with a high level view on the impact of the recession and the recent national reform bill, then move quickly to explore reform’s impact from multiple industry perspectives, and then "drill down" to address specifics about supply chain strategies, tactics, and plans.

Tim Randall

Starting with the high level view, SMI’s Forum began with a keynote presentation entitled "Future Strategy, Future Growth" featuring Tim Randall of The Advisory Board Company, the highly respected Washington, DC-based industry think tank. Randall’s presentation provided some clarity on how both the economic recession and healthcare reform have affected the industry’s present and might affect the future. Randall included a wealth of detailed information collected by The Advisory Board Company, ranging from the pre-recession drop in patient volumes, to methods that providers have successfully used to stay financially sound, to the impact of the credit crunch on hospital industry growth. Randall transitioned into the expected impacts from the recent healthcare reform legislation, including the emergence of accountable care organizations, increased digitization, and the challenges to hospital profitability with more patients and less reimbursement. SMI members then engaged Randall in an energetic question and answer session. A general consensus emerged from the interaction, that while difficult times and uncertainty are ahead, new opportunities are also on the horizon with comparative effectiveness research, the medical home, and creative reimbursement methods that could align stakeholders.

The work of the Forum’s opening high-level session was then expanded upon by a panel discussion entitled "A 360° View of the Implications of Healthcare Reform." The panel featured recognized industry experts from across healthcare: Bob Haralson, MD, MBA – medical director, DeRoyal Industries; Thomas Jeffers – vice president, government affairs, Hill-Rom Company, Inc.; Dan Papadopoulos - principal, CCR Policy Group; Dean Sanpei – assistant vice president, strategic planning & business development, Intermountain Healthcare; and Bill Stout – network market head, national provider contracting, Aetna. Expertly facilitated by Hussain Mooraj, vice president of healthcare and life sciences for AMR Research/Gartner, the panelists all spoke to both the benefits and challenges of reform and took questions from SMI members. When asked how reimbursement changes and incentives will eventually impact the healthcare system, Papadopoulos of the CCR Policy Group in Washington, DC encouraged the SMI members to "follow the money." Panelists were consistent in citing the benefits expected from reform, including expanded coverage, a renewed focus on technology, and efforts to increase transparency. Panelists also expressed common concerns about new challenges, including the medical device tax, Medicaid reimbursement cuts, and the overall effect on the financial stability of many hospitals that are already experiencing negative margins.

Lawton Burns

Following the luncheon sessions, Dr. Burns delivered a general session presentation on comparative effectiveness research (CER). Burns emphasized that this is another US effort to "tackle the iron triangle of healthcare – trying to balance cost, access, and quality." CER is not easy, Burns said, but it does have the potential to promote more evidence-based medicine practices and value-based purchasing decisions. The potential impact of CER on suppliers and providers was a key topic that led to a lively question and answer session before SMI members started late afternoon breakout sessions on SMI Initiatives addressing product recall management, creating value alignment between trading partners, and exploring the differences between healthcare’s supply chain and other industries’ supply chains.

(Left to right) Bill Stout of Aetna, Dean Sanpei of Intermountain Healthcare, Dan Papadopoulos of CCR Policy Group, Thomas Jeffers of Hill-Rom, Bob Haralson of DeRoyal Industries and Hussain Mooraj of AMR Research/Gartner

The Forum’s final day featured an interactive panel discussion of recognized supply chain experts who addressed specifics about what they see as immediate obstacles and opportunities for surviving in today’s economic and reform environment. Moderated by Carol Stone of C.R. Bard Inc., the panel featured Andrew Van Ostrand of HIDA, Deborah Petretich Templeton of Geisinger Health System, John Tara of Pfizer, Keith Lohkamp of Lawson, and Kevin Stout of the Medical Device Supply Chain Council. Panelists were unanimous in identifying the GS1 data standards as an immediate opportunity for supply chain improvement. Templeton of Geisinger encouraged all attendees to adopt data standards as a means to improve transactional efficiency and "help put the compare in comparative effectiveness."