Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Report Suggests Hospitals Could Save $25.4 Billion By Improving Their Supply Chain Operations
Hospitals can save $25.4 billion if they improve their supply chain operations and harness data, according to a new report. That amounts to a 17.7% average supply chain expense reduction, or up to $11 million a year per hospital, according to a Navigant Consulting analysis of 2,300 hospitals that compared the top-tier hospitals' supply cost per adjusted patient day with their peers. That is equivalent to the annual salaries of 160 registered nurses or 42 primary care physicians, or the cost of building two outpatient surgery centers. (Kacik, 10/18)
In other hospital news —
Hospital administrators are shifting patients who need knee replacement surgery into the outpatient setting rather than risk audits by Medicare contractors, surgeons warn, adding that the practice could be jeopardizing more frail patients. The fear of audits comes despite the CMS banning Medicare contractors from reviewing inpatient total knee arthroplasty procedures after regulators last year began paying for procedures performed in the less expensive outpatient setting. (Dickson, 10/18)
