From BPS guideline to BPS directive: has the hospital procurement bar moved?

There have been an increasing number of concerns regarding procurement practices in the public sector, together with intensive media scrutiny of those practices in the health sector. Yet, notwithstanding those concerns, only Ontario and British Columbia have developed a comprehensive procurement framework to address these issues. Ontario has recently replaced its relatively new procurement practices guidelines with a broader directive. The author explains the major differences between the policies and points out what may need to be changed as hospitals and providers seek to comply.

State systems Advance Planning Document (APD) process. Final rule.

The Advance Planning Document (APD) process governs the procedure by which States obtain approval for Federal financial participation in the cost of acquiring automated data processing equipment and services. This final rule reduces the submission requirements for lower-risk information technology (IT) projects and procurements and increases oversight over higher-risk IT projects and procurements by making technical changes, conforming changes and substantive revisions in the documentation required to be submitted by States, counties, and territories for approval of their Information Technology plans and acquisition documents.

Environmental and Organizational Factors Associated with Hospital Use of GPO Services.

Given the potential benefits of Group Purchasing Organizations in cost-containment efforts for hospitals on supplies and purchased services, an important question that remains unanswered is what conditions support or hinder the utilization of GPOs by hospitals. Therefore, this study explores the relationship between GPO use by hospitals and their market and organizational characteristics. Data on hospital GPO utilization and other organizational characteristics were combined with secondary hospital market characteristics. Panel logistic regression with random effects and state and year fixed effects analysis was used to examine the relationship between hospitals' utilization of GPO services and hospitals' organizational and market characteristics. Overall, the majority of hospitals utilized the services of GPOs. Specifically, the number of hospitals utilizing the services of GPOs increased slightly from 3290 (72.2%) in 2004 to 3337 (74.4%) in 2013. In regression analyses, hospitals utilizing the services of GPOs operated in an external environment with mixed levels of munificence, more dynamism, and less competition. Specifically, hospitals operating in a less munificent environment are more likely to utilize the services of GPOs. The study findings provide organizational decision-makers and policymakers' insights into how certain market and organizational factors influence hospital strategy choice, in this case, the use of GPOs.

Healthcare reformers are focusing on value; are you?

Beginning federal fiscal year (FFY) 2013, value-based purchasing (VBP) would implement a withholding of 2 percent of Medicare reimbursement, which would then increase gradually to 5 percent in FFY16. A hospital's percentile ranking in a VBP performance measurement system would determine the amount of payment, if any, it would receive from these withheld funds. To receive incentive payments, hospitals will need to raise their performance on the measures.

Purchasing for safety: standardization in intravenous equipment.

In 2005 the National Audit Office published figures that revealed nearly a million (974,000) 'incidents' or 'near misses' regarding patient safety had been recorded in England over the previous year. A total of 2181 later proved fatal. These incidents included errors in drug dose calculations, administering drugs at the wrong rate or to the wrong patient. The nursing profession, along with doctors, surgeons and every other member of the healthcare team must understand their role in these mistakes. This article considers how standardizing equipment used by clinical staff and enhancing best practice with evidence can significantly reduce medical errors and allow clinical staff more time with their patients.