Welcome to ISH, Inc.

ISH Services

Supply Chain Management

Strengthen Your Organization’s Financial Position with real Medical/Surgical Product Cost Savings, Revenue Maximization and IT Improvements

Healthcare executives in the U.S. have never faced greater financial pressures. The combined challenges of decreasing reimbursements and increasing costs are challenging organizations with the increasingly difficult task of achieving financial improvements. The cost savings opportunities that are associated with business process management and the new ERP systems all rely on a foundation of valid data. It is the ongoing management of that data that is key to realizing cost savings and maximizing revenues in the acquisition and use of medical/surgical product. Since supply expense constitutes approximately 25 to 30 percent of a hospital’s spend, it is a logical and primary target for financial savings. By focusing on the categories below, our research shows that health systems can improve approximately:

Pricing Normalization	3% of Total Spend
GPO Contract Maximization	2% of Total Spend
Non-Contract Items	10% of Non-contract Spend
Standardization	`2% of Total Spend
Reimbursement of Chargeable Supplies	4% of Total Supply Charges

Added to the financial challenges are the onset of new federal regulations, diminishing reimbursement schedules and complex labor management issues. Decisions must be made quickly and accurately. While the primary focus of all healthcare facilities is patient care, the enablers are revenue enhancement and cost containment. One of the primary ways to recognize these is through process improvement initiatives.

The ISH team of Supply Chain Management professionals works with healthcare executives to build an organization that will focus on driving the excess costs out of the Supply Chain, thus freeing up those dollars for the improvement of patient care. Utilizing best of breed software, process improvement strategies and our proprietary Value-Add programs, your organization can realize true return on your IT-investment.

Our Supply Chain Management professionals are highly experienced in both healthcare operations and the systems that increase efficiency within this key area. They are experienced and certified through the leading vendors including Lawson and McKesson.

Critical Success Factors within the Supply Chain include:

Accounts Payable

• Reduction of lost discounts and unresolved invoice discrepancies
• Reduction of check requests
• Ability for vendors to look into their own account to answer questions about status
• Recapturing of lost saving due to poor processes

Contracts Administration

• Establishing a failure proof system assuring that no contracts will expire without your prior knowledge
• Ability to assure that you are receiving the contract price every time you pay an invoice
• Management of contract compliance rates, blanket orders and standing orders

Distribution

• Reduction in “touch points” for sounder processes
• Reduced process costs

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is most often selected as the primary item needed for a successful Supply Chain to operate. Infrastructure is about organization and a unified sense of direction as well as making sure the proper skill sets are in place The ISH SCM team will help your organization to:

• Identify your corporate vision, mission and leadership
• Define the SCM vision, mission and identify the improvement opportunities as compared to the “as is” state
• Establish SCM performance requirements
• Establish processes for implementing SCM improvement
• Select SCM processes and address the enablers
• Develop a change management program

Inventory Control

• Accurate information
• Ability to track official and unofficial inventory including “JIC” (Just In Case)
• Reduction of “JIC”
• Lowered cost to operations

OR Inventory Control

• Usually handled as a periodic inventory asset
• Coordination of Supply Chain Staff with OR Staff
• Efficient picking for procedures (case carts)
• Maintenance of proper levels of stock supplies
• Can include implementation of an OR Information System and a Case Cart System

OR Preference Cards

• Maintenance of up-to-date preference cards
• Elimination of duplicates
• Reduction of excess supplies
• Reduction of excess labor in pulling the case and in putting supplies back
• Reduction of overall processing costs

The ISH SCM and Clinical Teams can show you just how this process can be make more efficient while reducing overall processing costs.

PAR Areas

• Having the right item, at the right price, in the right quantity, in the right place at the right time…all the time
• Establishment of fully manual to fully automated efficient systems
• . Point-of-Use machines have become very popular as labor saving devices, sending the reorder quantity automatically and also charging the patient for the supplies

Purchase Orders

• Reduction of incomplete requisitions
• Reduction of time approved contracted items sit in queue

Receiving

• Reduction of inaccurate receiving counts
• Improved relationships with primary suppliers
• Implementation of RF Receiving, Advanced Shipping Notice and other process cost cutting methodologies

Reports

• Improved accuracy of financial reports
• Reports organized in a manner that is easy to analyze
• Ability to do short-period analysis

Requisitions

• Implementation of automated requisitions
• Reduction of “dwell time”
• Maximum convenience to end users
• Efficient flow of orders

Vendor Selection

• Establishment of Vendor Performance Monitoring
• Establishment of strategic alliances with vendors especially in the areas of JIT (just-in-time), LUM (Low units of measure) and VMI (Vendor managed inventory)