How value analysis professionals can appeal to physicians’ shifting priorities about value.
Within healthcare’s shift from fee-for-service to value-based care, the Value Analysis Team (VAT) is increasingly responsible for ensuring hospital products reduce costs and improve outcomes with high levels of clinical acceptability and patient satisfaction associated with those products.
From a forward-looking article published in MDDI online, “Medical device manufacturers that understand and respond to the current and evolving role of VACs will have a market advantage. It will be essential for manufacturers to understand the VAC process and future direction, identify and quantify the entire product value proposition, provide evidence for value assessment, and create systems to optimally communicate with VAC stakeholders.”
Through this lens, we were proud to sponsor and participate in the Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals – AHVAP 2016 – conference October 19-21 in Scottsdale, Az. Here are a few insights from the show from ASP Global’s Bethany Gleim and Ryan Canavan.
- The new member and new Attendee Receptions provided excellent networking opportunities between vendors and the attending value analysis executives.
- The conference’s “Wall of Experience” provided useful information on attendees including the many years of experience among attendees.
- The Supplier Showcase was well attended and allowed ASP Global to highlight recent product developments with prospective VAT partners and their organizations.
- The conference’s smart phone app provided an easy portal for attendees to connect and keep in touch before, during and after the show.
- The Contract Strategy Sessions were full of useful information, including how surgeons impact supply decisions, effective communication across all generations and how hospitals’ care delivery teams are adapting to the Affordable Care Act.
- Perhaps most importantly, we learned how value analysis professionals can appeal to physicians’ shifting priorities about value. “Specifically, bringing the physicians to the table during a new product or standardization effort as early as possible is essential to gain their buy in on the change,” Bethany said. “During the discussions physicians are asked to speak to the possible differences in quality and techniques related to the product change. I have found over the years that by presenting physicians with the cost of supplies associated with each of their procedures is very eye opening to them. Many of the physicians have no idea about the cost of the products they are using during a procedure. The transparency approach through global sourcing provides a formal, customized, collaborative approach to standardization and cost reductions.”
If you would like to discuss what we learned at AHVAP 2016 in more detail, or if you are interested in learning more about how global sourcing brings high levels of clinical acceptability, patient satisfaction and lower cost to your value-analysis team contact ASP Global Director of Value Analysis Bethany Gleim via email bethany.gleim@aspglobal.com or call (404) 990-4518.
