Supply Chain

From bed pans and basins to catheters and syringes, hospital supply chain managers know just how important plastic products are to the business. And lucky for them, the drop in petroleum prices is creating much needed cost savings for savvy organizations.

The program saved $580 million in nine markets in the first round of bidding, which ended in 2013, and an additional $2 billion in the second round, which ended in July 2014.

Healthtrust will track supply chain costs and the degree to which Tenet shares supply chain services across the healthcare provider's network of 81 acute care and 19 surgical hospitals.

System adapts car maker's production system for healthcare, changing longstanding practices such as how to store equipment, schedule surgeries and discharge patients.

While bottom line impact may be tough to measure when it comes to financial investment, patients just want their own bottoms covered.

The economic collapse in 2008 changed everything for the new CFO Amy Floria, plunging Goshen, both the city and hospital, into crisis. But smart cost management has helped the system bounce back.

Though antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" aren't new, their rise in U.S. healthcare institutions is leading hospitals to stock up on supplies to combat them.

Rebounding from a tough couple of years due to lack of availability of generic drugs, many healthcare facilities are weighing their options.

Group purchasing saves Kansas Hospital Association members up to 50 percent on natural gas contracts, 11 percent on air gas renewal, over 50 percent in radiology procedure supplies and realized a 5 to 12 percent reduction in the cost of facilities and construction.

Declines in inpatient volume, reimbursement and changes in the boundary between payers and providers are compelling CFOs across the country to develop new, innovative ways to cut costs.