Charlotte, N.C. - Health systems continue to focus on engaging and collaborating with physicians to advance purchasing efficiency. While progress is being made, some physicians aren't buying in, according to the Premier healthcare alliance's spring 2013 Economic Outlook survey.
Almost half of the 530 responses cited increased physician-system collaboration around clinical value and cost containment among the trends expected to have the greatest impact on their supply chains over the next year. Resource utilization was cited by 44 percent of respondents, up 14 percent from six months ago.
However, survey respondents - primarily hospital C-suite, and materials and practice area managers - suggest there's work to be done to advance this collaboration: 29 percent cited a lack of willingness on the part of physicians as the top barrier to integrating care across all settings.
Providers are working to address this issue. When asked for the two areas in which health systems are dedicating the most resources (financial, labor) to improve their supply chains, 37 percent of respondents chose product standardization, an 11 percent increase from fall 2012. Building relationships with physicians and clinicians (27 percent) and reducing costs for physician preference items (PPIs - 25 percent) were also often cited.
"Many of the barriers to clinical integration that we're seeing are a matter of getting out of our comfort zones," says Tim Kirby, executive vice president of system alignment and integration, Methodist Health System (Dallas). "Physicians have traditionally been trained to be independent. We're now asking our physicians and clinicians to work as a team to manage patient health."
St. Joseph, MO-based Heartland Health is also focusing on enhancing physician engagement, according to President and CEO Mark Laney, MD. "We paired physicians with other leaders in the organization so that physicians are at the table for all major organizational decisions. It has really helped us gain physician alignment."
In addition, the percent of survey respondents who would "definitely" try a non-branded PPI increased 26 percent over the past six months.
"Willingness among physicians to try new devices and supplies is intertwined with increased physician-system collaboration since it's necessary to get physician buy-in on many supply changes," said Premier's Chief Operating Officer Michael J. Alkire. "This is essential to successful collaboration among practitioners and supply chain management to meet system-wide goals."
