Chasing group compliance

Consolidation and improved communication appear to be helping both hospitals and suppliers get what they bargain for.

Allocating blood to hospitals

A method is proposed for the allocation of units of blood from a regional blood transfusion centre to the hospitals of its area, taking into consideration the characteristics of the individual hospitals, such as the transfusion activity, the demand of each hospital and the regional blood transfusion service policy concerning the allocation of units of blood expressed through a utility function. The problem is formulated as a stochastic programming problem but reduces to a linear programming problem and therefore is easily applicable. The method is suitable for application in systems with a National Health Service system, such as the British. Finally the results are given of an application to the despatches of units of blood in the Regional Blood Transfusion Service of Glasgow and West of Scotland.

Service- and facility-sharing

The Veterans Administration and the United States Air Force hospitals in Albuquerque recently established a service- and facility-sharing arrangement. In this article, the authors share lessons learned from planning and executing the arrangement-lessons that any organization considering a large-scale joint venture will want to keep in mind.

SunHealth. A regional alliance with a national reputation

One of healthcare's most dynamic alliances, SunHealth combines a regional strategy and philosophy of partnership to bring together a highly diverse group of hospitals throughout the Southeast.

A consortium for purchase of blood products directed by physicians

Clotting-factor therapy is a costly part of comprehensive hemophilia treatment. Physicians treating patients with hemophilia in New York formed a consortium for the purchasing and regional distribution of clotting-factor concentrates. Concentrates are centrally purchased based on a bidding formula aimed at obtaining the lowest price for quality product while guaranteeing all suppliers continued involvement in a large market area. The consortium has successfully maintained, and, in instances, lowered prices each year. Estimated regional savings this year are more than $750,000 for an anticipated purchase of approximately 60,00,000 units of clotting-factors VIII and IX. Central distribution has additionally lowered costs to participating hospitals. The consortium is able to provide patients and third-party payers with some of the lowest prices for clotting-factor concentrates in the United States. A physician-directed regional approach to purchasing costly medical products might be applied to other areas of clinical medicine.

A corporate solution to the consolidation of imaging services

In light of the changing healthcare environment and the need to be more efficient, comprehensive planning for radiology activities is essential. The following article focuses on one alternative for responding to the changing healthcare marketplace: the consolidation of imaging services. The corporate structure, strategies, financial ramifications, and advantages and disadvantages of consolidation are included. This paper is based on a presentation made by Ms. Hanwell during the RSNA Associated Sciences Workshop in November, 1986.