Reducing costs and preserving physician choice: creating a partnership that works.
The partnership between the medical staff, administration and materials management achieved its goals of cost reduction and preservation of physician choice. They were successfully achieved because a number of things occurred: Vendors reduced the cost of every device sold to the hospital; physicians moved their marketshare by choice in the direction of the preferred list; physicians supported the process and participated actively in the cost-reduction. It was clear that market competition worked very favorably in the hospital's effort to achieve its goals. Saint Vincent Hospital also learned that a number of hospitals who received its blind survey results were also able to impact positively on their own cost-savings efforts--an additional, if unexpected, benefit. This first step toward cooperative cost reduction was indeed a success.
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Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA.
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D003164:Competitive Bidding; D003363:Cost Control / Q000379:methods; D003625:Data Collection; D005249:Fees and Charges / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018578:Hospital-Physician Relations; D008404:Massachusetts; D008421:Materials Management, Hospital / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010934:Planning Techniques; D011682:Purchasing, Hospital / Q000379:methods*