UK PUBLIC HEALTHCARE

Mapping And Assessing The Key Management Issues Influencing UK Public Healthcare Purchaser-Provider Cooperation

Mapping And Assessing The Key Management Issues Influencing UK Public Healthcare Purchaser-Provider Cooperation

Introduction

The main aim of this research is to discuss the relationship between the health care services providers to the purchasers and the suppliers. The perspective of this research is to discuss the hospital management issues that are raised in between purchasers and hospital management.

Discussion

The establishment of accountability is an essential component in this relationship of cost reduction initiatives; if there is no assignment of responsibility, unnecessary or ill-advised purchases will continue. Combined with value analysis of the medical products being considered for procurement, accountability can provide the means of controlling the item file and prevent inattentive purchases (Troxel 1997, pp. 857). Effective value analysis should be applied to physician's preference items as well as items on a consignment policy for UK Public Healthcare Purchaser-Provider Cooperation.

The resistance of physicians to changes in the supply chain is a potential barrier commonly discussed in the literature; however, the obstacle may not be insurmountable. Physician buy-in is crucial to the success of supply chain improvement initiatives, as is executive support. A study conducted by (Troxel 1997, pp. 860) interviewed healthcare professionals from a variety of backgrounds; the lack of support at the executive level was labelled as a significant barrier to supply chain management initiatives. Successfully implementing changes in the healthcare supply chain requires cooperation across the UK Public Healthcare Purchaser-Provider Cooperation.

Due to increasing focus on healthcare services purchasers in recent years, a large section of the research literature is devoted to cost-reducing initiatives and practices. According to the Peytchev (2010, pp. 21), potential savings of over £11 billion dollars could be achieved within the healthcare supply chain. Despite the fact that supply chain expenses are often a healthcare organisation's second biggest expense, cost reduction efforts are often relegated to the price of materials alone. In actuality, supply chain practices and initiatives can provide significant cost savings throughout the public hospitals.

One of the more widely applicable practices for streamlining the supply chain is process analysis. Efficient operation of a supply chain is directly dependent on the processes that drive product selection, sourcing, inventory management, transportation logistics, and transaction procedures. Supply chain processes must be assessed periodically and compared to benchmarks in order to identify areas of opportunity; some processes may be integrated or automated. Process evaluation can also reveal opportunities for collaboration with supply chain partners, further reducing costs and increasing efficiency (Long 2005, pp. 118).

Product selection can play a significant role in supply chain costs. Careful evaluation of products purchased by materials management can reduce costs through consolidating of functionally equivalent product types and decreasing the number of high-priced physician preference items. Beyond simple pricing comparisons, it may be beneficial to evaluate suppliers to ensure quality and reliability, two vendor characteristics that may reverberate throughout a provider's operations.

Purchasing from fewer vendors can lead to volume discounts, and one of the common methods utilized ...