Demand-matching

From HMCwiki

Demand-Matching is an effective way to address supply utilization. Because physicians are paid to provide the best possible care it becomes an all too easy decision for physicians to choose products that have superior features even though the benefits of those features will not affect the wellbeing of some patient populations.

Orthopedic implants

Orthopedic implants often represent some of the greatest savings opportunities within a hospital's supply chain, with knee implants ranging between $3,700 to $5,500 and hip implants ranging from $2,100 to $5,100^[1]. Establishing demand-matching criteria helps ensure that the implants chosen match a patient's needs, which can significantly reduce over utilized high dollar items (eg. criteria for using a ceramic rather than a titanium hip in an elderly patient, who will likely not have the physical requirements a more expensive titanium hip would benefit).

The establishment of demand matching criteria is only as effective as the level of support you are able to secure from physicians. Whether or not physicians comply and how you encouraged them to comply are important points to consider as you develop criteria for demand matching.

References and resources

^ PWC, “Cost of Caring: Key Drivers of Growth Spending in Hopital Care”, Feb. 2003

If you would like to provide feedback or discuss the content of this article, please visit the discussion page. To be automatically notified by email of any changes or additions to the article or discussions about this article, please click here.