The materiel manager's role in executive management

The ability to achieve advancement for materiel management is a potential that few have challenged and achieved. Reasons for this lack of growth vary in degree, but the opportunities in the 1990s will be tremendous. The political skill and team leadership ability expressed by materiel managers throughout hospitals will ultimately result in whether this challenge is met or not. Materiel managers will need certainly to change their perception of their own role, as well as the perception of hospitals, in order to achieve this. The road will be challenging, but with the winning attitude, skill building, and proven management ability, I believe that materiel managers will become successful in hospital executive management in the 1990s.     

Strategic imperatives for managing materiel into the next century

The next century of opportunity is less than a decade away. Materiel management must involve itself in the strategic changes occurring within the health care industry and its respective institutions. Those materiel managers who are aggressively ensuring that their operations are supported by a well-developed and well-orchestrated operational infrastructure are now well positioned to address the future challenges of this decade. Unfortunately, many other materiel managers are focusing their attention and efforts solely on the management of materiel for which they currently have control. Materiel managers must develop an acute awareness of the support needs of their respective organizations. Those who are not apprehensive about venturing from the traditional materiel management world will be exposed to incredible educational opportunities and will receive responsibilities of unparalleled organizational importance.     

Empirical comparison of just-in-time and stockless materiel management systems in the health care industry

Despite the limitations, this study is the first comparative empirical investigation of two relatively new materiel management systems applied in hospitals. The results show that hospital managers have significantly rated the possibility that more effective use of some materiel management resources can be achieved by adopting either a JIT or stockless system over conventional materiel management systems.     

The modern health care materiel manager

Today's successful materiel managers must possess a wide range of skills. They must above all be highly adaptable to change and influence others to accept rather than resist change. The role and responsibility of the materiel manager have expanded significantly, requiring higher levels of formal education. In conjunction with this, the quality of communication, both verbal and written, becomes essential. A high degree of human, conceptual, and technical skills must be employed to accommodate the many demands encountered. Finally, the successful materiel manager who feels confident and secure will hire others who do not mirror the manager's style, but rather allow for contrast of expression and technique.     

Career survival strategies for materiel managers

The skill sets and attitudes required for materiel management professional survival continue to change. Just as the industry has evolved for calculators and three-part forms, so too must today's managers evolve into facilitators and information-oriented management. While these new skills are being perfected, three focused strategies initiated right now can enhance your chance for survival. First, get to know your customers intimately. Go to their meetings. Tour their departments. Second, assume responsibility and report materiel cost data that has meaning to senior management and customers. Fill rates and inventory turns offer little value to other managers, but supply cost per discharge can be of value. Third, be proactive in competing with outsourcing competitors. Do not wait until they are on your doorstep before developing a strategy to compete.     

Health care reform and the hospital supply chain

With health care reform, hospitals will be differentiated in the marketplace by how well they manage the costs of services. Because products will be market priced, hospital materiel managers will have to minimize all other related acquisition costs. The key opportunities will be in changing processes to eliminate non-value added administrative, supply chain, and process activities and their attendant costs.     

Balancing clinical priorities in an era of diminishing resources

By learning to ask both manufacturers and clinicians why a technology is needed, how it compares to the existing technology, and whether it will eliminate the need for the existing technology and by demanding specific answers, much more rational decisions can be made, which will be in the best interests of the community the hospital serves. Materiel managers can play a key role in fostering this process. In addition, by helping department managers develop long-range multiyear plans, materiel managers can help hospitals better manage their existing assets and make better long-term purchasing decisions.     

CEO expectations of the pharmacist materiel manager

The pharmacist possesses the knowledge and skills required of a materiel manager. The pharmacist must be willing to adapt to the materiel management environment. The resultant loss of certain clinical skills is inevitable. The pharmacist who does not accept this will not succeed. The CEO should expect this.     

How is your materiel management audit program?

This article has provided a view from the auditor's eyes of some key components inherent in a sound materiel management system. Every system, however, has its own unique characteristics, some of which may contain internal control situations that are not addressed herein. Although most will apply, not every comment contained in this article will be practical to all systems. The hospital size, utilization, patient mix, service mix, physical outlay, organizational structure, financial condition, and management philosophy will all have an influence on the role of materiel management. Automation of various materiel management functions can be beneficial by providing informational and control enhancements not feasible in a manual system. However, automation also raises new internal-control concerns that need to be addressed. Strong internal control techniques and compliance with adequate policies and procedures will prepare materiel management for its role in future hospital operations.     

The new role of material managers in hospital strategic planning

The future direction and challenges of hospital strategic planning require the knowledge and skills of material managers. The approach taken in participating in hospital planning efforts is not as important as the level of involvement. Understanding the strategic planning process at the hospital and knowing what information is critical to that process will improve the ability of the material manager to become an active participant and a valuable contributor to the strategic planning process. Cost management will continue to be the overriding concern of the health care industry in the 1990s. Hospitals will reorganize to control cost and improve productivity, while striving to maintain the quality of care. Material managers must align their departments with hospital strategic goals and assert their new roles in achieving those goals.     

Materiel management and reimbursement in the American Association of Eye and Ear Hospitals

Simply stated, understanding how hospitals receive money enables materiel managers to save money. Reimbursement in the health care industry is a complex phenomenon, and the rules and regulations change annually, so that it is sometimes difficult to budget appropriately and estimate the hospital's bottom line accurately. The savvy materiel managers who can utilize the reimbursement concepts effectively will be highly regarded within their institutions.     

Materiel executives and the managed cost continuum in a capitated environment

Strategies that involve supplier partnerships and pose high risk for both hospitals and suppliers are an increasing trend. The materiel management professional who is proactive and able to assess risks in a managed care contractual environment will be the winner as materiel management becomes a network function rather than individual hospital function.     

Just-in-time and stockless programs for hospitals: fad or trend?

The JIT and stockless approach to provider-supplier relationships has proven to be a win-win proposition for the partners that have implemented it in many manufacturing industries and health care organizations as well. This strategy will fundamentally impact the entire cost structure within the hospital supply distribution chain. rewards have proven attainable and more comprehensive than had been hoped in the health care applications. The sweeping changes the health care industry experienced during the 1980s are leading creative materiel managers to seize the initiative to improve the current operating costs of their hospitals. They do not want to be left behind "holding the inventory."     

Efficient materiel handling and distribution: a design perspective

This article offers a condensed examination of facility design and the interface between owners, hospital managers, and architects in planning for hospital materiel handling and storage needs. A brief history is given of the evolution of materiel management and progress today in efficient ordering, storing, distributing, and inventory and billing. The article closes with a discussion of work redesign and personnel vs. equipment concerns. Two case studies exemplify similar goals from different approaches.     

Survival strategies in the era of managed care

The era of managed care has forced an unprecedented restructuring of the health care environment. As hospitals downsize in response, materiel managers should consider adopting strategies that may help ensure their survival, including innovative approaches to supply management and the development of individual responses that will best position them to succeed in this new reality.     

Materiel management: a clinical experience.

It is easy to understand why unit managers are eager to embrace a comprehensive approach to materiel management. The system allows for the professionals from the purchasing, supply, and distribution areas to meet and work with the managers of individual departments and units. Recognizable outcomes of this system are improved staff satisfaction because of standardized products; improved nursing competency secondary to product familiarization, and improved quality of patient care because area managers have more time to devote to their individual unit functions. The serendipitous benefit is that areas and personnel within a hospital that were once diverse in goals and functions may now develop positive working relationships around the hospital's prime goal of quality patient care, a marketable commodity.     

Health care system redesign: a strategic management framework

The current health care environment can best be characterized as uncertain, unfamiliar, ambiguous, unexpected, untraveled, and amorphous. All administrators and managers are facing a tremendous challenge in managing available human, technological, materiel, and fiscal resources to accomplish their organization's mission. They must be able to assess organizational environments, identify strategies to align the organization and the environment, implement these strategies, and continuously evaluate the outcomes of those strategies. Therefore, health care administrators and managers must adopt a management perspective that is responsive, dynamic, comprehensive, systematic, and both process and outcome oriented. Such a perspective is strategic management.     

The materiel manager-chief financial officer alliance.

There is a gold mine of potential inventory reductions, expense reductions, and revenue increases in most hospitals that can be tapped by more intensive materiel management. The first step is incorporating the necessary ingredients for a strong materiel management effort--the right people and a state-of-the-art computer program. Reorganization may be necessary to establish a more unified, consolidated approach to materiel management. Second, conduct an audit of the entire hospital to identify opportunities for improvement and to establish baseline management data. Finally, push forward the process of system changes (which also establishes necessary controls) until results are accomplished--a process that usually requires one to three years. The alliance between the materiel manager and the CFO is definitely beneficial to the hospital and to the individuals involved.     

Materiel management reengineering: value creation through innovation

By reengineering their department's core processes, materiel managers can expand their role in the health care setting while realizing significant cost savings. Using a team model, Inova Health System materiel management staff integrated their processes for vendor selection, purchasing, inventory reduction, and utilization across three hospitals and ancillary services. An integrated approach at all levels of the organization gained buy-in from administrators and staff systemwide.     

World-class materiel flexibility: one plant's victory over materiel-related downtime

It is not uncommon for the materiel managers in a manufacturing company to be blamed for downtime and the consequent failure to meet production targets. To avoid downtime, materiel managers need to look at their role in solving materiel-related downtime and to address the problems that cause downtime in the same way they would address other process quality problems.