Hospitals nationwide are struggling financially. From the inability to perform elective procedures due to COVID-19, to healthcare worker shortages and supply chain bottlenecks, healthcare organizations can use help. Estimates showed that U.S. hospitals were losing more than one billion dollars per day because of their inability to perform elective procedures during the pandemic. On top of that, some hospitals must limit the number of intake patients because of staffing shortages. While hospitals are losing income from elective procedures, there are other silent costs they must deal with: unused supply.
On top of healthcare providers grappling with financial burdens due to the pandemic, healthcare organizations can gain efficiency with what they spend on supplies and services and on utilization. According to the National Academy of Medicine, healthcare providers collectively waste $765 billion in spend each year, part of which can be attributed to wasted spend on equipment. This wasted spend could go a long way to help hospitals solve staffing shortages and other issues where lack of funding is limiting outcomes.
Unused equipment across hospital departments drives lost efficiency. For example, a neurosurgery department in a California hospital estimated $3 million dollars in supply waste in a single year. A way to reduce waste is to return or resell unused equipment. A root cause of equipment waste is the lack of a team dedicated to returning or selling unused items. In addition, ERP systems do not represent how large the problem really is. Third-party vendors can solve these issues by tackling every step of the returns process, from returning unused items, processing credits with vendors, and selling non-returnable items. By managing unused supply through having a dedicated team to manage returns and exchanges, the tension created by the fluctuation in supply and demand will have less of an impact on wasted spend.
By having a dedicated Returns Processing team, healthcare organizations can address wasted equipment spend and create savings opportunities. With the entire healthcare industry collectively wasting $765 billion annually, there is plenty of opportunities for solutions to exist side by side and maximizing returns and optimizing your savings strategy is the perfect place to start.
About Belmero, a Conductiv Contracts Supplier:
Belmero has been providing results driven Procurement, Supply Chain, Human Resources & Financial services for over 20 years. Our customers come to us for services and solutions such as Supplier Returns-Credits Managed Service (aka Supply Profit Maximizer), SmartScan Mobile SCM solution and ERP, HCM and EHR consulting. Our customers typically see a significant ROI each year, immediate cost savings, improvement in their bottom line and improved cash flow. We provide US based expert team members, automated processes & best practices, cloud applications & tools with AI assisted end-to-end governance. We help you maximize and accelerate the benefits!
