Your Hospital Should Regularly Audit Purchased Services Vendors. Here’s Why.

If you’re responsible for leading a healthcare system, you already know that numerous vendors are required to ensure operations run smoothly. There are the various medical device suppliers physicians depend on for treating patients, janitorial services that keep facilities clean, landscapers that maintain an immaculate exterior, cafeteria services that make sure people are fed, and many other contractors who contribute to a functioning hospital.

In fact, data shows health systems utilize an average of 1,500 purchased services vendors within an average of 383 categories. But how do you know if your vendors are providing the best service at the best prices? The only way to know for sure is to establish a vendor audit process for purchased services. Here’s what you should know when it comes to implementing one at your organization:

• Routinely reviewing invoices as part of a robust vendor audit process assures all charges are accurate. Failing to do so could result in overpayments.

• Are you actually getting the services you’re paying for? Audits can identify if utilization levels (how often a service is provided by a vendor) meet expectations.

• Are you getting a competitive price? It’s difficult to assess pricing value for purchased services since there are no barcodes or SKUs to compare. An audit can help shine a light on actual costs which, when compared to benchmarks within your peer group, is information that can be used to command a better bargain.

• Have you, your staff, or your patients noticed a dip or spike in quality of a particular purchased service? Routine audits can provide insight into the causes of change and help drive improvements.

• Not only can vendor audits potentially result in lowering expenses, they can also lead to better HCAHP scores. Since it’s impossible to audit the hundreds of vendors contracted by a hospital, consider purchased services vendors that could impact HCAHP scores when you’re prioritizing your top list of vendors to audit. Cross-matching these categories with top spend categories will prove the most worthwhile.

• Without an established vendor audit process, vendor utilization and quality can go unmanaged and much needed improvements can be overlooked.

• Correcting errors can be a laborious and even costly process. Audits are proactive, and can help mitigate overcharges or bad quality service, so that they never occur.

Establishing routine vendor audits of purchased services can optimize operations, lead to a better healthcare system, and ultimately, help deliver better patient care. At Valify, we’ve developed rigorous auditing processes that are specific to each category of service, and can help you identify which are and aren’t returning the best value for your organization. Our purchased services experts can help you achieve true transparency, find savings, and drive higher patient satisfaction. Learn more about our suite of purchased services solutions by clicking here.

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