If you're a frequent visitor to the 24×7 blog, you may have noticed this article (Showing Value by Alfred Winnberry) on how in-house biomed programs can show value to their organizations, which was posted in the comment section of our Getting What You Want blog.
If not, I encourage you to read it for a good discussion on effective documenting strategies in-house programs can turn around to hospital administrators.
Recently, I spoke to a biomed about the pros and cons of in-house departments and third party servicers. In-house programs, he noted, naturally lose money on paper, so justifying their existence must then ultimately become about showing how they add quality and save more money than they spend. Hospitals may oscillate back and forth between going in-house and contracting services out, until they can determine which of the two gets the most bang for their buck.
The article's author suggests showing a cost comparison for necessary parts and labor between OEMs, the in-house program, and any local ISOs. Can the in-house biomeds prove they can do it the cheapest?
If you work in-house, what does your hospital expect from your department documentation wise? How do you show them you're saving money while maintaining a well-supplied, quality department?