The Lone Ranger Effect

You’re doing nice work Bob! It seems you may need input from more sources.

I wrote this with the thought of simplicity to the Lone VA Professional or even small team. I recall a 6-Hospital System VA Manager who was at her first AHVAP Annual Conference when I bumped into her. Our conversation quickly jumped to, you know you have a team of Five working on VA, you will meet some VA Practitioners who have just as many or even more hospitals and they may be the only person. She quickly interjected that, "I have already met that person!" The VA Pro handled 12 Hospitals VA all by herself. Sometimes the VA Practitioner or Even the Organization may not know what they don't know in this respect of how to gauge VA workload and how to educate them. I have heard this so many times that Supply Chain Departments hire a nurse and pitch them that with your Nursing Skills and our training in Supply Chain you will be successful. Then those VA Pro's realized there is much more than just that. This is nobody's fault here, they didn't know what they didn't know but they should know with an article like this that does list some resources for education. Hope this was helpful today!

Nice article. its more than education that’s required. Value Analysis (VA) involvement should be end-to-end. VA should demand results end-to-end. While they don’t own sourcing, they own the selection. It’s a living process that requires their engagement from start to finish. Through the sourcing, contracting, and savings validation process to follow-up on their demanding and critical work on the front side of the process. Without that, VA is rendered just a stand-alone process. VA professionals should establish metrics for success not just in a certification process, but in the quality of product selection, & best cost alternatives that drive quality of care up, & cost down. Results! They should monitor & report on the process from end-to-end, otherwise they stand alone & their work can be rendered useless. Also, change that takes VA to the local level & out of the hands of the GPO. VA is not something that can be done on the national level. Local physician involvement is required especially in the case of implantables and major medical capital equipment. VA should be involved in the change, add, delete process of contracting also. How can products they’ve vetted be deleted, or haven’t, be added to contract without their input?

While this may be the case, it is typically the result of a misconception by leaders of the value analysis role and scope. Leaders believe that hiring a single value analysis member or even a small team, is enough to impact the scope of today's marketing machines. In an IDN, there are literally hundreds of sales staff meeting with physicians and local leaders and practitioners. Even having one VA staff per specialty will be overwhelmed by the marketing imbalance. Further, these are skilled and educated operatives that have a level of access unmatched by the VA team. They are embedded in procedural areas and are educated and trained in customer service, chipping away at bedside caregivers influence, and even their basic roles. Until IDNs commit the same level of education and support to their VA team, they will continue to lose these battles, fought on the front lines, at the bedside and in the procedural space.