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In This Issue:
An open-pivot mechanical heart valve
Three Partners hospitals--BWH, MGH and North Shore Medical Center (NSMC)--perform open heart surgery. Each year, they purchase approximately 1,600 prosthetic heart valves for their patients. Many types and brands of prosthetic valves, made of plastic, metal, polycarbon and other materials, are available from a number of reputable suppliers.
As part of Partners' efforts to find cost-savings and efficiencies, a team of physician stakeholders from the three hospitals worked together to evaluate relevant products from six prosthetic heart valve suppliers, with the help of data provided by the Partners Finance team.
While the key consideration was maintaining quality, the team also focused on identifying potential cost savings. Achieving both goals, the team agreed to purchase all needed valve products from three key suppliers, eliminating contracts with the other three lower-usage suppliers.
"It was a very valuable experience to be part of the Cardiac Valve Value Analysis Team at Partners," said BWH Cardiac Surgery Chief John Byrne, MD. "I felt as though my clinical insights and expertise were well utilized and valued by the team, and the resulting savings were significant."
By consolidating suppliers and negotiating more favorable pricing, Partners is expected to save $600,000 annually during the three years of the contract.
If you have cost-saving ideas, email patientaffordability@partners.org.