Each month we provide a roundup of news, awards, and features about symplr and symplr's subject-matter experts.
symplr Compass Survey findings featured in Becker's
Results of the 2022 symplr Compass Survey were published in Becker's Hospital Review. The survey of 132 health IT executives who are members of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives found that the majority of healthcare CIOs say working with disparate IT systems and applications complicates their jobs.
Becker's highlighted five things to know from the study, including:
1. Eighty-eight percent of CIOs said their work is complicated by juggling so many different IT programs.
2. Sixty percent of hospitals and health systems use 50 or more software solutions for healthcare operations alone.
3. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported that having a streamlined IT infrastructure is important for retaining clinicians.
4. Forty percent said financial pressure is the top threat their organizations will have to endure next year.
symplr’s Dee Donatelli recognized with lifetime achievement award in value analysis
Dee Donatelli, RN, BSN, MBA, a supply chain and value analysis expert, was honored for her contributions to the profession with a lifetime achievement award from the Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals. AHVAP is an organization created from a nucleus of nurses and clinical professionals whose expertise bridges the gap between clinical practice and the supply chain processes. Known as the Brooke Berson Founder's Award, the honor is a dedication given to an individual who has demonstrated an extraordinary level of leadership and professionalism in the value analysis profession, and who has made significant contributions and strides within AHVAP.
Donatelli said she is honored and privileged to have received the award, adding, "It is especially meaningful as it was determined by my peers." Having served the healthcare industry for over 40 years, Donatelli is a popular speaker on the subject of clinical integration in healthcare supply chain. She has advised the country’s leading healthcare organizations on cost reduction and established hundreds of value analysis committees nationwide. As an RN, Donatelli leads symplr's efforts to guide organizations in achieving an expanded realization of value through enhanced clinical integration in their value analysis processes and spend management.
Donatelli is a former president of AHVAP, where she led the creation of the national Value Analysis Certification. She is also a past chair of the Association for Healthcare Resource and Materials Management (AHRMM), a professional membership group of the AHA.
Read more about AHVAP and the award.
Six negative effects of leaving physicians out of the supply chain
Becker's Hospital Review and symplr recently published an article focused on how supply chain management can affect hospital clinical practices. According to the article, written by Dee Donatelli, RN, BSN, MBA, senior director of symplr Spend, health systems are racing to find innovative ways to improve their bottom lines. The stakes are high, Donatelli wrote, amid the backdrop of clinician shortages and looming changes in reimbursement.
The negative effects of failing to integrate clinical systems—and clinicians—into supply chain processes, according to Donatelli, include:
- Decision making is impeded by a lack of data
- Clinicians/staff may stockpile and overuse medical products
- Hospitals may see an increase in medical product spending
- A lack of clinical advocacy could negatively affects outcomes
- Value-based care becomes harder to achieve
- Physician dissatisfaction may increase
symplr CMO Kristin Russel quoted in Forbes
symplr Chief Marketing Officer Kristin Russel’s expertise on the topic of improving the customer experience was highlighted recently in Forbes. Her guidance was featured alongside other Forbes Council members in the article titled, “12 Keys That Business Leaders Should Consider To Improve Customer Experience.”
Russel is quoted as saying, “Companies should focus on centering the customer’s voice in overall marketing and business strategy. Improving the customer experience requires listening to and predicting customer needs. Customer experience must be embedded into the innovation process and be informed by feedback systems. This ensures that companies integrate the customer’s voice into products and messages.”
symplr CEO BJ Schaknowski discusses M&A
BJ Schaknowski, CEO of symplr, was recently quoted in “Let’s (Still) Make a Deal,” on issuu’s website. Asked about symplr’s appetite to continue its acquisition plans in the current volatile business environment, Schaknowski is quoted as saying, “We’ve [have] 200 companies on our M&A heat map.”
Schaknowski said that for symplr, recent healthcare regulations on transparency and physician credentialing have compelled the healthcare operations software leader to look more closely at companies with competencies and technologies involving data management, governance, and compliance. He added, “If caregivers can handle the administrative tasks more quickly, they have more time to provide quality care.” The article also notes that symplr has completed seven acquisitions in the past two years.
symplr CPO Brian Fugere quoted in Forbes
symplr Chief Product Officer Brian Fugere’s expertise on the topic of customer acquisition was highlighted recently in Forbes, along with advice and insight from fellow Forbes Council members. In the article, titled, “15 Business Leaders Share Their Best Tips For Improving Customer Acquisition,” Fugere said, ”It’s critical the organization remains committed to who they are, whether that’s a premium position or a value position. You can’t please everyone, nor should you even try to appeal to everyone. Stay focused on acquiring customers who value your products. They’re the ones who’ll be with you for a long time.”
On achieving a more sustainable impact
Fast Company asked its Impact Council—an invitation-only group of forward-thinking corporate and nonprofit leaders, CEOs, innovators, and founders—to discuss what “sustainable impact” means to them, and how they are leading toward it. symplr CEO BJ Schaknowski is a member of the Impact Council. In the article, without exception, Impact Council members emphasized the importance of prioritizing planning and thinking over knee-jerk reactions, no matter how difficult things look in the moment.
symplr CPO Brian Fugere featured on Healthcare de Jure Podcast
In an episode of Healthcare de Jure, a HealthcareNOW Radio program, host Matt Fisher interviewed Brian Fugere to discuss defining healthcare operations. The podcast also addressed the importance of unifying systems across an enterprise, leveraging standards to create a common starting point, and the impact of M&A activity on integration and unification.
The episode aired live on HealthcareNOW Radio for two weeks in October and is now available on SoundCloud and as a part of the show’s on-demand content library.
Listen to the on-demand podcast.
