There is a great deal of ambiguity around accountable care as policy makers and healthcare providers struggle to develop new models of care.

In the absence of specific direction from the government, providers and health plans are creating innovative approaches to participate in the CMS proposed Medicare Shared Savings Program. The proposed clinical integration requires resources that medical groups, hospitals and health plans do not independently possess to engage in risk-sharing as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

Since the full cost of becoming an ACO remains elusive, many providers are entering into affiliations to share resources. These collaborations will allow providers to measure quality of care processes, patient experience and outcomes. Since providers can belong to only one ACO—and some markets can support only a limited number—they are choosing partners that can ultimately move into population management while assuming financial and performance risks.

This affiliation frenzy can and will have a direct impact on supply chain. Effective collaboration will depend upon value analysis, sourcing and contracting to drive efficiencies, enabled by innovative technology. UPMC for years has deployed such technology to automate the “procure to pay process.” In the first two years of deployment, the e-marketplace has resulted in hard dollar savings of $3.5 million, 40 percent improvement in contract compliance, expansion of committed contract portfolio to 1.7 million items, and 47 percent of all transactions processed without staff intervention. For every 5 percent improvement in transactions processed without staff intervention, UPMC can reallocate the resources of two FTEs. To date, the work of 24 FTEs has been reallocated to strategic sourcing activities.

All providers will need to adopt such sourcing technologies to meet health care reform mandates. Supply chain leaders who fail to embrace innovation may find themselves and their organizations struggling to survive in a radically changed health care landscape.

As Senior Director, UPMC SCM Commercial Services, Mary Beth Lang is responsible for the SCM Affiliation Network and leads placement of Prodigo Solutions technology and services to healthcare providers nationally. Lang is a doctoral candidate at Robert Morris University Information Systems and Communications program conducting research on physicians’ perceptions of how accountable care will change care delivery. Prior to joining UPMC, Lang was the SVP Business Intelligence and President of Diagnostix, LLC for Amerinet.