"Creating systems of care is talked about in health care today. I can't imagine tackling this without having the kind of foundation ROi's work provided for Mercy."

Lynn Britton
PRESIDENT/CEO
Mercy

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Supply Chain's Role as a Foundation for Change

From the beginning, a pioneering spirit and the desire to change things for the better has always been a part of Mercy. It's also a part of ROi's heritage.

"Often times, health care leaders think of supply chain in a cost management mode, but it really is so much more than that," says Lynn Britton, President/CEO of Mercy, and one of three founders of ROi. "If supply chain and clinicians can work together and lead a process to select products, most often quality, safety and cost issues can be taken care of. For Mercy, the work of developing the supply chain helped build a culture of collaboration that has been transformational for the entire ministry."

In early 2000, as Mercy looked to become an operating company, ROi was at the tip of the spear, as Britton explains, to help execute the strategy.

"ROi didn't just work to drive product standardization and develop better cost strategies. It also understood where Mercy wanted to go - culturally, operationally and financially - and tied its work to what Mercy was trying to achieve," adds Britton.

Founded in 2002 as an operating division of Mercy, ROi has spent the last decade building an integrated supply chain model recognized today as one of the top health care supply chains in the world.

ROi's work has been part of a cultural and business model transformation for Mercy.

"When you're the first to step out and say we're going to do things differently and do it in a centralized, consolidated way, which is what ROi did, that can be a big change for an organization," explains Britton. "The process, however, developed through this change can serve as a foundation for other activities"

He adds, "At the onset, ROi had a commitment to be really good at execution and served as a great example for Mercy. Much of what Mercy has mastered in our ability to implement massive efforts has origins in the ROi culture. ROi's approach of marrying project managers with business leaders as a team to lead a project structured around timelines and deliverables is now used across Mercy. It has made us stronger and more nimble."

Today, Mercy is focused on a strategic plan that includes creating true clinical integration, building a children's service line across geographies and different settings of care, and tackling the lack of profitability with Medicare.

To align with Mercy's goals, ROi is working with physicians on high-cost Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG) to help manage the clinical process and provide the best quality of care at a price point that is profitable for the government's payment for the DRG.

"At Mercy, we believe the future depends on a well dispersed footprint of care that is connected as a true system of care, not just a collection of destinations," says Britton. "That connectivity comes in many forms - culture, logistics and information technology. We are building a comprehensive strategy around all of the connections and supply chain is key. No service can be delivered anywhere without some level of supplies and pharmaceuticals."

He concludes, "The current business model of American health care is not sustainable. We are going to have to reinvent ourselves, and supply chain has the opportunity to take the lead to help health care systems transform into a more modern, sustainable business and clinical model."