Expense Reduction Healthcare Solutions

Healthcare Solutions delivering Indirect, Procurement & Supplier Cost Optimisation

Overview

At the forefront of the Covid-19 crisis, the healthcare sector is struggling to breathe new life. No sector has been more directly affected by the Covid-19 than the healthcare sector which had to quickly adjust to the crisis.

Within ERA Healthcare solutions, we are providing support to hospitals and care homes and have experienced first-hand the challenges they were facing and will continue to face in the near future.

Hospitals had to completely restructure their operations to give priority to Covid patients and stop non-essential, sometimes very lucrative, activities. They had to procure protective equipment at very high prices and buy new machines (e.g. breathing equipment). This was combined with lots of overtime work from highly dedicated employees.

Those high activity levels however, did not offset all the losses in non-essential activities nor the additional costs.

Today all activities have resumed, but it is certainly not back to normal. Additional protection measures have to be taken which increase costs, slow down activities and reduce staff numbers.
Hospitals have received support from public authorities, but long-term issues remain and cost reductions that have been left aside during the pandemic will have to be reactivated more actively than ever.

Elderly care homes were also very much impacted due to their residents being most at risk of the virus. As found in our recent survey, their main concerns related to the cost and availability of protective equipment and other types of supply. They were also seriously affected by overtime and loss of residents who passed away due to the pandemic. Care homes also had to deal with the fact that families were not allowed to visit which caused unprecedented problems with residents and their loved ones.

Today the situation is still far from normal and they have to deal with loss of revenues as the loss of residents are not easily replaced.

Both hospitals and elderly care homes have a need for extra cash flow. In our experience with hundreds of customers in the sector, we have demonstrated that ERA has the expertise to help the healthcare sector reduce costs and increase quality. Our original scope was in overhead expenses but now, within the healthcare solutions team, we have experts who have previously worked in the healthcare sector – as a result, we are fully equipped to support our clients’ cost optimization projects in their core business.

Learn more about our Healthcare Solutions

Insights
Case Studies

Download our Healthcare Solutions White Paper

Despite advancements in medicine widening our understanding of human health, the future of health and care systems will not flourish under innovation alone, but through predicting and responding to current and future barriers. Download our Healthcare White Paper for the latest insights and actions you can deliver into your own business.

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"As demand surges healthcare leaders are having to make tough choices on the priority of resources and expenditure. While rising demands and the increased cost of care may be profitable for some organisations at the moment, the reality is that it is unsustainable."

Healthcare Industry Insights

Ageing Populations

An ageing population is becoming the new norm throughout communities around the world. Increased life expectancies along with low fertility rates establish themselves as long-term trends, accounting for the shift in population ratios. Health and care providers are required to deliver effective business results under shorter timelines, but this is an impossible task without the right structure and resources in place. No wonder many businesses highlight this point as one of their primary concerns heading into the future.

Resources

Resources are limited for health and care systems which contributes to increasing pressure and rates of failure to cater to the demand. Rising need plus staff shortages result in falling time for effective hands-on care. The way your organisation responds to recruitment, retention and nurturing of the right talent will determine how your business fares as the industry develops. In addition the way in which organisations manage their non-staff resources will be increasingly important.

Technology

Technological disruptions are both a blessing and a burden. On-theone-hand, many health and care systems currently lack access to performance monitoring information and the real-time data to improve their services. The initial set-up costs and time to pull this vital resource into their organisation may not be possible at the time, but those who fail to collaborate with technology firms or even implement this complex work in-house will be left behind.

Regulatory & Economic Changes

Study findings highlight a global concern in changing regulations on the health and care systems. Rapid changes in both legislation and the economy are driving organisations within the industry to change quickly, but not always in the most efficient ways.

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"Healthcare businesses are feeling the pressure to connect digitally with their customers, to coordinate their appointments and procedures, improve their treatment plans and share test results on digital platforms."

Sue Ryder Case Study

“They get to know how we would like to run things with suppliers and work seamlessly as part of our team. This working relationship has been nothing but win-win for us.” David White, Head of Procurement - Sue Ryder. As with any charity, keeping costs down and securing the most competitive rates from suppliers is a high priority. Sue Ryder, a top-class procurement consultancy needed to offer much more than great savings. ERA is currently tracking over £2m of spend and delivering 23% savings across the board, with more on the horizon. Clinical Waste Savings: 31%

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Bioquell Case Study

“Knowing ERA is working in the background to look after this highly strategic area of spend provides a significant level of reassurance. The review has meant that we now use a product range better suited to both our business and our residents, our staff are better trained, and we have made significant cost savings into the bargain.” Georgina Pope - Finance Director. Bioquell PLC were keen to harness the value that an external third-party could bring to the business. Following the success of an initial project focusing on its Print and Copier contracts, Bioquell went on to work with ERA in a number of areas. Three years on, ERA continue to deliver cost centre specific savings and efficiencies across the board.

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"UK health providers can expect health and care costs associated with looking after an ageing population to increase if the promotion of healthy living through self-care and operational productivity and developments in healthcare services fail. This requires organisations to streamline their supply chains to be more efficient and to offer more solutions and services to their clients."

Our process is simple. Our sector specialists, all with extensive knowledge of their expert areas, use the skills acquired over impressive professional lifetimes to help you negotiate a better deal in overhead spend. Find out more about who we are and how we can help you.

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