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September 30, 2001

Strategic Value Analysis™:

Focusing on the right things!

The future success of your value analysis program depends on FOCUS.  When you focus on doing a few things exceptionally well you create a powerful laser like ability to have breakthrough performance from your VA committee or value teams.  This can only be obtained by narrowing your focus to three things:

#1: The Right People

Most value analysis committees or value team members are selected because of their positions in your healthcare organization (Infection Control Manager, Surgical Services Manager, Nursing Director, etc.), as opposed to being selected for their ideal competencies that are required for a successful VA committee or value team.  Winning VA committees or value teams are a combination of attitudes, talents and traits matched with the right leadership to give your committee or value team the vision, goals and objectives and “Can Do” attitude; a team or committee that takes responsibility for its actions and pride in its accomplishments.  For a list of the ideal competencies for a winning VA committees or value teams please email me a strategicva.com and I will promptly send them to you.             

#2: The Right Things

Traditionally, value analysis committees and value teams only focus their energies on new clinical products, services and technologies, while millions of dollars of non-clinical products, services and technologies are purchased without vigorous value justifications at all.  While at the same time, little or no emphasis is placed in value justifying the millions of dollars of existing products, services and technologies that are purchased annually by the healthcare organization.  THOUSANDS OF PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES (and millions of dollars $$$) NEVER SHOW UP ON ANY ONES RADAR SCREEN! 

A more strategic approach in your search for savings and quality gains is to continuously place every product, service and technology you purchase annually over $25,000 (and their value chains) under a microscope.  This would determine if these commodities are in conformance or in non-conformance related to the functional requirements of your internal and external customers. 

#3: The Right Process 

Strategic Value Analysis™ isn’t a committee or team of 20+ members reviewing and approving group purchasing contracts.  Negotiating, bidding or doing something else to reduce a supplier’s cost. Standardization, new product, service, technology conversions or introductions. Approving new product, service or technology requests.  Any of these things that most healthcare organizations call VALUE ANALYSIS.  Strategic Value Analysis™ is a function-oriented, systematic team approach for providing, designing or investigating the right functions (primary, secondary and aesthetic) for the millions of dollars of products, services and technologies that are required to operate your healthcare organization. The Value methodology can be applied to any product, process, procedure, system or service in your healthcare organization.  Its goal is to ascertain through value studies, those valued characteristics deemed most important by your customers (internal and external).

Now that the low hanging fruit has been picked in the healthcare orchard, its more important that ever before for value analysis practitioners to narrow their focus to a few strategically selected areas of improving in their VA performance. Or risk being lost in the myriad of choices that may only lead to a flurry of activity, but little or no results.