You’ve heard and followed the familiar adage, “consider the source.” And for good reason, since the adage reminds one to verify the trustworthiness of a source before heeding its content. Perhaps nowhere does the saying ring truer than healthcare, where lives are at stake and resources limited.
For health systems, the acquisition of a new medical device can be fraught with a lot of "noise." As a system works to evaluate the potential of a new technology, subjective factors, personal biases, and marketing hype can influence perceptions at a time when identifying trustworthy sources is critical. A lack of sound evidence can further complicate the process.
However, decisions between supply chain and clinical leaders are still possible even when evidence is not conclusive.
In fact, the value analysis process can provide opportunities to engage and educate physicians about acquisition management and the standards and evaluation criteria that will help health systems obtain products that best meet their needs and provide desired clinical outcomes.
Identify biases
A good starting point is to ask your physicians where they get their information and then discuss those sources, so they, as good stewards of institutional resources, become more aware of common biases such as: