Policy Statement

Policy

Each committee is responsible for the clinical and financial evaluation of requests for new product/equipment reviews within UMHC. The committee will consider issues of quality, patient safety and cost-effective product and/or equipment use across the continuum of care. Requests representing greater than $5,000 annual expense will be reviewed by the Capital Committee.

Purpose

This policy will define the process to be followed for the review of all new and replacement products and equipment that equates to less than $5,000 annual spend.

Policy Standards

1. Committee Membership
1. Members will include clinical and administrative leaders who are champions for clinically sound financial decision making.
2. All committee members will complete a Disclosure of Significant Relationships statement prior to committee participation.
2. Committee Support Staff
1. The entire process will be facilitated by the Value Analysis Director, a clinician whose role it is to facilitate data collection, analysis and success measurement of new product requests.
3. Committee Meetings, Minutes and Agenda
1. Meetings will be held monthly.
2. A cumulative department Log will be used as minutes.
4. Committee Evaluation Criteria
1. Product/equipment requests will be reviewed after the completion of a Product/Equipment Request Form. Forms must be submitted 3 weeks prior to the committee meeting. Any late requests will be tabled to the next meeting.
2. Products and equipment are evaluated based on how they affect quality of patient care, safety, price and impact on contract compliance.
3. It is the requestor's responsibility to report the evaluation outcomes to the committee. Specific outcomes are to be reported regarding changes in clinical, functional, utilization, or patient satisfaction outcomes.
4. A record of previous evaluations will be maintained by the Value Analysis Core Team.
5. Expected timeframe for product request review is 21 days after all data is provided for the evaluation, financial analysis and contract completion. This is contingent upon manufacturer responsiveness to our inquiries.

Procedure Actions

1. All requests for changes or additions of a product must be processed via a Product/Equipment Request Form. The Value Analysis Core Team will confirm final pricing, contractual and delivery information, and review clinical research for the product and information on quality and safety factors.
2. Prior to further review, the committee will review the request for reasonableness based on:
1. Was the product or similar product reviewed in the past? What was the result of that review?
2. Is there clinical justification for conducting an evaluation of the product?
3. What current products/equipment will be impacted by consideration of this product?
4. What other clinical areas might be impacted by this product?
3. If an evaluation is warranted, it will be conducted without charge to the UMHC. The Value Analysis Core Team will work with the requestor to specify the criteria, evaluation time period and evaluation documentation required prior to procuring the sample products.
4. For department-wide evaluations, it will be expected that a representative(s) will coordinate the department evaluation under the direction of the Value Analysis Core Team. Some of the responsibilities of the departmental representative include the distribution of samples, literature, and product evaluation forms. The Value Analysis Core Team will be responsible for communicating the process and criteria for evaluation to the department representative, who will communicate the information to impacted staff.
5. In some cases a Product/Equipment Evaluation Form will be completed and provided to Value Analysis upon completion of the evaluation. If multiple users are involved, Value Analysis will summarize the department evaluation results.
6. If the product will be added to the Item Master, the following process will be followed:
1. For product(s)/equipment that are replacing another product/equipment, the fate of the current inventory must be determined.
2. Equipment/Technology must be processed through Biomed/IT
3. Biomed will determine the course of decommissioning if necessary.
4. Contracts and Procurement will provide contract information to Purchasing.
5. Materials Management will inform the requestor when the product will be available.
7. The Value Analysis Core Team will be responsible for keeping a record of all requests and responses.