Optimizing material costs can prevent staff reductions

The Covid-19 incidence rates are declining. Our intensive care units are experiencing the first relief in months. However: The economic pressure on German hospitals is growing. Despite a sharp decline in elective patients, compensation payments remain difficult to calculate; liquidity is continuously decreasing. Those who want to survive the looming wave of insolvencies unscathed are forced to reduce expenses.

Medical material costs quickly come into focus. No wonder, because according to the Federal Statistical Office, this cost block in German hospitals in 2017 was almost as high as the personnel costs for the entire medical service, at around 19 billion euros.

Comparable expenses for medical service, nursing service, and medical supplies – costs in medical supplies can be controlled through clever intervention

Development of three important cost blocks in hospitals, in billion EUR from 2005 to 2017

And the price spiral hasn’t stopped since then: We can assume that medical material costs in hospitals today reach a volume of over 21 billion euros per year. The pandemic is leading to a further exacerbation of the situation. Scarce raw materials, supply bottlenecks, and the previous application of value-added tax will cause prices for medical products to rise again in many cases.

Price negotiations are therefore absolutely necessary. However, intelligent optimization of material costs goes far beyond this: It aims at improved control of material consumption. In addition to the targeted use of resources, it’s also about ensuring the refinancing of the materials used. Therefore, purchasing alone cannot handle this task. Only when medical staff pulls together with purchasing, pharmacy, and controlling can significant savings be achieved while maintaining high treatment quality.

So now, in the middle of the Corona crisis, material costs are to be optimized? What at first sounds like an additional burden makes a lot of sense. Because apart from the fact that turning the cost screw is vital for many hospitals, the willingness of doctors and nurses for this joint effort is greater than ever. Because they too know in the current situation: Efficient and careful handling of material resources is always good. And it is an effective means against staff reductions.