Inventory Optimization Solutions (IOS) Announces Advanced Urology Institute (AUI) has Received Q4 2019 Best Practice Award

ALISO VIEJO, CALIF. (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 20, 2020

Inventory Optimization Solutions (IOS) is pleased to announce Advanced Urology Institute (AUI) has received the Q4 2019 Best Practice Award. AUI has demonstrated outstanding capabilities in using the Envi® solution to reduce costs and manage supply chain across a diverse group of clinics and surgery centers. IOS continually identifies and shares best practices from customers to help educate the healthcare community on supply chain automation. Each quarter, IOS recognizes an organization demonstrating supply chain excellence.

About the Organization

AUI is a rapidly expanding urology group that includes clinics and ambulatory surgery centers in Florida and Georgia. With a mission to advance patient-centered urologic care, AUI was developed as a single-specialty physician-led organization to respond to the mounting changes in healthcare. With challenges faced by solo and small group practices, AUI has succeeded by combining geographically disparate urology groups and helping them function efficiently and effectively, while delivering the highest quality medical care to patients.

Setting Goals for Supply Chain

Sonya DeMarco, Director of Supply Chain Management, is responsible for cost control, inventory control and contracting at this rapidly growing organization. Five years ago, Sonya and the team selected Envi from IOS to manage their supply chain needs, with specific goals that included:

1. Fully automated 3-way match
2. Multi location capabilities
3. A solution that can address growing needs, with the support needed to enable their expansion
4. Reporting tools to create visibility at both the individual organization and enterprise level

Best Practice Improvements

“A day in the life of an Envi user at AUI involves an office manager or nurse, who logs into Envi and creates a requisition from their ‘favorites list,’ which is now a feature of the Envi solution that IOS developed based on our need for a user-specific template,” said DeMarco. “The user submits a requisition, which comes to my department for approval and transmit. When we became AUI, purchasing was the first thing we centralized. We stopped significant expense bleeding and today, can immediately identify any instances where we’re overcharged, charged for extraneous fees like expedited shipping, shipping and handling fees, or any other add-on charges. We’ve eliminated 100% of these charges and in the first year, saved nearly $100,000.”

As multiple locations came together to form AUI, and the initial 5 year plan called for even greater growth, it became clear that location capabilities varied, especially when it came to 3-way price matching. DeMarco continued, “Some systems could do two parts of the 3-way match but none could exchange data with our AP system, so we had to do manual matching. We knew that wouldn’t be sustainable, and with growth, we had to have 3-way match without manual intervention. We do this with Envi. We ship directly to facilities, where they receive and put away supplies. The corporate team ‘oversees’ the receiving process to make sure we have all parts of the 3-way match enabled. If that doesn’t happen, invoices can’t get paid, which is unacceptable, because we’re committed to good partnerships with our vendors.”

“I wouldn’t want to do my job without IOS – their team is truly part of my business,” concluded DeMarco. “They help solve problems and when I need an enhancement to the system, I pass it to IOS through my account manager. We’ve been able to suggest several key new features that are now part of Envi. Our physicians want to deliver the care that’s right for our patients, and with Envi, we maintain our patient focus and deliver the cost-effective care they need.”

Best Practice-based Processes

The team at AUI has demonstrated exceptional use of the Envi solution, and is recognized for their success in:

1. Controlling purchasing with customized “favorites lists” for users
2. Consolidating product formulary used at over 40 locations in six facilities
3. Managing contracts and accurate contract pricing across enterprise
4. Maintaining 3-way price matching to ensure correct prices charged and invoices seamlessly paid to vendor partners
5. Using Envi reporting capabilities for both enterprise and facility level management

A Best Practice Based Community of Healthcare Organizations

IOS works with more than 5,000 healthcare facilities throughout the United States. As a result of this large footprint and broad range of users, IOS is able to identify, document and share best practices that are designed to help healthcare organizations improve their supply chain processes and overall results.

“We’re so pleased to partner with organizations like Advanced Urology Institute,” said Steve Britt, President, IOS. “Through our ongoing working relationship, we not only hear what’s working but also, what new features could enhance our user’s experiences. The team at AUI has helped us develop several key features that are now part of Envi, which today are being used in provider organizations throughout the U.S. It’s this type of collaboration – this partnership spirit – that enables our team to truly help Envi users solve their supply chain challenges.”