What to Look
for in a Vendor
Partner
By Linda Homan, RN, BSN, CIC
W
hen it comes to infection prevention, we all want a
silver bullet, a quick fix that cuts through complexity
and provides an immediate solution to a problem. In truth,
there is no silver bullet, but there are fundamental infection
prevention measures that are proven to be effective in reduc-
ing healthcare-associated infections, such as hand hygiene,
environmental hygiene, and instrument reprocessing.
In 2010, Wenzel and Edmond introduced the concept
of horizontal and vertical infection prevention measures. 1
Vertical measures are pathogen-based, reducing infection
or colonization caused by specific pathogens in selected
patient populations. They are often higher-cost interventions
,as they may involve a microbiologic screening test, and they
often are more resource intensive.
Examples of vertical interventions are nasal decolonization
to prevent transmission of MRSA, MDRO active surveillance
and isolation precautions all of which are labor intensive and
add cost to patient care. Horizontal measures are already
part of routine patient care, are applied to all patients and
are equally effective against superbugs as they work against
garden-variety organisms.
Horizontal measures are generally less costly than vertical
interventions and are consistent with patients’ need to avoid
all infections, not just those due to specific organisms. 2 The
challenge is that horizontal measures often require modifi-
cation of the day-to-day behaviors of healthcare workers,
which means they are more difficult to sustain. They require
ongoing education and feedback around a standardized
process and buy-in from healthcare workers themselves in
order to consistently practice the desired behavior.
Hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and disinfection,
and instrument reprocessing are horizontal measures and they
include not only efficacious products, but also evidence-based
processes and diligent practice by healthcare workers.
When it comes to horizontal infection prevention
measures, it is not enough for vendors to offer a product
and make a sale. Vendors should be held to a higher
standard – they should be vendor partners.
A vendor partner is an extension of your team and an
asset to your hospital’s success. They are a partner who
works with you from identifying a need and supplying a
solution, to implementing and sustaining improvement
with your facility’s team. It is not transactional, and it is not
just a product.
Why should hospitals expect this level of service from their
vendors? Because healthcare is complicated and changing
14
quickly. Hospital margins are being pinched. Staff are being
asked to do more with less. A vendor partner’s goal should
be your ongoing success as a healthcare provider – sustained
performance improvement. But, to succeed, we must move
past that transactional relationship to a partner relationship
that makes them part of a holistic, long-term solution.
A good vendor partner will provide:
• A strong business case to help stakeholders understand
the value of the solution
• Data and actionable insights that are easy to understand
and drive continuous improvement
• Education in a variety of formats and languages
• Timely and comprehensive on-site service
• A solution that easily integrates into existing workflows
• Onsite customer support to ensure a solution’s success
They must also be willing to partner with customers
to standardize processes and improve healthcare worker
practices. This requires evidence-based protocols, education
and objective performance feedback so that hospitals
understand exactly how they can make improvements. It’s
a partnership that addresses not only at the product, but
the processes and practices that will deliver performance.
I have worked on the business side of infection prevention
for many years, but prior to that I was a practicing infection
preventionist, certified wound care specialist and nurse
manager for just as many years. In the infection prevention
and wound specialist roles I worked with many vendors.
Some would try to sell me something and, once sold, walk
away - no educational support, no follow-up, no ongoing
connection. Others were more focused on establishing trust
and partnership.
There are many different approaches that manufacturers
and their representatives have toward the customer. Some
are transactional, some are partners. Depending on what
you are purchasing, either approach might be right. If you
are purchasing tongue depressors, a transactional approach
makes sense. However, if you are purchasing something
more complex that needs to fit into your facility’s workflow,
such as a product or service that has an impact on patient
outcomes and hospital margins, then a vendor partnership
is in order because they will help you see blind spots and
opportunities for improvement and help you incorporate
them into your facility’s operations. It is another set of eyes,
a helping hand, a partnership. It makes sense.
Here are some things to look for in a vendor partner
throughout the sales cycle:
Before vendor partners suggest a solution, they should
ask you about your facility. They should be listening to you
and your challenges – problems that you’re trying to solve
but haven’t been able to yet. Once they understand your
operations, only then can they suggest solutions that can
meet your needs. They should also be asking you about
your facility’s demographics such as:
Basic facility statistics (size, beds, etc.)
Facility ratings
Publicly available infection rates
Patient population in your hospital
Hospital and system strategic initiatives
february 2020 • www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com