Procurement and Logistics Office, Front Office Support

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Client:

Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Procurement & Logistics Office (P&LO)

 

Challenge:

P&LO is responsible for providing oversight and management of VHA’s supply chain to ensure the right product is available at the right price and at the right time for Veteran health care. P&LO is also working to modernize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) supply chain operations and enhance readiness to all hazards, including support of VA’s Fourth Mission as the nation’s backup health care system, while it manages annual expenditures of more than $15B. The Office of Procurement is comprised of three Regional Procurement Offices that support purchasing and contracting capabilities for VHA’s 1,300 facilities located throughout the United States.  Prior to COVID-19, the provision of medical products – including personal protective equipment (PPE) – to hospitals, clinicians, and patients depended upon a globally integrated supply chain designed to provide Just-in-Time (JIT) delivery. JIT, and the lean manufacturing practices it relied upon, cut cost by reducing the amount of stock held at every link in the supply chain from raw material providers to the patient’s bedside. COVID-19 underscored P&LO’s need to develop an integrated VA enterprise-wide supply chain, develop and implement an enterprise-wide strategy, and modernize key elements of VA’s supply chain operations.

 

Approach:

The team provided support for program management,  strategic planning, data management and dashboarding, correspondence/actions management, Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) implementation, and communications support. They worked with P&LO leaders to synchronize and distribute strategic communications, as well as manage organizational change products and messaging for internal and external stakeholders, including leaders and staff within the P&LO, VA Central Office, frontline employees, Congress, Government Accountability Office (GAO), Office of Inspector General (OIG), and industry.

 

Results:

The team has assisted VHA P&LO provide oversight and management of VHA’s supply chain by:

  • Program Management Operations – At the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, the team quickly responded by providing direct on-site support in the planning, deployment, and management of the P&LO’s emergency Logistics Operations Center (LOGOPS). The team developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the collective P&LO LOGOPS team and established a practical and feasible “battle rhythm” cadence spanning seven days per week, 24 hours per day, and provided on-site support with adaptive team members across multiple shifts. The team led the daily LOGOPS meetings and supported the consolidation of data and reporting into executive presentations for the P&LO leadership and VHA stakeholders.
  • Communications – The team supported P&LO in standing up communication mechanisms to respond to, track, and report on Requests for Information (RFIs) received from Congress, the media, and regulatory entities such as the Government Accountability Office and Office of Inspector General. Given media attention around the global shortage of PPE, the VHA supply chain became a primary topic for RFIs. The team developed a system to track RFIs from cradle to grave. This RFI tracking system established a central repository that could be used to glean frequently asked questions, trends, and lessons learned, as well as determine topics for regular, ongoing communications.
  • Data Analysis and Reporting – The team supported P&LO in organizing, designing, developing, implementing, and maintaining executive and field level systems related to COVID-19 task and communications tracking. The team deployed integrated solutions within existing VHA assets including the complete integrated deployment of products directly within the VHA environment to include Microsoft SharePoint, Teams, and Outlook. The team also developed a SharePoint list-based data repository capable of storing multilayered information for use within data model calculations.  The tracking of overall task status, information, and attachments all consolidated within a single point-of-contact tool, optimized for ease of use, and provided complete transparency. The team leveraged the data collected within the SharePoint data repository to generate a data model and subsequent dashboard product using PowerBI. Once deployed, the team developed an automated maintenance function, which allowed data to flow seamlessly from the data-entry product to the data.

 

National Oncology Program Enhancement and Expansion Support

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Client:

Veterans Health Administration (VHA), National Oncology Program (NOP)

 

Challenge:

Cancer is the second leading cause of death among Veterans. Approximately 50,000 new cases of invasive cancer occur in VHA patients each year with 200 new diagnoses each day. Nearly 3% of the newly diagnosed cancers in the United States are among Veterans who seek care through VHA. The most frequently diagnosed cancers are prostate, lung and bronchus, colorectal, urinary bladder, and melanoma of the skin. Our team is working with NOP leaders to manage a portfolio of complementary and interdependent projects, partner with other Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and VHA programs to provide oncology-related services, and develop strategic partnerships with other government agencies, associations, and industry to implement programs and services that improve the lives of Veterans with cancer.

 

Approach:

Our team of experts and practitioners in oncology and cancer care, clinical trials, VA/VHA operations, project management, clinical program planning, data analysis, and change management is supporting NOP in sustaining, enhancing, and expanding its cancer care, research, and education services. The team has partnered with NOP leaders to develop and design strategies for expanding its Precision Oncology programs. Key support elements include developing and implementing clinical pathways, aligning the NOP and Durham TeleOncology National Hub/Spoke infrastructures, and creating a virtual Cancer Center to support VHA Oncologists with patient consultations for diagnosis and treatment, tele-registry, survivorship clinic, virtual tumor board, clinical trials, and remote provider supervision and care coordination.

 

Results:

The team is supporting VHA’s NOP to improve the lives of Veterans with cancer through precision medicine by:

  • Establishing and supporting a Multidisciplinary Virtual Tumor Board Series.
  • Establishing and implementing strategies and processes for decentralized Clinical Trials.
  • Developing and implementing an Integrated Program Management Function across NOP’s portfolio of projects and initiatives.
  • Providing Data Analysis and dashboarding support.
  • Developing and implementing a national Communications Campaign targeting VHA’s oncology community.
  • Developing and implementing a plan to further expand Pharmacogenomics services.
  • Providing change management support to expand the Lung Precision Oncology Program’s presence and establish a national System of Excellence for Lung Cancer.
  • Providing change management support to establish a Women’s Cancer System of Excellence.
  • Identifying and analyzing best practices and cutting-edge methodologies for Infusion Services nationwide.
  • Providing Certified Tumor Registrar to support VHA’s National Cancer Registry Initiative.