1. WRHA Supply Chain Forum Presentation
November 21, 2012
Opening Remarks – Réal Cloutier

2. Vision, Mission and Values
Healthy people. Vibrant communities. Care for all.
Mission   
To coordinate and deliver safe and caring services
that promote health and well-being.
Values
We value:  
Dignity as a reflection of the self-worth of every person
Care as an unwavering expectation of every person
Respect as a measure of the importance of every person.

3. Commitments Commitment We are committed to:
Innovation that fosters improved care, health, and well-being
Excellence as a standard of our care and service
Stewardship of our resources, knowledge and care.

4. WRHA Strategic Directions – 2011 to 2016
Enhance Patient Experience
Improve Quality and Integration
Foster Public Engagement
Support a Positive Work Environment
Advance Research and Education
Build Sustainability

5. Future orientation Continued specialization of hospitals
More care to support care in the community as an alternative to institutional models
Aging in place strategies
Increased emphasis on technology
Patient and public engagement strategies
Increased focus on innovation and outcomes
Stronger focus on population health issues

6. WRHA as a Public Agency
Regional Health Authority defines the role and responsibilities of the WRHA and other RHAs
Primary responsibility is the administration and coordination of health care
Agency of the Provincial Government
Board of Directors
Minister of Health

7. RHAs WRHA is one of 5 RHAs in Manitoba
Consolidation process related to combining RHAs continues
Interlake – Eastern
Northern
Southern
Western
WRHA (includes Churchill)
Administrative efficiency target

8. Multiple Accountabilities
WRHA Board of Directors
Minister of Health
Manitoba Health
Government of Manitoba and various departments
Office of the auditor general
Quasi judicial offices like the ombudsmen’s office and the Human Rights Commission
Legislative Requirements

9. Why are people interested in the WRHA
We spend $2.4 billion on health care in Winnipeg
This represents about 20% of the provincial budget
We employ about 27,000 people
We care for many people from within and outside the region
Its hard for anyone to say that they have not used or know someone who has used our health care system in the past year

10. What does this make us?
The WRHA has an important role in terms of addressing the health needs of people who depend on us. It also has a strong role in shaping the health care delivery system and influencing policies and approaches to improving the health and well being of our population……however it also makes us a …..

11. What does this make us?

12. Pressures
Freedom of information requests (about 300 per year and growing)
Media
Political
Complaints to external parties / organizations
Compliance with Inter-provincial trade rules
Local development

13. Pressures
Compliance with Government and Internal policies (e.g. industry relations, inter-provincial trade rules, etc.)
Funding
Ensuring that purported innovations do not put patients at risk
WRHA owns and operates a number of facilities in the region and has contracts with other organizations for the remaining services

14. History Lesson
Media story in 2009 regarding WRHA contracting process – Brown envelopes
Allegations that WRHA had poor procurement practices – WFP “What’s in the envelop”
OAG investigates the matter and identifies a few issues to address around the process. There were no findings that supported the original allegations

15. Outcome Tighter process around tendering
Reinforcement on policy-Value Adds are not accepted by WRHA
Stringent industry relations policy
Strict conflict of interest policy
Low risk tolerance

16. What vendors need to Know
WRHA employees and physicians are required to adhere to our policies
Price and quality are important
Establishing common standards and approaches is not easy in health care
When you say your product is innovative and will save money, we tend to examine this more broadly so that we don’t pass on cost to parts of the system.

17. What vendors need to Know
As a Government Related Entity, we have to follow the same rules as Government
We cannot put patients at risk by trialing products that have not been fully assessed or approved for use
Our capital budgets are tight so we can’t afford to purchase products that don’t live up to expectations

18. What vendors need to know
You have to make your case as part of the process – end runs generally don’t build sustained relationships
While business relationships are important, products and services must demonstrate a value

19. What vendors need to know
R and D is important in health care
Evaluation standards are high in health care
We are working to improve our capacity in research and links with outside organizations
Research is generally funded outside of insured health services
It is always challenging to transfer research evidence to changes in practice – this is a reality in many industries

20. Questions