Inkoop SDCG makes healthcare contract management clearer

The collaboration between Inkoop SDCG and ISPnext began during a radical policy change. Due to the decentralisation of healthcare, municipalities were given the responsibility to independently enter into contracts with (healthcare) providers. Municipalities in the Central Gelderland region entrusted this task to Inkoop SDCG. During this transition phase, Inkoop SDCG chose ISPnext after a tendering process. "We started with Vendor Management and Spend Analytics, although we no longer work with Spend Analytics because the municipalities do not provide insight into the financial data,’ says Marieke. ‘It's not the software, but the structure of the collaboration within our region."

After starting with Vendor Management, Inkoop SDCG further expanded the use of the software with the Contract Management solution. Within the organisation, there was a need to store contract information centrally, structure product information per supplier and gain insight into supplier data. ‘’More and more processes take place within the application. There is a great desire to work in file format, so that everything per provider is clearly arranged together and you are not dependent on documents on a network drive or in an e-mail," explains Marieke. Although colleagues still use the application sparsely now, more and more processes are being housed in it, precisely to encourage use and increase central accessibility. ISPnext facilitated this development with a solution that matched Inkoop SDCG's information needs.

For Marieke herself, Contract Management in particular has become indispensable in her daily work. She uses the solution to gain insight into contract products, including the associated waiting times. This information is linked to Inkoop SDCG's public website via an API, so the data is automatically displayed. "I work a lot with that overview to check that everything is correct. You can see per provider exactly what products are available, including waiting time. That gives me control and makes it easy for others in the organisation to find information."

While ISPnext was initially used mainly to manage healthcare contracts, its use has expanded over the years. Contracts outside the social sector are now also processed through the system. "There are a lot of contracts to monitor, so it's great that we can do it all in one system. We are still expanding its use."

According to Marieke, the greatest added value is not so much in the internal processes, but rather on the side of the (healthcare) providers. With the deployment of the Supplier Portal, they are able to supply, manage and update their information themselves. "Through the Supplier Portal, they don't have to send or tune something every time. They can offer everything at once, change waiting times and view their products. That all happens in one central place. For them, this is really an improvement and for us it saves a lot of coordination and time."

The Supplier Portal distributes the workload and prevents information from being lost or duplicated. "That's mainly where the profit lies with us," Marieke adds.

According to Marieke, cooperation with ISPnext is smooth and approachable. "Whether through the Customer Success Manager or the support desk, I get in touch quickly and we interact well." This cooperation goes beyond the relationship with ISPnext. Interaction with other healthcare regions working with the platform is intensive. "We have a lot of contact with other regions. We exchange experiences and try to work more and more in the same way. This is not only pleasant for ourselves, but also for providers who have to deal with several regions."

Currently, there are 42 healthcare regions in the Netherlands and almost every region uses its own systems for availability, procurement and contract management. This fragmentation leads to a lack of clarity for providers. This is precisely why cooperation with other ISPnext customers from the Social Domain is so valuable. "During the sessions organised by ISPnext, we learn from each other. We try to create more uniformity that way. That makes it a bit more manageable for healthcare providers."

For the future, Marieke sees great potential in the further optimisation of processes around healthcare procurement. According to her, the possibilities are increasingly in line with practice, where process-oriented work, central file creation and clear division of roles between parties are increasingly important. Within Inkoop SDCG, they are actively looking at how the existing solutions can be used even more effectively in cooperation with healthcare providers. "There is good work being done on that, and we are looking forward to seeing how we can leverage that further," says Marieke.

A key focus is supplier onboarding: the process by which healthcare providers register and provide documentation. "We notice that suppliers want to manage more and more themselves within the portal. If that is facilitated properly, it saves a lot of manual work and feedback." Within Inkoop SDCG is therefore looking with interest at solutions that can structure and simplify this process. "That is valuable for both us and the providers."

Inkoop sociaal domein Centraal Gelderland (SDCG) supports 11 municipalities in Gelderland with procurement and contract management within the Social Support Act (Wmo) and Youth Act. As the connecting link between municipalities and (care) providers, Inkoop SDCG coordinates contract management, supplier management and monitoring of care performance. The organisation focuses on regional cooperation, transparency and improving processes, with the aim of guaranteeing the quality and continuity of care in the region.