Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/976338
66 HEALTHCARE NEWS Amazon focusing on ambulatory sites for entrance into supply chain market — 6 insights By Angie Stewart A mazon is reportedly looking to expand its medical supplies business, focusing on ambulatory sites such as outpatient surgery centers, according to Bloomberg. Here are six things you need to know: 1. Amazon's interest in outpatient clinics, including doctors' offices and ASCs, was revealed to Bloomberg by a supply chain executive at a top hospital system that has been involved in talks with Amazon officials in recent months. e executive spoke on the condition of anonymity. 2. Great Neck, N.Y.-based Northwell Health has been in talks with Amazon for about a year, according to Chief Procurement Of- ficer Phyllis McCready. e health system's portfolio includes 10 ambulatory surgery joint ventures. 3. Amazon's market entrance could hurt medical supply and drug distributors such as Owens & Minor, McKesson Corp. and Car- dinal Health. Shares of these three companies dropped earlier this week, CNBC reported. 4. Initially sticking to basic medical supplies such as latex gloves, bandages and sutures could benefit the online retailer's entrance into the medical supply chain, according to Logistics Trends & Insights Founder Cathy Roberson. 5. Amazon provides office supplies to Dan- ville, Pa.-based Geisinger on a limited basis. Geisinger's chief of system support services, Deborah Templeton, said Amazon's market entrance strategy will need to include the standardization of vendors. 6. On-demand pricing for medical supplies would likely cause a shi in facilities' ordering procedures, as most medical supplies are cur- rently bought on a contract basis at relatively stable prices, Templeton said. n Gunman opens fire in Alabama hospital; 1 employee dead By Alia Paavola A gunman opened fire at Birmingham, Ala.-based UAB Hospital- Highlands March 14, shooting two employees before killing him- self, according to The New York Times. Police responded to an active shooter situation just before 7 p.m. March 14 and said they found two men with gunshot wounds and another man who shot and killed himself. One of the employees injured in the shooting was pronounced dead at 10 p.m. March 14; the second employee was stabilized. "It is with a heavy heart that we announce to you this evening the passing of one of our colleagues after a shooting at UAB Highlands," said Anthony Patterson, the hospital's senior vice president of inpatient services, accord- ing to the report. Birmingham Police Department Lt. Peter Williston said the department investigated and reviewed the incident. All surgeries scheduled for March 15 at UAB Hospital-Highlands were canceled. n Penn State Hershey drops 2,100 neurology patients By Alyssa Rege P enn State Health Milton S. Hersehy (Pa.) Medical Center sent letters to roughly 2,100 patients last week stating the hospital could no longer provide them with adequate neurology care, ABC-27 News reports. A spokesperson for Penn State Health told Becker's Hospital Review April 23 the multiple sclerosis service at the hospital sent letters to 2,100 patients advising them to seek alternate care options until the hospital recruits more specialists to its team. The spokesperson said among other challenges, two of its MS specialty physicians retired and two others left the institution. "As we seek to hire additional, highly specialized physicians and advanced care practitioners to treat patients with MS, we are encountering many of the same challenges being seen by health systems nationwide, namely a shortage of subspecialists trained and ready to treat this complex illness," the spokesperson told Becker's. The spokesperson told Becker's Penn State Health is "committed to serv- ing our patients' needs for MS care ... and are actively working through a plan to make this happen." The hospital will also directly contact affected patients "in the near future" to aid them in the transition. n