Alliance Creates Aim -- Assessment, Implementation and Management -- Program to Help Hospitals Maximize Savings from Reprocessing.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

PHOENIX--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 30, 2001

Elizabeth Stoneman, RN, BSN, New VP for Client Services,

Will Head Clinical AIM Teams

Alliance Medical Corp. Thursday announced the creation of its AIM (Assessment, Implementation and Management) program, a new customer support program to help health-care facilities maximize their savings from reprocessing single-use medical devices (SUDs).

Components of the AIM program include a comprehensive audit used to establish collection efficiency benchmarks and savings goals; development of an implementation strategy, timelines and servicing schedules; and on-site training.

To implement the program at multi-hospital systems and integrated delivery networks, Alliance has formed clinical AIM teams headed by Elizabeth (Liz) Stoneman, RN, BSN, formerly vice president of cardiology services, now Alliance's vice president of client services.

The teams are composed of specially trained nurses, surgical technicians and other clinicians who work closely with the hospital staff to initiate the program.

Once operational, day-to-day account management will be transferred to Alliance's field sales and support associates who are trained in the AIM program methodology.

Depending on the facility's size or program requirements, a dedicated account service manager may be assigned to provide ongoing on-site support, including monitoring the facility's collection points, assisting with the collection process and preparing products for shipment to Alliance.

At individual hospitals and surgery centers, Alliance's trained sales associates will implement the AIM program. By providing such comprehensive account management, Alliance ensures that collection targets are hit and that the facility maximizes its reprocessing savings potential.

"For any reprocessing program to generate significant dollar savings it must be carefully planned, properly executed and actively managed. The AIM program, the reprocessing industry's first clinically focused client support program, simply formalizes a process that we have been testing for some time," explained Stoneman.

"With more hospitals deciding to reprocess SUDs as a result of FDA's Aug. 14, 2000 guidance, it's in their best interest to select the reprocessor that will safely contribute the most to their bottom line. Alliance's AIM program delivers both safety and savings."

According to Arthur Goodrich, Alliance's vice president of marketing, "There is no doubt that a properly designed, implemented and managed reprocessing program will result in significant supply cost savings and waste reduction. That's why we developed the AIM program and created the AIM teams headed by Liz Stoneman."

"Based on her more than six years working with third-party reprocessors, her experience in establishing an in-house reprocessing program and her years as a cardiac nurse, Liz is uniquely qualified to help hospitals implement a successful reprocessing program. She truly understands why some programs succeed while others fail or just limp along."

Alliance Medical Corp. (www.alliance-medical.com) is the industry's most experienced reprocessor of disposable medical devices. The company's programs focus on quality and account servicing to allow hospitals and surgery centers, suffering from shrinking reimbursements, to maximize their finite resources while decreasing their medical waste.

Alliance's customers include many of the country's top health-care facilities as identified by U.S. News & World Report, as well as large health systems, community health-care providers and regional and national hospital group purchasing organizations.