Vendor Relationship Guide

Guidelines for Introducing Services, Supplies or Equipment into Procedural Areas and the Surgical Suite

1. All requests for entrance of new services, supplies or equipment to procedural areas or the surgical suite must secure written authorization through the PCH Capital Equipment and New Technology Request process and receive approval prior to scheduling the procedure. Please allow a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks for review.

2. It is the vendor representative and physician’s responsibility to utilize only products that are FDA approved. It is the physician’s responsibility to provide full disclosure and obtain informed patient consent for any FDA-approved product that is being utilized for an “off-label” use. The exception would be a supply or equipment that is being used as part of a PCH-approved clinical trial in which case the Capital Equipment and New Technology Request process must be followed including disclosure that it is part of a clinical trial and the informed consent must be present on the patient’s hospital chart prior to the start of the procedure.

Obtaining Access to a Procedural Area or the Surgical Suite

1. Requests that a vendor representative have access to a procedural area or the surgical suite must be made by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant on staff at PCH and will need to be approved by the director of the area or the assistant vice president of Nursing.

2. All approved vendor representatives must have a PCH identification (ID) card which can be obtained through the Public Safety department. The PCH ID must be worn and easily visible at all times.

3. All vendor representatives entering a procedural area or the surgical suite are required to check in with the charge person in that area and to wear clean/unsoiled PCH surgical scrubs, hair covers, enclosed shoes, shoe covers and a disposable high filtration mask that covers the nose and mouth completely.

4. When present in a procedural area or the surgical suite, the vendor representative must coordinate his/ her activities/responsibilities with the RN circulator.
5. Vendor representatives are not allowed to participate in direct patient care activities and are not allowed to open sterile supplies onto the sterile field.

6. Vendor representatives with specialized training may perform remote calibration to the attending physician’s specifications or instructions, under the direction of the attending physician with the verification of the RN circulator.

7. Vendor representatives are not allowed to solicit physicians to utilize products while in a procedural area or the surgical suite. Vendor representatives will provide product information and support only at the physician’s request.

Any vendor representative who brings a supply or equipment into PCH without proper authorization/ approval will consider all such items as a no cost contribution to the hospital.

Bringing Supplies or Equipment into PCH for a Surgical Case

1. All equipment or supplies must be in Sterile Supply Processing (SSP) no later than 24 hours before the scheduled case.

2. All instrumentation and trays should be brought simultaneously and each should be labeled with the surgeon’s name, patient’s name, procedure and the date of the procedure.

3. The vendor representative is responsible for removing all trays, unused implants or supplies from SSP within 24 hours after completion of the case and appropriate decontamination.

4. Storage of instrumentation or trays for future cases will be at the discretion of the manager of SSP.

5. Please note that PCH will not reimburse freight charges or delivery-type fees for rental/loaners associated with borrowed instruments, implants, surgical suite equipment, and disposables.

Palos Community Hospital will not reimburse vendor for equipment damaged or broken during the routine course of a procedure unless the damage is due to gross abuse or negligence on the part of a PCH employee and the vendor provides written documentation of such.

Interviews

The Purchasing Department is the initial contact point for sales representatives and service technicians at (708) 923-4180.

All requests for entrance of medical services, supplies or equipment to areas other than the surgical suite or procedural areas must secure written authorization through the Product Evaluation and Standardization

Committee Product Review Request Form

Purchasing will coordinate appointments for departments as required. Confirmed appointments must be arranged prior to arrival at the hospital. Upon arrival, proceed to the lobby Information Desk to register and receive permission to proceed to the department with a written Sales Pass to visit only the designated area stated on the pass.

Upon departure, return the Sales Pass to the lobby Information Desk.

Quotations

All written quotations should be sent to the Purchasing Department for review and should include specifications and brochures, services, term and expiration, GPO, and latex or hazard content.

Purchase Orders

All orders for equipment, services or supplies must have been authorized on an official purchase order by the Purchasing Department to receive payment. No order should be accepted from any hospital employee without a purchase order. We do not accept C.O.D. shipments.

Cell Phones

Please restrict the use of your cell phone to the lobby or designated locations away from clinical equipment and patients.

Invoices

We require payment terms of Net 30 and it is our practice to pay invoices promptly to secure favorable discount terms. Invoices will be paid more quickly if the correct purchase order number appears on the invoice. Palos Community Hospital is tax exempt and will furnish a copy of IRS form W-9 upon request.

Deliveries

All deliveries are to be made to the Receiving Department dock between the 6 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. A packing slip referencing the purchase order number must accompany each shipment.

Corporate Compliance

Palos Community Hospital prohibits business relationships with vendors or any health care providers listed in the Office of Inspector General’s Medicare and Medicaid cumulative sanction reports published by the Department of Health and Human Services. Palos Community Hospital also prohibits business relationships with vendors or any health care providers listed on the Illinois Department of Public Aid Medicaid sanctions list or the General Services Administration list of debarred contractors. Palos Community Hospital’s knowledge of any vendor or health care provider listed on the aforementioned reports will result in immediate termination of business relations. Business relations may resume at the discretion of Palos Community Hospital, upon corrective action by the vendor/ health care provider and removal from the aforementioned reports.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Palos Community Hospital supports all patient privacy components of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Consistent with these standards, vendors are prohibited from using confidential patient information in any way other than what has been expressly agreed upon with Palos Community Hospital. Vendors may be asked to sign a Business Associate Agreement stating compliance with HIPAA guidelines.