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Supply Chain Management

Nursing and Patient Care Charter

The Committee will be called the Clinical Value Analysis Committee for Nursing and Patient Care (Nursing and Patient Care CVA).

Purpose

The Nursing and Patient Care CVA (the “CVA”) is created for the purpose of working with clinical staff and administration in aligning clinical initiatives, medical equipment and supply requests that impact nursing and patient care, to the University’s mission and core values.

The specific responsibilities of the Committee include, but are not limited to, the following:

 Review Item Requests: Evaluate new products and/or equipment for clinical appropriateness, evidence-based support, and alignment with nursing and patient practice standards.

Trial Requests: Recommend, approve, oversee, and evaluate, applicable, product or device trials; develop standardized trial tools and collect feedback from end-users

Programs & Clinical Initiatives: Support nursing/clinical-led initiates (e.g., falls prevention, pressure injury reduction, infection prevention) by ensuring the right products are available.

Standardization & Utilization Review: Assess opportunities to reduce variation in nursing/clinical supplies and equipment use.

Cost & Financial Impact Review: Partner with Supply Chain/Finance to evaluate total cost of ownership, reimbursement impact and ROI.

Communication & Feedback Loop: Establish channels to share committee decisions with frontline nursing, clinical leadership, and other committees for cross-disciplinary requests.

Collaboration with Other Committees/Subject Matter Experts: Interface with system-level Value Analysis, Pharmacy & Therapeutics, Infection Prevention, and Medical Staff committees for cross-disciplinary requests.

 

Organizational Structure of Committee

The committee shall have an executive sponsor: Senior Director, Supply Chain.

The committee shall have a Clinical Value Analysis Project Manager (VAPM) who will act as committee chair and be a permanent non-voting member. The VAPM will oversee the agendas, presentations, minutes and ongoing tracking of projects as approved by the committee.

 

Committee Makeup

Standing (Voting) Departments Include:

  • Assistant Chief Nursing Officer
  • Respiratory Director
  • Pathology/Lab Director
  • Infection Prevention Manager
  • Staff Development
  • Supply Chain Director
  • Radiology

Ad-Hoc/SME (Non-Voting) Departments Include:

  • Procurement
  • IT
  • Perioperative Nursing/Procedural Areas
  • Environmental Services (EVS)
  • Director Food and Nutrition Services
  • Occupational & Physical Therapy
  • Clinics
  • Sterile Processing (SPD)
  • Pharmacy
  • Facilities
  • Finance
  • Rev Cycle
  • Safety & Health
  • Quality
  • Outcome Management
  • Bio-Med

 

Procedural Rules of Engagement

Meetings

  • The committee will meet monthly. Written notices/agendas of upcoming meetings will be included in calendar via TEAMs at least three (3) days before meeting.
  • Meeting will only start when a quorum is established. A quorum is defined as having at least 50 percent of voting members present
  • Meeting discussions will remain confidential. This confidentiality will allow for open and honest dialogue and will ensure a well-informed decision.
  • Meetings will start and end on time, and the duration will be one (1) hour(s).

Membership Responsibilities

  • Members will attend meetings on time and be prepared
  • Members will attend at least 80% of scheduled meetings
  • Members will communicate with VAPM for scheduled absences
  • Members who are absent without reasonable cause from three successive meetings will be considered to have resigned their seat. The committee will move to fill the position.
  • Members will respect each other’s opinions and ideas
  • Members will be accountable and responsible for delegated tasks and will complete them on time
  • Members will be transparent about their outside interests and involvement. A signed conflict of interest form must be on file with the VAPM
  • Annually review and evaluate the committee’s usefulness and performance.

Chairperson’s responsibilities

    • (Intentionally Left Blank)

Clinical Value Analysis Project Manager responsibilities

  • Facilitate each of the committee meetings and report its activities to the Executive Oversight Committee (EOC) at monthly meetings
  • Prepare materials for distribution prior to each meeting
    • Agenda
    • Financial analysis
    • Champion/Vendor Presentation
    • Samples
  • Clinical data analysis as provided by ECRI, Quality Department, etc.
  • Facilitate the Committee meeting after Chairperson calls to order
  • Communicate any changes in timelines and project plans as needed
  • Track all projects approved by committee and report on quarterly basis on their impact on the organization. 

Presentation and Approval Process

  • Clinical/Business Champion must be present at meeting of any supply, equipment or service requested. Vendors may be brought in at the committee’s discretion to provide subject matter expertise on the specific supply, equipment or service being evaluated.
  • VAPM will excuse the presenter and any non-voting departments present
  • VAPM will open floor for discussion in order of agenda
  • Each standing department will be given an opportunity to speak
  • Standing departments must be present to vote.
  • Approval will be granted by unanimous decision of voting departments
  • OR if committee is unable to come to a unanimous decision approval will be granted or denied by a simple majority vote by committee through the anonymous voting procedure
  • Decision will be based on verifiable and accurate data, information, literature, and/or demonstration of evidence-based medicine and standards of care.
  • The committee can, at the behest of senior leadership, temporarily limit requests that are shown to have a negative financial impact.

Minutes

  • Minutes of each meeting will be kept by the VAPM in digital audio form or digital non audio form. Copies of these minutes will be available upon request.

Reports and findings 

  • A quarterly review of approved items (to include outcomes and financial analysis) will be presented by the VAPM to the CVA.
  • The VAPM will present same data quarterly to the Senior Leadership Team and share the presentation with the Medical Executive Committee.

Voting Procedure

From time to time, it may be necessary to take a formal committee vote. Below is how the voting process will take place:

  • The VAPM will provide voting sheets to each committee member with a check box for “Yes” or “No” and a comment box for providing reasoning.
  • Sheets will be unanimous and collected by the VAPM for review and vote tallying.
  • A simple majority vote will carry the decision.
  • Each standing department represented on the CVA committee gets one vote.
  • Standing departments present at the meeting are not allowed to abstain from voting.
  • Standing departments who fail to attend the meeting will not be able to vote.

In the rare event the initial vote tally records a tie. The committee will be asked to revote, if that vote also is a tie then it will be recommended to move to the Executive CVA for a decision.

Requirements to go to Nursing and Patient Care CVA

All new product introductions, clinical initiatives, equipment purchases, vendor changes, or technology implementations – regardless of scope or department origin – fall under the prevue of Value Analysis and its designated committees for review and approval prior to acquisition or implementation, unless clearly exempted under this policy.

Definitions:

CVA: Interdisciplinary committee responsible for the formal review and recommendation of products/services based on value-driven criteria.

Product/Initiative: Any item, supply, equipment, service, software, device, or clinical protocol change that affects patient care, workflow, cost, or resource allocation.

Streamlined Review: An expedited review track for low-impact, department-specific, or pre-approved requests.

Bypass Approval: Alternative path for emergency or family expansion procurements, with documentation and post-purchase CVA review.

General Requirements:

  • All Product requests must be submitted through the approved Value Analysis Request Form.
  • Requests must include clinical justification, estimated cost, volume, vendor details, and any known workflow or training implications.
  • CVA will evaluate based on criteria including outcomes, patient safety, regulatory compliance, financial impact, supply chain feasibility, and alignment with organizational goals.
  • Final decisions are documented and communicated to requesters and stakeholders.
  • At the discretion of the Clinical Value Analysis (CVA) Committee, a Subject Matter Expert (SME) subcommittee may be appointed to review specific items, technologies, or categories requiring specialized expertise. The SME subcommittee will conduct a focused review and provide a recommendation to the CVA Committee. The CVA Committee will review the recommendation and retain final decision-making authority.

The composition and structure of the SME subcommittee will be determined by the CVA Committee on a case-by-case basis. SME subcommittees are temporary in nature and will dissolve upon completion of the specific project or task for which they were established.

Alternative Approval Pathways:

While CVA is the default approval mechanism, alternative review paths may be permitted in the following scenarios:

  1. Department-specific streamlined review

Requests may be eligible for streamlined review if they meet ALL of the following conditions:

  • Used exclusively by a single department (e.g. respiratory)
  • Cost per unit is under $500 and total annual spend is under $5,000
  • No impact on other departments, workflows, IT systems, or patient safety
  • Not subject to an existing contract or standardization

In such cases:

  • The Department Director and Supply Chain director must review and sign off
  • Documentation must be submitted to CVA as an informational item
  • CVA reserves the right to request full review at its discretion
  1. Emergency Purchases

In emergent clinical or operational situations

  • Departments may proceed with immediate purchase of necessary items
  • CVA will conduct a retrospective review for transparency and accountability

Product Trials and Pilots

All clinical or operational product trials must be formally requested and approved by the Value Analysis Project Manager (VAPM) prior to initiation. Trials are an essential step in evaluating the clinical, operational, and financial viability of new products before organizational adoption.

Trial Approval Pathways

There are two approval pathways for trials, based on scope, impact, and risk level:

 

  1. Standard Trial Process (Default)
  • A full CVA-reviewed trial process is required when a proposed product:
  • Impacts multiple departments or service lines
  • Requires changes to documentation, IT, workflows, or policy
  • Involves capital purchase, high dollar spend, or potential standardization
  • Has potential safety or regulatory implications

 

Process:

  1. Trial request submitted to VAPM using the approved form
  2. Request reviewed by VAPM and scheduled for CVA input/approval
  3. Upon CVA approval, the requesting department conducts the trial
  4. Post-trial evaluations and supporting documentation submitted
  5. CVA reviews post-trial findings and makes a final recommendation

 

  1. Limited Trial Process (Limited Scope/Low Risk)
  • A limited trial process may be permitted when the proposed product:
  • Is department-specific, used exclusively by a single clinical area
  • Does not require IT integration, workflow changes, or multi-disciplinary use
  • Poses no known patient safety or regulatory risk
  • Has limited or no vendor commitment

Process:

  1. Department submits trial request to VAPM indicating eligibility for streamlined review
  2. VAPM reviews and may approve the trial without full CVA review
  3. Department conducts the trial with oversight by the VAPM
  4. Post-trial summary and user evaluations are submitted to the VAPM
  5. If requesting adoption, department must follow CVA policy for approval, including providing:
  • Post-trial evaluation data
  • Clinical justification
  • Any workflow or financial impact documentation

 Note: The CVA reserves the right to escalate any limited trial to full review at any time based on clinical, financial, or organizational impact.

Important Notes:

  • Approval of trial does not constitute approval for purchase
  • No product may be purchased or implemented beyond trial scope without formal CVA approval
  • Trials must be time-limited, clearly scoped, and monitored for compliance with hospital policy and patient safety standards.
Last Updated: 2/19/26