At TKA, we make healthcare technology management smarter. Considering the rapid pace at which health care is changing, there’s never been a better time to get smart about healthcare technology management.
Since our launch in 2012 as a system-wide initiative for California’s St. Joseph Health System, our priority has always been maximizing efficiencies to help deliver the best possible patient care. Today we transform healthcare technology programs to give clients the performance and peace of mind they need, want and deserve.
One of the cornerstones of our success is our emphasis on empowering our technicians to do the right thing, the right way, at the right moment — often in the moment. It’s a definitive extension of our focus on efficiency, effectiveness and prioritizing patient care.
At TKA, we’re also looking ahead to how we support progress as health care advances. We’re proud to be impacting the future as a flexible and forward-thinking group of leaders responding to the ever-changing health care landscape and our clients’ evolving needs.
TKA Has Been Smart from the Start
TKA originated from innovation. It’s part of our DNA.
At the beginning, TKA’s prime directive was to design a strategic new approach to make St. Joseph Health’s healthcare technology management more efficient, more effective and less costly. At the time, St. Joseph Health was a 16-hospital health system spanning three states. Each hospital had an independent healthcare technology management program, and costs were ballooning. As TKA, we brought these programs together, within the Innovation Institute, to reduce risks and costs while improving service.
From program inception until the end of March 2019, we saved St. Joseph Health $58.5 million.
How did we do it — and still do it, now that we serve clients beyond St. Joseph’s Health?
“We’ve never been ‘business as usual.’ We deliver services differently because that’s how we were born,” TKA President George Hampton says. “We align with the mission of the Innovation Institute to fuel health care innovation, rather than generate profits for shareholders. Our approach is more creative and more focused because that’s our ‘normal.’ TKA is a smarter choice for clients who want — and need — to save.”
TKA Is Getting Even Smarter About Healthcare Technology Management
TKA’s responsiveness to the changing needs of our clients already sets us apart. And we continue to strengthen our core capabilities to maintain our role as a trusted partner for clients — today and tomorrow.
“We aim to remove the burden of healthcare technology management from clinicians, so they can focus on patient care,” says Dave Francoeur, TKA’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “That includes striving to provide a full spectrum of services to fulfill all of our clients’ needs, maximizing their value and minimizing their effort and costs. It also includes staying flexible to address changes in health care and health care delivery.”
One of TKA’s major growth initiatives is providing tools and data to deliver what clients need when and where they need it. It’s an initiative already in full swing.
“Good data drives good decision making,” says Hampton. “We’re providing clients with the data they need to make decisions, not only in the moment but also to help support their forward direction. Whether it’s measuring usage or planning for upgrades, the goal is making those processes more effective so we maximize uptime and availability. Because when we maximize uptime and availability, we empower our clients to deliver the best possible patient care.”
Another major growth initiative underway for TKA is reaching its goal to become a full-spectrum service provider, removing responsibilities from clinicians so they can focus on patient care.
“At the end of the day, increasing our service capabilities — while minimizing costs — results in empowering clinicians to focus on patient care,” says Francoeur. “Clinicians should never have to worry about where to find equipment, whether it works, or whether it’s clean. Our READI program is one great example of expanding our services to solve a major problem in the clinical environment. READI ensures at-the-ready access to clean, operable, portable clinical devices, which increases safety, compliance, utilization, satisfaction and efficiency — while reducing expenses.”
Beyond READI, TKA is taking the concept of smarter service to a whole new level.
“I believe the future of TKA goes beyond efficiency and service. I think we need to wrap up in a bow everything our clients worry about when it comes to managing their equipment fleet,” says Hampton. “That includes looking at everything from central control, cleaning and cyber safety to addressing equipment leasing, purchasing, capital needs analysis and even funding, and then building that into the value we bring to our clients. It’s exciting to know that future is on the horizon for our clients.”
TKA Will Make a Smart Impact on the Future of Healthcare
Consolidation in health care is creating mega organizations that become more rigid the bigger they get. This makes it increasingly difficult for those organizations to meet the needs of clinicians.
TKA is uniquely poised to solve the challenge.
“TKA is large and knowledgeable enough to meet any equipment need, yet we’re flexible and nimble enough to tailor programs to meet the unique needs of our clients,” says Hampton. “We have the expertise, the experience, the size and the skill sets required to align with what our clients need today — and adapt to what they need tomorrow. We can be innovative in solving problems and bringing value because of our history, our ownership, and our focus on the greater mission of driving health care innovation.”
“When you look at our competitive environment it’s easy to see why we’re the smart choice,” says Francoeur.
“Manufacturers sell equipment, but then lock customers into service contracts that may not meet their current and ongoing needs. In-house healthcare technology management comes with the exposure and risks of running a program, and skills are limited to the in-house talent pool. Finally, other independent service organizations are, frankly, more susceptible to price pressures because of their structure — like the demands of private equity investors. None of those three options equate to comprehensive service, flexibility and savings for hospitals and health systems.”
TKA is different. TKA manages the complete healthcare technology program, not just specific pieces. TKA co-creates programs for each hospital’s unique needs, focusing on optimizing technology while minimizing costs through a fixed-cost contract model. And TKA’s highly trained team of experts is available 24/7. We do it all, from policy and procedures to regulatory to HR. That’s what makes TKA the smart choice.
“We’re here to help our clients evolve as health care evolves,” says Hampton. “That makes TKA a smart partner today — and into the future.”
At TKA, we do it better, make it easier and deliver more to maximize your results and give you a competitive edge. That’s the smarter way. Partner smart with TKA. For more information, visit ii-techknow.com.
