category management

One path to address this imperative involves a buying reform widely used in the commercial world and other countries – notably the United Kingdom – called “category management.”   Given its potential for driving reform and reducing unnecessary spending, category management is increasingly seen as one of the U.S. federal government’s top Cross-Agency Priority Goals.

Do health IT and privacy rules need a refresh? Training and definitions may prove the modest start of national health IT improvement, though lawmakers signaled skepticism even as they acknowledged problems in the current regime. "We haven't realized the full potential of health IT for every person in this country," acknowledged National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Dr.

Background. Category Management is used by businesses and governments around the world to better manage their common purchases.  The approach involves defining a clear strategy for spending on common items or services within a category, which in turn leverages buying power across the entire category to generate a price discount, additional services that reduce total cost of ownership, and other sources of value.  As such, category management encourages individual agencies to buy from common contracting vehicles and enable purchasing decisions to be managed centrally by spec

Cognitive Category Management (CCM) has the potential to drive $340 billion in value for the federal government. Category Management has been a proven capability for leading commercial companies to unlock significant ongoing savings. However, the complexity and autonomy of federal agencies present challenges that have limited the federal government from taking advantage of these proven practices. Recent advances in cognitive tools and digital services help bridge these challenges by offering insights into unstructured data and simplifying the process for government.

In my previous blog post, I discussed category management, cognitive, and how these two tools can be used to provide value in the federal government. By reviewing best practices in the private sector as well as initial pilots in the federal government, transformation is possible. 

Michael J. Keegan

VA needs money fast for health record program. Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is ready to sign a contract with electronic health records firm Cerner to replace the agency's aging, homegrown Vista system. But to get moving on the deal quickly, VA needs to move some money around. The department wants to move fast, with an initial rollout of the new system planned for 18 months after the contract is signed.