Jolt #1: Healthcare Caffeine, WoundSource Edition
By Colton Mason

I love coffee. I often joke with my friends that drinking coffee is the only way I can get my eight glasses of water in every day. Now if you're a coffee junky like me, you can probably tell the difference between a great cup of coffee and one that's just so-so.

Speaking of great – let me tell you about a small pecan company in my home town of Grand Bay, Alabama that makes the best coffee I have ever tasted, hands down. They take local pecans grown in their own orchards, and have their flavor roasted into the coffee beans. My favorite variety incorporates a stick of real butter into the blend creating a wonderful thing known as butter pecan coffee. Is it expensive? Yes. With a price tag of $13.95 per pound, it's double what you will pay for regular coffee at the grocery store. Is it worth it? Yes. The quality is unmatched, and everyone I send it to raves about it and wants to know where they can buy it.

Balancing Your Health Care Facility's Budget with Clinical Outcomes

Like coffee, wound care supplies also have different price tags. It is your job as a health care professional to determine which products fit best into your facility's budget – all while balancing that with clinical outcomes and what is best for your patients.

Rule #1 - You get what you pay for. Sometimes the best ingredients can cost a little bit more. Sometimes they can cost a lot more! Is the extra cost worth the results you receive? If so, the answer is simple. Keep in mind that there is a huge difference in price versus cost. Don't just look at price per item, examine the overall cost – higher quality products may cost a little more up front, but overall may provide a better value in the long-term. For example, higher quality wound care dressings can offer additional benefits such as a reduction in the frequency of dressing changes – saving valuable nursing time, a huge factor in your overall cost.

Now this is an exciting week. It not only marks the start of the SAWC Spring convention, but also a new partnership between myself and WoundSource – the world's leading source of wound care product information. Every month, I will be delivering value-based messages to their readers through a special WoundSource edition of my blog – Healthcare Caffeine. Now you won't see any fancy letters behind my name. I am not a clinician. I'm actually honored to be the only non-clinical writer WoundSource has partnered with. My job is simple. To bring you solutions that will save you time, money, and help make your life easier.

Upcoming Topics: Wound Supply Cost-Savings, Inventory Management and New Products

Over the next several months I'll showcase the newest wound care products on the market. I'll discuss cost-saving strategies such as generic alternatives, inventory management, and how to create and control a wound care formulary. I look forward to interacting with you, and welcome any feedback you may have. Please leave a comment below to start the conversation. Oh, and if you're still thinking about that butter pecan coffee – drop me an email, and I'll be glad to share my secret with you.

About the Author
Colton Mason is the Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Supreme Medical Fulfillment Systems - a national wholesale distributor of medical supplies and equipment that specializes in wound care.

His syndicated column, Healthcare Caffeine, is read by thousands of health care professionals every week – and he is pleased to deliver this special WoundSource Edition, featuring exclusive content specific to the wound care industry.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author, and do not represent the views of WoundSource, Kestrel Health Information, Inc., its affiliates, or subsidiary companies.