Same Procedure, Different Cost: The Supply Chain Blind Spot

Same Procedure, Different Cost: The Supply Chain Blind Spot 
Turning Variation into Actionable Value Analysis 

Tuesday, November 10, 2026  
1 - 2 p.m. Eastern; noon - 1 p.m. Central; 10 - 11 a.m. Pacific   

Two clinically similar procedures can carry dramatically different supply costs. Understanding why is rarely simple. Value analysis and supply chain teams must piece together procedure records, item usage, contract pricing, clinician preferences and financial data that live in separate systems, often by hand. By the time the analysis is ready, the moment to engage clinicians has often passed, and variation that could be addressed stays on the table.

This webinar brings together value analysis and supply chain leaders, including practitioners who have led these programs at major health systems, to explore how health systems approach procedure-level cost variation today, where traditional dashboards and manual processes fall short, and what teams need to move from identifying variation to acting on it. The discussion covers the data foundation required for fair, credible comparisons, including risk adjustment, minimum case volumes and confidence labeling, and examines how emerging AI-driven analysis can investigate cost drivers and model standardization scenarios far faster than manual methods. Panelists will also discuss what hospitals should require from next-generation tools: which questions they must answer, what evidence they must show, and how their recommendations should fit within existing value analysis committees and clinical decision-making.

• Attendees Will Learn How To: 
  
  Identify the procedure, product, contract, clinician and financial data needed to explain why similar procedures differ in supply cost.
• Recognize where traditional analytics and manual processes fall short in moving from spotting variation to acting on it.
• Apply methods for fair, credible clinician and procedure comparisons, including risk stratification, minimum case volume thresholds and confidence labeling.
• Evaluate AI-generated cost analyses and recommendations based on the evidence they provide, regardless of vendor.
• Bring variation findings into value analysis committee and clinical governance processes to drive and sustain adoption.

Speakers:

Elizabeth (Beth) Bender, RN 
Strategic Advisor (Former value analysis and sourcing leader at MedStar Health and Penn State Health) 
Genesis Automation Healthcare

Steve Kammar 
Senior Director, Data Management (Former Director of Supply Chain, MedStar Health) 
Genesis Automation Healthcare