Nate Mickish
Nate Mickish
- Senior Director, Texas Health Supply Chain Services, Texas Health
- Texas Health consists of 275 physician offices; 12 ambulatory surgery centers; 17 imaging centers; 12 free-standing emergency rooms; and five acute facilities. Approximately $150 million in spend throughout the program.
Nate Mickish joined Texas Health in January 2013 as senior director of the non-acute supply chain, primarily covering the Texas Health Physicians Group. The program grew, and in 2014 it added 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers and 17 joint-venture imaging centers. In 2015, the organization began building out its affiliate program for contract aggregation. This led to the formation of a new for-profit division under Texas Health – Texas Health Supply Chain Services (THSCS) – enabling the parent organization to focus on extending its non-acute and affiliate contracting service model to the greater market place. In his current role, Mickish oversees the operations and development of the THSCS program.
The Journal of Healthcare Contracting: What has been the most challenging and rewarding project you have been involved in recently?
Nate Mickish: My most rewarding project has been the planning, building and execution of many of the initiatives stemming from the formation of THSCS. In particular, [my team and I] successfully deployed a web-based materials management information system (MMIS), and then developed a successful service around that MMIS for our non-acute sites. I’m lucky to get to lead such a wonderful team, without whom our success would not be possible.
JHC: Please describe a project you look forward to implementing in the next year or two.
Mickish: I’m excited to take what we’ve done with THSCS to other health systems that need a solution for their non-acute sites. There is a huge need in the market for a complete solution to manage purchasing, inventory, accounts payable and more in the non-acute space. We know we have something that works. People are ready for THSCS, and we are ready for them.
JHC: What are the most important qualities you look for in a supplier partner?
Mickish: [I look for suppliers that demonstrate] honesty, reliability, curiosity and humor. Business simply doesn’t work the way it should without trust. Doing what you say you are going to do, and doing it competently, goes a very long way in building trust. I also want suppliers to be honest about how we’re performing. If I’m wrong about a matter, or if the team and I can improve, I want to know. In addition, I work with my closest suppliers on solving complex problems, which requires a healthy level of curiosity and a willingness to engage in some trial and error. Finally, this business can be difficult at times, and I don’t want to be around people who can’t enjoy what they do enough to have a good laugh.
JHC: What is the greatest change we can expect to see in healthcare contracting in the next five years?
Mickish: Risk contracting with providers and payers will eventually hit our supplier community. We hear claims from suppliers about new technologies they offer, but few are willing to back these claims financially by sharing in the downside risk if a product’s performance doesn’t meet the claims. If we’re working to provide patient care, then we all need to move from fee-for-service to value.