Inside the July 2012 issue...
Contracting and Patient Safety: How Attentive Contracting Practices May Improve Patient Safety 
Most healthcare contracting offices are in separate business offices from the clinical and medical environment they serve, which often creates contrived and artificial barriers that impede communication with clinical customers.
By: James N. Phillips Jr.
Communicating Contracts in Split Seconds: Using Visual Tools to Make Leadership Pay Attention
Good contract management and a clear understanding of contract terms are vital for business success, but how do we relay the various elements of a contract to non-experts?
By: Milva Finnegan and Helena Haapio
Vested Outsourcing: The Path to a Long-Term, Win-Win Contract
By developing outsource agreements that include 10 specific elements, firms learn by doing, employ their best talents and resources to the tasks at hand, and transition their thinking from the adversarial to the truly collaborative.
By: Kate Vitasek and Jeanette Nyden
Buying the Better Mousetrap: Patent Law Issues in Federal Acquisition
The basics of how patent law and U.S. government procurement law interact within the rubric of two federal statutes: the Patent Act and the Bayh-Dole Act.
By: Tamir Damari
Quantifying the Unquantifiable: Acquisition Timelines and the Elusive Imprimatur
GAO has questioned the seeming inability of federal agencies to measure or provide guidance on key acquisition timelines, and this article attempts to explain some of the reasons why that is the case.
By: Carol Barton
Framework for Success When Performing a Business Process Improvement, Part 1
The first in a three-part series, this article discusses the background and source inputs for a conceptual framework to aid in the successful implementation of business process improvements.
By: Robert Graham
The Positive Aspects of the Department of Defense's Rapid Acquisition Program
The Rapid Acquisition Program rapidly provides items to the force, allows the contracting community the ability to participate and compete in the process, and can save money when applied properly.
By: Pia G. Romero
Professional Development
The Art of Starting Over: How Seven Simple Words Can Save a Business Conversation Gone Wrong
By: Andrew Sobel and Jerry Panas
Legal Forum
No Money, No Contract
By: Jack Horan and John Ziegler