Less than half of health systems integrate clinicians into supply chain work, and this is barring hospitals from smoothening bumps in their supply chains, according to an April 13 post from McKinsey & Co.
The idea of matching clinical leaders with supply chain experts is not new among hospital C-suites: Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger integrated their supply and clinical units to focus on quality efforts, and Cleveland Clinic and Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Health System supply leaders said this clinical-supply combination is a 2023 goal.
A McKinsey survey of 149 health system executives revealed 54 percent do not have "dedicated personnel to engage with frontline clinical staff around supply chain." Less than half, or 44 percent, said they have joint financial targets from the clinical and supply chain leaders, and only 2 in 5 have core sponsorship of supply chain initiatives from the chief medical officer.
The organization recommends developing a clinical database, creating an analytics platform to track purchases and analyze contracts, and forming a clinical engagement workforce.