While technology and automating supply chain processes has played an important role in driving change in the healthcare supply chain, more needs to be done, Tina Vatanka Murphy, chief revenue officer of Global Healthcare Exchange wrote in a blog post on SupplyChainBrain.com.
To drive more changes and improvements, the healthcare industry needs to establish a culture of innovation and diversity.
Research shows that innovation thrives in diverse environments. For example, 85 percent of CEOs who had a diversity and inclusion strategy saw enhanced performance, according to PwC's 18th Annual Global CEO Survey. Another study published in 2009 shows that firms with more racial or gender diversity had more sales revenue, more customers and greater profits.
Despite the documented benefits of diverse teams and organizations' efforts to recruit more diverse talent, a recent Harvard Business Review article suggests success has been limited.
Healthcare leaders must work harder to build a diverse team to ensure innovation reaches its highest potential, Ms. Vatanka Murphy wrote.
"Healthcare's transformation is far from over. As supply-chain leaders, it's incumbent on us to create an environment that invites a diversity of opinions and thoughts. Without it, we will fall prey to unconscious bias that will impede our industry's and our organization's ability to innovate to the fullest."