Healthcare supply chains are moving towards more patient-focused operations in response to several trends. The prevalence of chronic disease, the continuum of sites in which patients receive care, growing consumer savvy in healthcare, and value-based payments are all affecting supply chain expectations. As patients’ needs and demands are changing, healthcare leaders are changing their understanding of what value looks like and how to deliver this value.
Historically, healthcare supply chains did not include direct patient contact, but now supply chains need to be even more patient care-centric. This is because frontline staff and administrators are often being asked to do more with less – and as a result – are looking at all the levers they can pull to deliver quality care, including supply chain operations. The efficiency and readiness of care, and the quality and cost of the items used to deliver care, are key levers for frontline staff to influence patient outcomes.
We know that better supply chain management supports better quality of care.* Consider these three opportunities to curb waste and deliver value that resonate with frontline staff and patients at the point-of-use.
- As cost and value become increasingly important factors in the healthcare equation, collaboration between physicians, nurses, clinical staff and the supply chain can beneficially affect costs and outcomes. It is helpful for different sites of care to communicate and support the delivery of care across an expanding continuum, including passage through the supply chain.
- As hospitals continue to focus on delivering the best patient care while facing resource constraints, the supply chain must become even more efficient to relieve clinical staff from supply related burdens. In a recent survey, physicians and nurses reported spending nearly 20 percent of their workweek on supply and inventory tasks.* A care-centric approach to supply chain management seeks to mitigate this time and divert it to direct patient care. When done right, a patient-centered supply chain helps providers spend less time on inventory and more time with patients.
- A patient-centered supply chain can also facilitate reduction of errors, help standardize to the “best” set of products, and decrease costs – all of which can support high-quality patient care and lower costs.
*About Cardinal Health Hospital Supply Chain Survey
This study was fielded Oct. 19 - Nov. 4, 2016, using an online survey methodology. The samples were drawn from SERMO’s Online Respondent Panel of Health Care Providers, which includes over 600,000 medical professionals in the United States. The study included 403 respondents total, including frontline healthcare providers in hospitals (n=201), service line leaders in hospitals (n=100), and hospital/supply chain administrators (n=102). All survey data on file at Cardinal Health.