Last word
Ask any supply chain professional this question: Is what you’re doing important to your company? The chances are good that no matter what type of company an individual works for, the reply will almost always be, “Yes.” Ask nurses if the supply chain is important and the likely answer will be “I don’t know.”
The answer may stem from lack of knowledge versus the importance of the topic. It can be frustrating wading through information on supply chain management and potentially unfamiliar terminology.
The definition of supply chain management is the planning, scheduling and control of the supply chain. That definition doesn’t make clear the supply chain’s impact on nurses, nor does it indicate the link to patient care. The ultimate goal of the supply chain is to deliver materials and information so that patients receive quality care. An effective supply chain delivers the right materials and information at the right time, in the right quantities and in the right locations. Supply chain management seeks to deliver the highest level of value at the lowest possible cost. Because supply costs are the second largest expense in a hospital, accounting for approximately 30 percent of the average hospital budget, efficient supply spending is critical to a hospital’s success. Supply chain management presents enormous opportunities for containing the rising costs of health care while improving patient care. Many hospitals regard patient care and supply spend as being linked because every dollar saved from the supply chain is a dollar that can be devoted to improving patient care quality. Supply chain operations can have a significant impact on the delivery of direct patient care by reducing risk and errors, eliminating OR waits and cancellations, and reducing the length-of-stay.
Quality assurance such as lot integrity and tracking, is another crucial health care supply chain function. As products move through the health care supply chain, quality assurance becomes increasingly difficult. Factories and distribution centers are self-contained, relatively few workers handle products and cases are clearly labeled. By contrast, the control environment within hospitals and clinics is much more complex and difficult. Numerous individuals handle products, and often products are hard to identify because they have been removed from their packaging.
An increased awareness of the value of an efficient supply chain exists; and it is driving the collaboration of government, hospital executives, industry and members of the supply chain to create a more efficient, lower-cost system and enhanced patient outcomes. Health care organizations are looking for opportunities to improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs without negatively impacting patient care. These opportunities exist when a supply chain connects employees to their facility and fosters collaboration essential to reducing overall supply chain costs. Supply chain management is becoming increasingly important for health care organizations that want to ensure supplies are available while maintaining an appropriate cost structure. Supply chain optimization begins with the statistical assessment of supply demand.
Inventory management process automation is another important component. In a recent article entitled “Supply chain technology comes to health care,” published in Supply Chain Manufacturing & Logistics magazine in March 2006, it states, “The Department of Health & Human Services recently named information technology as essential to American health care systems in the interests of patient safety. It is the most recent of a range of government agencies and experts to recommend process automation for health care applications ranging from recordkeeping to inventory management. Health care has responded: Manufacturers, distributors, medical facilities and service providers are focusing on tracking systems, validation processes and cutting-edge technology to prevent medical errors and, at the same time, cut costs and increase process efficiencies. Technology will continue to be a vital tool as the health care distribution industry evolves.”
According to the author, supply chain and patient care are definitely linked as a component of patient care.
Ruth P. Shumaker, R.N., serves on the AORN National Presidential Safety Commission and is a past president of AORN, Denver.
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