Philip Smith serves as Regional Director, Supply Chain at UnityPoint Health - Methodist/Proctor/Pekin.
Philip will be serving on the panel "The Supply Chain Reimagined: Best Ideas and Concepts for Sharper Processes Now" at Becker's Hospital Review 12th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place in Chicago from April 25-28, 2022.
To learn more about the conference and Philip's session, click here.
Question: What are your top priorities for 2022?
Philip Smith: Back orders – There have never been this many in the last decade I’ve worked in this industry. Managing dozens of allocations, on top of dozens of substitutes. Working with clinicians on acceptable products and with vendors on getting us what we need is taking up a bulk of my departments time and resources.
Q: How do you plan to pivot strategies this year to better serve patients?
PS: Prevent Infections – Lots of Value Analysis projects with new products and kits to prevent infections (surgical infections, Central line related infections, catheter related infections). I would put preventing wounds/bed sores in this category as well. Lots of work with turning and positioning products and weight offsetting devices.
Q: What technologies and innovations are you most excited about in healthcare right now?
PS: Contracting – prices are going up across the board based on rising wages, increases cost of raw materials, shipping costs. It will take a lot of work on the part of our contracting teams and GPOs to stop them from passing all those expenses on to us.
Q: What will the lasting legacy of COVID-19 be on the healthcare system?
PS: COVID 19 has changed the usage of PPE and PAPRs permanently. We need to be ready with those supplies and equipment. It incentivized us to build the pandemic stores that we had been talking about for years.