The consumerization of healthcare: 3 opportunities for your supply chain

In an increasingly consumer-driven atmosphere, patient expectations for healthcare supply chains are higher than ever.

As patients become more conscious of the prevalence of chronic disease, their options to receive care at alternate sites, and the value of the care they receive, pressure on the supply chain to enable exemplary acute care while keeping costs down is increasing.

Patient needs and demands are changing, so healthcare leaders are changing their understanding of what value looks like and how it should be delivered. 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. Consider these three opportunities to curb waste and deliver value that resonate with frontline staff and patients alike:

1. 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.¹ It is helpful for different sites of care to communicate and support the delivery of care across an expanding continuum. In order to achieve clinical integration, leaders must break down silos, increase communication and evaluate workflows.
2. 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. According to one survey, nearly 20% of a physician’s and nurse’s work week is spent on supply chain management.² A care-centric approach to supply chain management seeks to mitigate time spent on paperwork and inventory management and divert it to patient care. When done right, a patient-centered supply chain helps providers spend less time on inventory and more time with patients.
3. Supply chain capabilities, like automated systems, enable a patient-centered supply chain. Automation can free up valuable time spent working on tedious, repetitive processes so that clinicians can spend more time with their patients. Automation can also provide greater visibility into the supply chain and ensure that human error isn’t disrupting the accuracy of your supply chain data.³ This accurate data can in turn be used to identify practical changes you can make to support patient outcomes.  

Learn more about how Cardinal Health can help optimize your supply chain here.

¹ https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/supply-chain/the-importance-of-collaboration-and-alignment-for-a-clinically-integrated-supply-chain.html

² https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/supply-chain/a-hard-look-at-soft-costs-3-hidden-ways-to-save-2.html

³ https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/supply-chain/where-to-implement-automation-in-the-supply-chain-and-where-to-leave-it-out.html