Dee Donatelli, senior director of spend management at symplr (photo courtesy of symplr)
As healthcare systems seek new approaches to improve bottom line, one promising avenue for significant cost savings is the integration of clinical systems and insights into supply chain management.
Value-based, consumer-centered care has accelerated the need for clinical integration and is widely accepted as the gold standard for results-driven healthcare systems. As a result, strategic clinical investments are more important than ever.
By involving clinicians at the beginning of the supply chain management process, healthcare systems can better align administrative and clinical functions combined to achieve spend management and patient outcomes goals.
Building blocks for clinical integration and maturity
A clinically integrated supply chain fosters interdisciplinary partnerships within and outside healthcare organizations. It supports a focus on providing high quality care while achieving the best results at the lowest cost and lowest waste.
In a clinically integrated supply chain, key stakeholders such as physicians and other clinicians, managers, supply chain executives, patients, and suppliers are directly or indirectly involved in decisions throughout the process. increase. Stakeholder representation begins with procurement and contracting and extends to the utilization and tracking of clinical and financial outcomes.
Data-driven decision making is the foundation of a mature and integrated supply chain. A healthcare system’s own clinical, cost, and outcomes data become part of the value-driven decision-making process. The ability to link line item purchase data to patient-specific results is paramount.
In a clinically integrated supply chain, there is a link between specific products, patient outcomes, and the economic impact of product choices, even after the patient has been discharged from the hospital. For example, does the product cause complications or readmissions?
A clinically integrated supply chain also supports physician involvement. When a doctor requests a specific device or medical supply, the leader in the Supply Her chain gets data and evidence-backed insights that can be used to facilitate the conversation with the doctor. This allows decision-makers to determine whether the clinical literature supports the use of a particular product or whether there are other functionally similar, lower-cost options. Clinical evidence also reveals product efficacy that directly impacts safety, patient satisfaction, readmission rates, and measurable improvements in care.
Importantly, clinical integration helps healthcare organizations calculate total healthcare costs. Through a clinically integrated approach, supply her chain leaders gain insight into cost, quality and results.
Extracting added value from technology
AI-powered technologies that use predictive analytics and business insight capabilities can help supply chain leaders better predict future needs. For example, predictive modeling can warn of potential surges in certain diseases such as COVID. Combining predictive and value analytics solutions helps supply chain leaders identify long-term needs, share information with key stakeholders, and gain insights to address those needs with vendors. I can.
More broadly, by managing the entire process using a centralized digital ecosystem, decision makers can instantly focus supply chain business units and clinical systems on agreed-upon financial and clinical goals. You can. This structure enables organizations to make data-driven decisions on purchasing, align key stakeholders in real time, and drive standardization. Taken together, these achievements combine to significantly improve your bottom line.
continuous process
Building a clinically integrated supply chain is a continuous evolution for even the most mature healthcare system.
By integrating clinical insights into supply chain management strategies, hospital leaders can reduce costs without compromising patient care. By combining human-centric and technology-centric processes, decision makers can identify the most effective products, optimize inventory levels, and reduce costs down the supply chain. This is critical to the long-term success of any healthcare organization and is a top priority for hospital leaders.
About the author
Dee Donatelli is Senior Director of Expenditure Management at symplr, an enterprise healthcare operations software company.
