SUPPLY CHAIN
have established organizationwide goals for cutting costs while maintaining the quality of patient care .
Healthcare executives are increasingly turning to their supply chain departments to play a pivotal role in these efforts . Supply chain leaders need to be bold and demonstrate to the C-suite how they can have a positive impact on their organization ’ s bottom line .
3 . Break out of the Silos Traditionally , the various departments within healthcare organizations have functioned in separate silos , as they do in many other indus tries . Finance , procurement , accounts payable , physicians , clinicians , and IT develop tight-knit groups and become isolated in their work . Breaking down the silos by putting people with different backgrounds and perspectives together and enabling them to understand each other ’ s issues is a critical component of supply chain transformation .
4 . Technology as an Enabler Healthcare providers traditionally have invested less in information technology . The money they do invest
primarily goes for clinical IT systems . Despite a federal government requirement that encourages this trend , a recent study by Oracle Healthcare Insight makes an argument for greater investment in back-office automation and process improvement , stating that organizations can realize operating cost ratios that are 2 – 4 percent better than those of their peers .
Through its work with hospitals and the suppliers , GHX has found that the following technologies are necessary for successful supply chain transformation :
• Purchasing automation
• Contract and price management
• Content management
• Requisitioning workflow and price control / contract compliance
• Invoice and payment automation
• Business intelligence and reporting across all levels of the organization
While technology can be a powerful enabler , it ’ s also recognized that
14 December 2014