WORTH REPEATING
“Supply Chain executives, leaders and professionals should look at the five- year-old Value Analysis Maturity Curve, which was published in 2015 through a collaboration between the AHVAP and the Strategic Market Initiative (SMI). For so long the notion of basic patient care products evaluation was synonymous with value analysis with a focus on price, along with the vestiges of product standardization to eliminate variation.”
Barbara Strain, CVAHP, Managing Principal, Barbara Strain Consulting LLC
“Given the pandemic-driven strain many facilities faced in 2020, EVS and IP staff continue to play a critical role in maintaining a high hygiene standard, so care providers can work effectively and know that stringent cleaning and disinfecting efforts are taking place to help prevent the spread of infection or cross contamination. In addition to hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfect- ing environmental surfaces, such as bedrails and door handles, is a funda- mental part of hygiene protocols.”
Deborah Chung, Regional Marketing Man- ager, Essity Professional Hygiene, North America, part of Tork
“Although most people understand the impact of the pandemic regarding the reuse of supplies, in the future the Infection Preventionists and other reg- ulatory experts will now be faced with changing back to the practices before the pandemic. This definitely will be challenging, and perhaps research should be performed to evaluate if the change in practices related to certain products should remain even after the pandemic.”
Janet Pate, JD, MHA, RN, Nurse Consultant and Educator, Ruhof Corp
“Scheduling cases is more difficult now because so many contingencies are subject to a quick change, whether from government guidelines, hospital capacity, testing requirements, or patient issues. COVID-induced con- straints and an increased emphasis on sterility and cleanliness are all causing breakdowns in scheduling, flow, and turnover, increasing the hurdles for the OR desk.”
Shawn Sefton, MBA, BSN, RN, VP of Client Operations and CNO, Hospital IQ
PEOPLE & OPINIONS
Supply Chain rotation critical for hospital administrative fellowships
by Zach Tudor T
here are hundreds of administra- tive fellowship programs across the country, spanning healthcare organizations of all sizes. These programs allow fellows to rotate through administra- tive departments to gain a comprehensive understanding of organizational, opera- tional, and financial strategies. Spend- ing time with the various departments demonstrates the holistic approach that is needed to successfully run a healthcare organization.
Historically, these fellowships have not included formal exposure to the organiza- tion’s supply chain. However, COVID-19 has illustrated the value and complexity of the healthcare supply chain. The pandemic has further demonstrated the significant impact of the Supply Chain department within hospital and healthcare systems, making it a great rotation opportunity for an administrative fellow.
Supply Chain’s strategic importance The functions of a supply chain depart- ment play a critical role in the day-to-day operations of a healthcare organization. At its core, Supply Chain is responsible for delivering products and services on time and at a competitive cost. The processes and systems impact clinical workflow, the supplies procured influence patient care and the associated costs affect the financial position of the organization. ll of these operational considerations help an administrative fellow understand the many inputs that derive from the supply chain department.
There are many intricate responsibilities of the Supply Chain department worth exploring during a fellowship rotation. These activities are important in a health- care organization’s strategic scheme. These distinct functions – sourcing, informatics, and operations – illustrate the intercon- nected nature of the entire department.
60 February 2021 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
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Integrated structure and cross- functional collaboration Organizational structure and staffing model: The labor required to manage the inputs and outputs of a healthcare system’s supply chain is considerable. An effective organizational structure and staffing model is critical to the success of the department. Depicting the organizational design at
the onset of the rotation allows an admin- istrative fellow to visualize and understand how the various supply chain functions interoperate. At HonorHealth, the Sup- ply Chain department is performed as a shared service by the network of facili- ties. This means that staff and resources are used fleibly to meet the anticipated and unanticipated needs of daily opera- tions. The HonorHealth Supply Chain Shared Services model is unique in that it incorporates HTM Biomedical Engineer- ing and Facilities Management within its organizational structure. This strategic alignment empowers greater business intelligence and evidence-based value creation. nother benefit of this model is the standardization of best practices from one facility to the next. Ultimately, this model develops employees who are cross- functional and collaborative, a seemingly necessary attribute in today’s unpredict- able healthcare market. In an era of the COVID-19 pandemic, this model proves extremely valuable.
From my experience, the most integral aspect of the supply chain department is the collaborative relationship with clinical staff. Whether it’s commodities, clinical preference or physician preference items, the appropriate clinical resources need to be engaged during the sourcing, procuring, and distributing processes. The value anal- ysis team represents the cross-functional committee that compares the clinical value of a product and validates end user accep- tance of the vendor and product offering. Pairing the clinical insight with evidence-
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