SOURCING & LOGISTICS Sponsored by
Clinical Strategic Sourcing Team
and implant screens that takes up to three minutes per item. Under the new system, supply and implant scanning will include manufacturer barcode and 2-D RFID tags, one screen to document products with an easier item search and higher documenta- tion rate, according to Gopalakrishnan. The system also will automate bill-only requi- sition, leading to an estimated $150,000 in annual savings for price accuracy, future procedure card maintenance for product changes, and increased documentation and charging accuracy for items below $150, as well as expired product alerts. Creating, confi guring and integrating
this technology has seen its share of speed- bumps, Gopalakrishnan indicates. “The biggest challenge continues to be data cleanup,” he said. “Good scan rates require good back-end data on [GS1 US’] GTIN and product information. Getting that information right has been diffi cult, and the recent disruptions and the item substitutes they brought about haven’t helped. Another challenge was getting
clinical buy-in on the new workfl ow. We had to demonstrate that the change will yield better documentation accuracy, and also reduce documentation time in the long run to get them to agree.” Still, Gopalakrishnan anticipates a bright future.
“Long term, we expect the function to
be provided by and live within Epic, given that a lot of hospitals are starting to focus on this, but we continue to innovate and evolve our solution focused on what makes things as easy and allows for the best data integrity,” he added.
Thriving teamwork UCM’s Supply Chain team attributes its product conversion success to cross-func- tional, process-interlaced sub-teams that resemble a DNA strand. Sourcing teams produce and share background informa- tion with clinical teams to approve before working with the distributor to “bleed out” old inventory to minimize waste. The Business Process team manages system data
changes and updates, while the Process Transformation teams establish operational modeling for the Inventory Planning team to execute and update stock levels. Every sub-team works together to develop and carry out an end-to-end conversion check- list, according to Gopalakrishnan. “Participating teams all have a role to play in the conversion process,” he said. “The current- state checklist was devel- oped as a result of learnings from a past failure. The checklist itself was the prod- uct of brainstorming across different functions to determine who is involved, what steps need to be accomplished, and in what order. Then, using Smartsheet, we created a template which allows us to assign tasks to team members, send them reminders, and bring visibility to all stake- holders. The checklist is just a tool though, and the project manager assigned to the conversion essentially uses it to execute the conversion. Also, we can have the same individual work on multiple projects across different teams.”
UChicago Medicine Supply Chain team salutes supplier partners
Who supports an award-winning healthcare supply chain organization? UChicago Medicine’s Supply Chain & Support Services team appreciates the product and service companies that have helped them develop and improve their operations and performance. The team shines a spotlight on 10 below (in alphabetical order by company name) that have motivated and fortifi ed them to make a dif- ference and succeed.
AbbVie has served as a key research and collaboration partner of UChicago Medicine, and it was able to share essential PPE and N95 supplies during the height of the pandemic. ARC Healthcare Technologies has served as a key inventory
management technology partner at the center for much of our replenishment technology. They have been an innovative design partner helping us co-design new solutions in the inventory man- agement space. Cardinal Health has served as a strategic partner on medical/
surgical supply distribution, freight and logistics management, as well as procedure packs and various branded products. Cardinal Health has been a true integrated supply chain partner through thick and thin, and has helped us drive out cost across our operations and provide critical supplies and services. Concordance Healthcare Solutions has provided essential local
disruption warehousing and distribution services during the pan- demic, as well as local job growth and investment in the communities that we serve. GHXhas served as a key technology-oriented trading partner that has helped us innovate in the procure-to-pay (P2P) space and has been critical in helping us implement the Oracle cloud solution and automating manual transactions.
10 August 2023 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com Medline Industries has served as a great supplier partner for med/
surg supplies, service and support, and has provided critical support for hard-to-fi nd products during the pandemic. Stryker has helped us drive costs out of critical implant catego- ries, and has provided great service and support for our busy Level 1 trauma center. Supply Logistics & Procurement (SLP) has served as a local
diverse provider of supply chain staffi ng that has been a true part- ner in supplying great talent to allow us to extend our supply chain services to various nonacute and affi liate sites. They’ve also been a key staff augmentation partner in critical times. TriMedx has served as a strategic partner of healthcare technology management solutions, helping us evolve our clinical engineering processes, and capital planning and execution, along with cyberse- curity of medical devices. Vizient has served as much more than a group purchasing orga-
nization (GPO). They have been a trusted partner and connection to key networks of supply chain leaders and government advocacy. They have helped us navigate diffi cult times in healthcare supply chain, and provided critical analytics tools and resources, along with a strong contracting portfolio, and a foundation for our supply chain affi liate program.
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