The healthcare supply chain management is essential in the provision of quality healthcare services to consumers. Whether you are a small health b2b ecommerce or a large health b2c commerce, a good supply chain management will benefit your organization.
Here is how to improve healthcare supply chain management:
- Careful Management of Contracts
A majority of hospitals use Group Purchasing Organizations to handle contracts. For many of the providers, it is easy to lose track of supply chain contracts once the contracting process is handed over to GPOs. GPOs can leverage contracts by the purchasing ability of the members to negotiate contracts. They can also aid providers in saving costs on services and products. Even though GPOs take care of contract aspects, healthcare providers still require paying attention to their contracts through examination of pricing.
In a healthcare system that is market-based, the prices set by competitors and the money paid under contracts of health plan have a significant effect on the rates set for the services. These market forces require being addressed in the pricing structure of the hospital. If providers fail to be attentive to market forces and contracts, the contracts could expire, or they could be overcharged for their products.
- Development of Effective Inventory Management
Numerous times, manufacturers face challenges in moving the inventory via their supply chains timely. When products go bad due to not being moved well, sales are lost, and profit margins are ruined. Therefore, it is essential to manage the inventory process properly. Healthcare executives need to utilize a quality equipment management system to aid in the management of inventory levels. During the management of inventory levels, executives require examining the individuals in their firms as well as their supply partners. They must determine how to establish synergy between the two groups together with maximum productivity.
- Use Analytics and Technology for Smoother Operations
To successfully improve a supply chain, healthcare executives must also utilize effective technologies that need the support of powerful analytics. Implementation of automation tools and data analytics can aid in the making of supply chain management a more straightforward process. When healthcare executives emphasize more on automation and technology, they can assist in the prevention of financial waste while they support data-driven and transparent options.
- Implement an Effective Pricing System
To possess an effective system of pricing in place, providers require comprehending expenses. To achieve this, they should use systems of cost accounting to run detailed data concerning incremental and actual costs of every service. A majority of the organizations are also utilizing methods of accounting in helping their pricing systems to run smoothly. These methods include Medicare cost allocation and cost to charges ratio. Systems of pricing also require pricing strategy. Providers must engage in capturing, tracking, and managing data on labor, supplies, and other costs.
Providers need to buy tools that will aid them in gaining pricing insights, minimizing expenses, and creating more value. Moreover, it’s an excellent practice for providers to engage in comparing their prices with those of their competitors in their systems. This can be done through the review of publically or commercially available databases. Additionally, certain states offer sets of data that enable hospitals to benchmark with competitors by region or individually.
- Improve Order Cycle Times and Order Accuracy for Lower Costs
Healthcare providers at times struggle with a lot of errors linked to the ordering process. When there is the ordering of wrong orders, sales are lost, and at times facilities lack the required products to offer services. Ordering errors can also result in medication errors and poor health outcomes. According to research by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a majority of inpatient errors took place at their transcribing or ordering stage. Therefore, it is crucial for providers to improve the accuracy of their ordering. This will consequently reduce the order cycle times.
Conclusion
When the supply chain is weak, the consumers will not be served on time, and the costs will not be competitive, causing consumers to migrate to hospitals with better healthcare services, which originate from an efficient supply chain management. Therefore, improving your supply chain management is in your best interest as a healthcare organization.
