In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare market, more hospitals are cutting costs across the board and looking to their supply chain departments to identify the best places to start. Many health systems have taken this opportunity to audit and streamline their supply chains into more focused, profitable departments.
Penn Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is a great example. We recently interviewed Wayne Smith, Vice President, Corporate Materials Management at Penn Medicine to discuss how his team drives quality to throughout the health system.
Wayne Smith: We are working in the most exciting, yet challenging time in healthcare. With costs rising everywhere you look, there is more pressure on the supply chain to deliver savings. But we have to balance savings with quality. Today’s consumers are far more educated about healthcare. They expect quality, and they have no issue driving to another hospital if they think they’ll find a better outcome.
WS: As we move forward, you can expect more teams to be aware of and involved in what happens in supply chain. We, as a team, cannot rest on our laurels anymore. There are 40,000 employees in our system, but gone are the days of the top 100-200 driving us. We must be aligned on these system-wide initiatives and work together to achieve them.
WS: There is so much that goes into creating a more effective supply chain, but there are three things I think every system needs to commit to in order to find success: Customer-focus, communication and consistency.
WS: As you evaluate your organization’s supply chain, it’s a real challenge to catch everything. Bringing in an experienced healthcare auditor, like The Audit Group, gives you a nice assist on top of your business. As experts in their field, they’ll help you evaluate where you stand and where you need to go. However, you can’t rely on third parties to keep your supply chain afloat. Your team needs to take ownership in what they do and have the knowledge and confidence to make the right decisions, time and time again.