{"id":26306,"date":"2017-11-15T22:33:12","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T03:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/an-intelligent-supply-chain-at-boston-childrens-hospital-a-mechanism-to-reduce-operating-costs\/"},"modified":"2017-11-15T22:33:12","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T03:33:12","slug":"an-intelligent-supply-chain-at-boston-childrens-hospital-a-mechanism-to-reduce-operating-costs","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/an-intelligent-supply-chain-at-boston-childrens-hospital-a-mechanism-to-reduce-operating-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"An Intelligent Supply Chain at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital \u2013 A Mechanism to Reduce Operating Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

The 404-bed Boston Children\u2019s Hospital receives roughly 25,000 inpatient admissions each year and its specialized clinical programs schedule about 557,000 visits annually [1]<\/a>. Having the supply chain represent close to a third of the average hospital\u2019s overall operating expense, we realize the hospital should explore new methods for utilizing existing technology as well as implementing new systems to enable cost reduction. As the healthcare market transforms in the US and is being more focused on enhancing the quality of care, improving access, and making care more affordable for patients, the focus on a digitalized supply chain ecosystem has greater value than ever before [2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since assuming his position of the director of supply chain administration at the Boston Children\u2019s Hospital two years ago, David Walsh has been focusing on technology and automation to help minimize financial waste and support more transparent, data-driven choices. Walsh has introduced Prodigo [3]<\/a>, a SAAS based e-procurement platform that enables the hospital to automate, streamline, and speed up requisition creation, submission, and approval processes. This solution aims to bring all departments to use the one centralized procurement system. Transparency among internal stakeholders and external suppliers, distributors and manufacturers, in real time, enable all parties to plan more accurately and thus to cut down costs and increase customer service. This enables the different parties to not only react to disruptions but anticipate them and adjust the supply chain as conditions change [4]<\/a>. This new transparent ecosystem helps prevent a \u201cbullwhip\u201d effect and enable suppliers to be leaner and more proactive, lowering inventory and cost while improving service to customers through improved tracking and alerts, and shorter delivery times. Just as Tony Vahedian, Cardinal Health\u2019s General Manager of Medical Services and Solutions, said: \u201cWe have blind spots. Not everybody in the supply chain can see everything. There’s a lot of cost that’s caught in the chain, whether it be with excess inventory or clinical workflow\u201d [5]<\/a>. The usage of the online automated system assists with these blind spots.<\/p>\n

Today, all the hospital\u2019s vendor contracts are available in an electronic system. \u00a0When an order is placed in the system it is transmitted directly to the vendor, sending an electronic invoice back to the hospital. This system has been in use for the past few years, but is continuously being updated and becoming more accessible throughout the hospital. To enhance price reduction, the system supports comparisons between approved vendors and non-approved vendors and to reduce labor work and errors the whole process is done automatically. As this system contains large amounts of data the hospital should learn how to utilize the data for future decision making.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the hospital\u2019s transformation to a just-in-time inventory management system increases efficiency and decreases waste. The system implemented uses weight sensors to track usage of inventory and omits the intervention of humans and ensures sufficient level of inventory. When the level of inventory goes below a sufficient level, additional products are automatically ordered. Additional systems to track expiration dates of products have also been introduced in some departments of the hospital and should now be implemented in the rest of the departments. The hospital should take advantage of this just-in-time inventory management system to enable patients to request specific medical products to enhance their treatment which can then become quickly available. Also, as inventory is minimized, the hospital may optimize the space previously used for storage [6]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is notable that the hospital has been implementing Industry 4.0 digitizing and integrating processes within its supply chain. During the summer of 2017 the hospital received the Healthcare Supply Chain Achievement award from the ECRI Institute [7]<\/a>\u00a0for demonstrating excellence in overall spend management and in adopting best practice solutions in its supply chain processes. But, there is much more that can be done.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking ahead, the hospital should seek additional ways to reduce cost and optimize for the best quality services by\u00a0utilizing the data derived from the automated and digitalized supplychain. For example, implementing an automatic tender between suppliers – as\u00a0access and changes become more flexible the suppliers will have a greater incentive to keep prices down and maintain high level of service. As the hospital transferred to a centralized transparent system, different metrics should be used to measure and drive decisions and all demand and inventory is stored in a centralized database such as optimization of supply between different departments.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the hospital implements new technologies there is a need to employee people with the right skills. Can the hospital train existing employees to work within the new ecosystem? Will these employees be willing to adapt the new digital culture or will the hospital need to hire new employees and replace the existing ones? Is there room for re-organization of the hospitals\u2019 departments now that the entire supply chain is managed from one place?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Word Count: 797)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[1] Kat Zeman, \u201cBoston Children\u2019s Hospital,\u201d August 25, 2017.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.scw-mag.com\/sections\/healthcare\/890-boston-children-s-hospital<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2] \u00a0Jacqueline Belliveau<\/a>, \u201c 3 Most Common Healthcare Supply Chain Management Challenges,\u201d January 4, 2017<\/p>\n

https:\/\/revcycleintelligence.com\/news\/3-most-common-healthcare-supply-chain-management-challenges<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3] https:\/\/www.prodigosolutions.com<\/p>\n

<\/a>[4] Schrauf, Stefan & Berttram, Philipp. \u201cIndustry 4.0: How digitization makes the supply chain more efficient, agile, and customer-focused,\u201d\u00a0PWC,\u00a0September 7, 2016. [https:\/\/www.strategyand.pwc.com\/reports\/industry4.0<\/a>], accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[5] https:\/\/revcycleintelligence.com\/news\/why-executives-are-demanding-supply-chain-management-value<\/p>\n

<\/a>[6] Sophie Rutherford, ” The Healthcare Supply Chain: 2017 and Beyond\u201c, January 10, 2017, https:\/\/www.jumptech.com\/newsroom\/blog\/the-healthcare-supply-chain-2017-and-beyond\/<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[7] ECRI Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the discipline of applied scientific research to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs and processes improve patient care<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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