RFID Technology<\/em><\/p>\n While implementing these technologies seems almost obvious, hospitals are painfully slow in adopting technology.\u00a0 A recent survey conducted by Cardinal Health suggests 78% of providers are manually counting inventory somewhere in their supply chain, and only 17% have implemented an automated technology system to track inventory in real-time [9].\u00a0 Barriers to adoption are familiar in healthcare: upfront costs, security concerns, and fear of risking private patient information (especially with low-quality RFID tags) [10].<\/p>\n Despite these barriers, Mayo Clinic has been at the forefront of digital supply chain technology. \u00a0Mayo Clinic initiated its RFID project in 2013 (fully implemented by 2015) [7].\u00a0 Additionally, Mayo Clinic has partnered with aptitude LLC to handle sourcing, contracting and analytics, allowing them to leverage data from its digital supply chain to monitor supply chain performance, engage in direct contracting with suppliers, and optimize for the most competitively priced suppliers [11].\u00a0 Recently, Mayo Clinic implemented Reveal<\/em> \u2013 a tool giving suppliers real-time visibility of inventory levels for each line-item, thereby helping suppliers know when a product is running low on inventory [12]. \u00a0Because of their efforts, Mayo Clinic\u2019s savings through supply chain innovations was estimated to be $163 million in 2015 alone, and they have been ranked in the top 3 for Gartner\u2019s \u201cHealthcare Supply Chain Top 25\u201d rankings for the past five years [12, 13].<\/p>\n As Mayo Clinic looks longer term, they have committed to adopting more of these digital supply chain technologies.\u00a0 As Bruce Mairose, Vice Chair of Operations at Mayo Clinic, put it, “Reveal<\/em> is the first phase of a series of multiphase tools that we believe will transform the healthcare supply chain” [14].\u00a0 Indeed, as new digital technologies reach cost effectiveness and improve patient outcomes, Mayo Clinic will have to focus on staying ahead of the curve to maintain their competitive advantage.<\/p>\n To that end, I have two recommendations for the organization.\u00a0 First, for the short-term, Mayo Clinic should explore the digital technologies that remain to be implemented, such as 3D printing.\u00a0 While Mayo Clinic currently uses 3D printing for surgical procedures, they have not explored the use of 3D printing to replace certain parts of their supply chain (e.g., by printing a complex medical supply instead of purchasing).\u00a0 Another area to explore is electronic medical records (EMR) in the supply chain process \u2013 knowing what supplies a patient will need before he\/she even arrives. \u00a0My second recommendation, geared towards the longer-term, is to prepare for a world of value-based care (i.e., paying for successfully treating patients rather than for volume of services).\u00a0 With the rise of value-based care, it will be especially imperative that providers such as Mayo Clinic track costs at the patient level, and having their digital supply chain technologies integrated with EMR technology will be key.<\/p>\n A 3D Printed Heart<\/em><\/p>\n Some questions remain for me about Mayo Clinic\u2019s digital supply chain: what is the role of a distributor (such as Owens & Minor) in influencing hospitals to adopt digital technologies? \u00a0Is Mayo Clinic organization set up in a way that enables them to test and implement new digital supply chain technologies better than their competitors?<\/p>\n Word count: 795<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1] Goldsmith, J., \u201cHow U.S. Hospitals and Health Systems Can Reverse Their Sliding Financial Performance,\u201d 性视界 Business Review<\/em> (October 2017)<\/p>\n [2] Chao, L., \u201cHospitals Take High-Tech Approach to Supply Chain,\u201d The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, October 2015, https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/hospitals-take-high-tech-approach-to-supply-chain-1445353371<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [3] U.S. News<\/em>, \u201cMayo Clinic,\u201d https:\/\/health.usnews.com\/best-hospitals\/area\/mn\/mayo-clinic-6610451<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [4] Reilly, M., \u201c’Growth mode’ sandbags Mayo Clinic profits,\u201d Bizjournals<\/em>, February 2017, https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/twincities\/news\/2017\/02\/27\/growth-mode-sandbags-mayo-clinic-profits.html<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [5] Coustasse, A., S. Tomblin, C. Slack, \u201cImpact of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Technologies on the Hospital Supply Chain: A Literature Review,\u201d Perspect Health Inf Manag.<\/em>, October 2013, https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3797551\/<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [6] Kelle, P., J. Woosley, H. Schneider, \u201cPharmaceutical supply chain specifics and inventory solutions for a hospital case,\u201d Operations Research for Health Care<\/em>, July 2012, [URL], accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [7] Pasupathy, K. and T. Hellmich, \u201cHow RFID Technology Improves Hospital Care,\u201d 性视界 Business Review<\/em> (December 2015)<\/p>\n [8] Henderson, J., \u201cSupply chain improvements could save US hospitals $9.9mn, says new study,\u201d Supply Chain Digital<\/em>, September 2017, http:\/\/www.supplychaindigital.com\/scm\/supply-chain-improvements-could-save-us-hospitals-99mn-says-new-study<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [9] \u201cSurvey Finds Hospital Staff Report Better Supply Chain Management Leads to Better Quality of Care and Supports Patient Safety,\u201d press release, http:\/\/ir.cardinalhealth.com\/news\/press-release-details\/2017\/Survey-Finds-Hospital-Staff-Report-Better-Supply-Chain-Management-Leads-to-Better-Quality-of-Care-and-Supports-Patient-Safety\/default.aspx<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [10] Coustasse, A., B. Cunningham, S. Deslich, E. Willson, P. Meadows, \u201cBenefits and Barriers of Implementation and Utilization of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems in Transfusion Medicine,\u201d Perspect Health Inf Manag.,<\/em> July 2015, https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4558481\/<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [11] PRNewswire<\/em>, \u201cUpper Midwest Consolidated Services Center partners with aptitude LLC for direct contracting,\u201d April 2016, https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/upper-midwest-consolidated-services-center-partners-with-aptitude-llc-for-direct-contracting-300251212.html<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [12] Gartner<\/em>, \u201cGartner Announces Rankings of Its 2016 Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25,\u201d November 2016, https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/newsroom\/id\/3516418<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n [13] O’Daffer, E., S. Meyer, L. Callinan, A. Stevens, \u201cThe Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2015,\u201d Gartner<\/em>, November 2015, https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/doc\/3169736\/healthcare-supply-chain-top-<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/how-rfid-works.png\")
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