Efficiently managed healthcare supply chain management produces the most value when following an end to end approach for delivering goods.
In the healthcare industry, being late to order processing like important medical stuff can lead to serious life threats to patients, hence it is of utmost essential to have proactive healthcare supply chain management without any delays. Some of the biggest challenges that are often faced by healthcare logistics are medical device sanitation & maintenance, inventory management, storage management, medical pickup and delivery service and so forth. These problems can only be resolved if the healthcare delivery provider company is active in improving the supply chain management day by day, year by year.
Though some are aware of top ways to improve the whole management process, yet some still have no clue how to go ahead. Well, for that we have come up with the five most important ways that can help in improving healthcare supply chain management.
1. Commitment & Team Building
Before embarking on any project, make sure you have great efficiency in supply chain management to keep the process all-time moving. The project team is representative of all stakeholders like nurses, physicians, material managers, healthcare departments, or staff members. Hence, you must be extra-cautious about the initiatives and quality changes. Also, providers must ensure that there is no mismanagement in data collection, ordering process, and other healthcare supply chain processes.
2. Developing effective inventory management
Often, manufacturers struggle with inventory moving on time. Profit margins can severely hurt and revenue dampens if the product expires due to not being used appropriately. Thus, it’s essential to manage the inventory process effectively and efficiently.
When it comes to managing inventory levels, executives handling the medical delivery process must collaborate with the supply partners. Inventories can only remain in a healthy stage if both the providers and suppliers are working together to ensure medical equipment or products get used before it actually expires. Costs can be effectively reduced if all work seriously on inventory management.
3. Make Use of Analytics and Technologies for Smoother Operations
One of the best ways to successfully improve healthcare management is to work upon effective technologies that need to be supported by strong analytics. Implementing automation tools and data analytics certainly reduces manual efforts and makes the supply chain management a simpler and easier process.
In a conference, Senpex manager stated,” We make use of AI-route optimization platform; best technology to speed up the process of delivery so that we can transform the healthcare supply chain into strategic business assets. This way, we can focus more on automation and technology despite worrying about financial wastes. Also, we are determined to support transparent, data-driven choices & result-oriented approaches for our healthcare customers.
4. Effective Pricing System
There must be an effective pricing system for smoothening functioning. For this, providers must understand about costs. They can make use of cost-accounting systems to have comprehensive information related to the actual & incremental cost of each service as per HFMA. Many firms come up with accounting methods just like Senpex. We work upon the methods that include the ratio of cost to charges & allocation of medicare cost.
We understand that the pricing system requires pricing strategies. Hence, we beforehand capture, track & manage essential information about the labor, medical supplies, and other expenses.
5. Improve Order Cycle Times & Order Accuracy
Not to doubt, when the wrong products are ordered, huge revenues lost and sometimes facilities don’t have their products, they are waiting for long. Well, in that case, it raises a big question mark on the reputation of the delivery service courier company. Ordering errors is proportional to medication errands that lead to poor health outcomes. To avoid this issue, the order cycle must be accurate.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) says, most of these errors happened either in the stage of ordering or transcribing. So, professionals must put effort into improving the accuracy in order.
If providers accurately pick up the order and deliver to the right person, then there will be less time wastage and it automatically enhances supply chain efficiencies. CPOE, a computerized provider order entry can make your ways much easier by lessening the turnaround times.
Wrap Up!
Although streamlining hospital supply chain management is a little bit difficult especially when large facilities follow new practices at breakneck speed, yet we have some great tactics that can work amazingly for us. The only thing we require from our end is "persistence". Senpex understands that delivery medical products come under emergency & urgency; hence we never delay commitments and work upon standardizing inventory practices.