How to maximize your planning and rollout

The healthcare industry is abuzz with prospective government talks of implementing a nationwide supply chain data standardization initiative while hospitals immediately think of their shrinking budgets and cash flow. Although it is initially difficult to even consider taking on the data standardization process, the benefits of implementation offer both financial and operational improvements, and if tackled with the proper amount of preparation, data standardization can yield results that more than support the undertaking. Three important steps will help you facilitate a successful implementation of supply chain data standardization:

1. Educate key stake-holders

2. Determine budget and scope

3. Set timeline

A complete understanding of the benefits of supply chain data standardization will lay the foundation for preliminary project buy-in and executive support. Education of key stake-holders can not only begin the process, but accelerate it. Hospital implementation of supply chain standardization helps to enable precise identification of items throughout the supply chain, assurance of accurate charging and case costing, improved vendor and inventory management, greater precision in the identification of recalled or failed items and improved financial and operational transparency in the supply chain. Without investing resources and budgetary dollars, these financial and operational gains cannot be realized.

The second step towards supply chain standardization is to determine the budget and scope that best suits both your hospital’s needs and realistic capacity for change. Because most materials management information systems (MMISes) and enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) used by hospitals and health systems are not designed to track items at the serial number level, a costly IT overhaul would be required to begin the transition to standardization. Having one source of standardized data to pinpoint an item in the supply chain and identify its details is also an important service that should be considered in your planning budget. Additionally, installation of bar code readers and bar code reader training would be another necessary implementation expenditure. Although the benefits of data standardization are great, the cost of execution is no minor consideration. To maximize the success of your standardization program and best use your allotted dollars, understand the costs associated with upgrading your IT systems and target your most advantageous departments for initial implementation. Some hospitals eager to make the standardization switch bite off more than they can chew and quickly discover their budgets aren’t built to support a department-wide IT system overhaul. Proper identification of departments that would most benefit from standardization implementation will facilitate a successful and sustainable roll-out.

To guarantee your supply chain standardization adoption is carried out in a manner that is organized and realistic, a conversion timeline should be established that accommodates the entirety of your project plan, a tiered departmental rollout schedule and consideration for other hospital or system-wide programs. Hospitals are now faced with a number of large national initiatives, such as the CMS RAC initiatives, that demand dedication of a high volume of financial and human resources. When constructing your data standardization conversion timeline, you must consider not only this initiative, but other tandem projects your hospital is supporting. Having a clear understanding of where and when your hospital’s resources are stretched will allow you to appropriately plan timing, key benchmarks and targeted completion dates.