Healthcare’s information technology toy store, er, tool chest, commonly known as the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society’s annual conference and exhibition, may have steamrolled into Chicago a few weeks ago a little lighter in attendance (a typical byproduct suffered by trade shows during an economic dip) but a bit denser in product and service applications.

Unless you were running on autopilot and/or asleep, HIMSS 2009’s theme was hard to miss: Electronic health records will save lives and must be implemented right now.

What did the theme have to do with supply chain management? Very little as purchasing decisions for IT systems, including EHR applications typically will fall outside their purview.

But that didn’t stop dedicated supply chain activists from reinforcing that they should be involved in EHR and IT contracting discussions. And rightly so.

Traditionally, the dual C-suites – the chief administrators and clinical commanders – have excluded supply chain management input from IT decisions, save for department-specific software applications directly tied to the acquisition of, distribution of and compensation for stuff between suppliers, clinicians and payers.

Such corporate ignorance no longer is feasible or tolerable, courtesy of a souring economy that emphasizes the need for cost cutting and waste avoidance, which the dual C-suites readily recognize makes the most sense in the second-largest expense category behind labor.

During a full-day HIMSS pre-conference, a group of provider and supplier executives explored the common-sense linkages between supply chain and IT that directly impact an organization’s financial performance – including top-line revenue and bottom-line expense categories – and as a result its ability to deliver high-quality, optimal patient care.

Much of the discussion centered on the need for industry-wide data standards and synchronization, two concepts primed, if not overripe, for adoption and implementation. While the current supply chain IT standards movement has amassed a faster-growing swath of support in recent years compared to previous efforts, providers and suppliers alike expressed frustration around the volume of bad data in circulation hampering progress as well as the inability of selected systems to work with the standards. Because some of those systems are used by prominent organizations that wield significant influence and vocally support the transition, they are unable to demonstrate the tangible progress needed to accelerate adoption.

Think of it like a frustrated President Obama, fettered by handcuffs, trying to play basketball with Cabinet members on The White House grounds with a deflating ball.

During a Supply Chain Management Special Interest Group (SIG) session, attendees focused on Mr. Obama’s healthcare-reform-via-IT proposals, specifically highlighting how to integrate supply chain issues (such as procuring, distributing and tracking devices) with emerging electronic medical record technology to satisfy reimbursement requirements.

At best, the session displayed a deepening commitment by a small group of forward thinkers prepping for operational transition. At worst, it showcased how far ahead of the curve these players are – ready to engage once the industry releases the procedural shackles.

Honestly, if you walked into an exhibitor booth at HIMSS to learn about the latest product advancements you’d learn how far we’ve progressed in providers’ abilities to organize and track patient and staff movement, administrative productivity and financial performance with payers. Ask about supply chain capabilities and connectivity and you’d likely engender some mixed messages. Some might tout asset management programs in development and pilot testing phases, while others will confess it’s in the works and others will merely shrug and either dismiss you to meet with a likely paying customer or probe you about a potential revenue opportunity.

And that’s precisely the point. To raise awareness about supply chain matters – and mattering – in an IT world, you have to ask. What they don’t know or recognize won’t hurt you so much as the industry as a whole and ultimately, the patient population. We can’t afford ignorance because it’s not reimbursable.