Healthcare faces a variety of challenges that impact patient safety and the availability of services. In mid-March, the Arizona State University 2019 Supply Chain Symposium in Health Management Innovation looked at issues associated with the integrity of products and their management emanating from the proliferation of counterfeit and recalled products.
The FDA has identified a list of over 1,000 sellers of medical devices and pharmaceuticals. The 2017 volume of pharmaceutical recalls, 325 recalls, was up 12.5 percent from 2016’s 289. The volume of recalled devices was worse: over 206 million items, up 350 percent over 2016’s 46 million. This is an area requiring significant attention.
The symposium featured a number of sessions that focused on protecting the integrity of products moving through the supply chain from manufacturer to distribution, and finally in the managing of product recalls. A presentation from the Global Brand Protection team at Johnson & Johnson titled, “Combating Counterfeiting Activities – A Growing Threat in the Health Sector,” emphasized the need to have end-to-end digital solutions and that they are a game changer for patient safety.
The use of digital authentication on packaging ensures authentication of that product at any point in the supply chain. It also enables advanced data and analytics and provides early warning for the detection of illicit trade. A 2015 World Health Organization report stated that 50 percent of medicine purchased online is counterfeit. And lastly, the benefits of enhancing supply chain integrity ultimately protects patients and providers.
Richard Carmona on healthcare
He explained how he became the nation’s Surgeon General using his experience and his work as a university professor, nurse, police officer and a decorated Army Special Forces war veteran to diagnose what ails Americans and our healthcare system. He prescribes a path forward that aligns stakeholders across the healthcare system and rewards behaviors that promote the health of individuals, communities and the economic vitality of the country.
Carmona emphasized that our current healthcare system is unsustainable. Over the last century the disease and economic burden of world health has risen, noting that we currently spend 80 cents of every $1.00 on chronic diseases. He says paying attention to social determinants for example could save 80 percent of the 150,000 birth defects by providing access to prenatal care and folic acid use. His solution includes eliminating bipartisanship.
He also emphasized that:
- We need to focus on prevention, not sick care.
- We need to create an Elder Care system that finds a solution to Alzheimer’s and creates an infrastructure to take care of this rising population with comorbidities.
- Preparedness – we need a plan for addressing injuries from weapons of mass destruction, and bio-events such as a new disease epidemic.
- Health leaders need cultural competence, leveraged global health access, and to look at how social determinants of health impact care delivery differently.
The foundation recognizes the former Novation president’s contributions to the development of the field of the healthcare supply chain. McKenna was also a founding member of the Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium (HSRC-ASU), which is now part of CAPS Research. To learn more about the McKenna Foundation and lecture series or to contribute, visit https://wpcarey.asu.edu/faculty-research/health-sector-supply-chain/mckenna-lecture.
The Annual Mark McKenna Lecture brings key innovators and thought leaders in healthcare to Arizona State University to speak on current healthcare issues and highlight the importance of the supply chain in improving organizational performance and clinical practice.
