As the ongoing pandemic continues to challenge the national supply chain, efficient supply chain management plays a critical role in hospital margins, patient care, and staff satisfaction. It has been proven that a stronger, more resilient supply chain eliminates waste, streamlines workflows, and reduces the risk of supply shortages, reported in a press release from SYFT.
However, according to a recent survey, many hospitals and health systems continue to put off critical supply chain improvement initiatives that will result in meaningful, long-term financial gains as well as clinical and staffing benefits for their organizations.
The survey findings appear in a newly released market report from Syft, a leading provider of AI-enhanced inventory control and end-to-end hospital supply chain management software and services.
Syft commissioned Sage Growth Partners, a healthcare consultancy, to conduct the survey of 100 hospital and supply chain leaders in August 2021. The respondents hailed from short-term acute care hospitals, children's hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, and specialty hospitals.
"With mounting pressure to improve the bottom line and bounce back against pandemic-induced revenue losses, it's time for hospitals to pick up the pace on supply chain improvement initiatives," said Todd Plesko, CEO of Syft. "Our research reveals that most hospitals haven't yet moved beyond basic strategies to implement lasting changes that will fortify the supply chain, such as improving real-time visibility into supplies and implementing AI and demand forecasting tools. This raises alarming questions regarding ongoing supply chain vulnerabilities that could drastically impact patient safety and staff retention."
Key survey findings include:
- Sixty-five percent said better supply chain management could improve margins by 1-3% with 23% of respondents believing margins can improve by more than 3%.
- Most respondents (94%) agreed that supply chain analytics can reduce supply chain costs. Seventy-six percent said it can improve quality.
- Less than a quarter (24%) said their organizations identify supply standardization opportunities very well.
- Just 14% said they have enterprise visibility of cost-savings opportunities related to supplies.
- About one-third of respondents (32%) said it would cost their organizations more than $500,000 annually to meet new supply chain regulations like California Assembly Bill 2357.
In addition to the key findings above, the report also provides Syft's top recommendations for hospitals to better create a margin-enhancing supply chain. By implementing more efficiencies and identifying waste in the supply chain, hospitals can reduce their expenses by an average of 17.7% annually. Syft's recommendations include:
- Use analytics to reduce supply chain waste and identify standardization opportunities.
- Maximize OR throughput and enhance staff satisfaction with supply chain efficiency improvements.
- Reap continual margin improvements with AI and demand forecasting.
