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As the healthcare industry continues to change, organizations are seeking new ways to remove waste, cut costs and improve patient care. Healthcare supply chain provider, Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) recently spoke with a select group of customers, from large and mid-sized hospitals to some of the biggest suppliers in the world, for their perspectives on how the supply chain will help usher in healthcare transformation and its role in the coming two decades.
Based on those interviews, here are eight key trends that illustrate the strategic role the healthcare supply chain of the future will play in delivering value and insight to all areas of the organization.
1. The Future Healthcare Supply Chain will be a goldmine for data.
The value of clean, accurate data is undisputed, but many healthcare organizations have a long way to go to realize its full potential. The data coming from the Future Supply Chain will not only be transaction-focused, but also leveraged business wide. Many interviewees noted the future supply chain will sit on a “goldmine” of outcomes data that will be documented, recorded and used to make better decisions for patient care. As more data is collected (down to the patient level), every department within an organization will have an unprecedented understanding of where there is real value.
2. The Future Supply Chain will be part of the C-suite and involved in strategic projects across the organization.
Thanks to the value realized across the organization, the future supply chain will have a more prominent seat in the C-suite and be a linchpin in projects across different areas of the business. One provider-side interviewee noted, “Gone are the days where the supply chain was relegated to the basement – we are becoming a pillar of the organization.”
3. The Future Supply Chain will lead the standardization of care.
One of the most significant ways healthcare will become sustainable is by focusing on the standardization of care, particularly consistency from a patient perspective. The future supply chain will support and guide this change, as it sits on valuable data that can help determine not only the best price, but also the best outcomes, which will help change long-standing, inefficient and wasteful processes.
