Posted: April 6th, 2023

Supply Chain Management and its Impact on Healthcare Facilities

Supply Chain Management and its Impact on Healthcare Facilities

The healthcare industry faces unique challenges related to changing patient expectations, stringent regulations, quality care, affordability, and the cost structure of healthcare organizations. Managing the supply chain in healthcare is crucial to balance these diverse elements. The supply chain involves the flow of goods, services, and information from suppliers to customers. It includes procurement, transportation, storage, and distribution of products and services. Healthcare facilities need to manage their supply chain effectively to ensure the quality of care provided to patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the challenges of managing the supply chain in healthcare. Staffing issues such as shortages and high turnover, delays or shortages of supplies, and increased costs have highly impacted healthcare facilities, patients, staff, and financials. The stability of staffing has a positive and negative impact on healthcare facilities. High staff turnover makes it difficult to train someone on the systems, resulting in a negative impact on financials. With low staff numbers, it takes months for someone to have a good grasp on their job, leading to inefficiencies and decreased quality of care.

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected healthcare facilities, leading to a decline in the census of patients. Healthcare facilities have to monitor staff hours and ensure they are not overstaffing or having too much overtime. With a low census, it is essential to monitor waste to ensure the impact of revenue loss is felt less with the availability of resources.

In competency 1, areas that can have an effect on the economic impact of healthcare facilities are census, customer service, and additional services such as in-house dialysis. The greater the census, the more the need for additional services, staff, supplies, and equipment. Customer service and communication can also impact healthcare facilities. If patients or families are dissatisfied, they may choose to go to a competitor. Healthcare facilities need to focus on boosting productivity and reducing costs associated with the supply chain to improve efficiency and achieve cost savings.

Managing expenses needs to be closely monitored and managed by an organized person. Without good organizational skills, the impact can be negative due to insufficient ordering of supplies or equipment. If well-managed, the effects can be positive because supplies will be readily available, and budgets will not be exceeded. Quality of care has become a central interest of long-term settings and has become one of the most critical issues that healthcare facilities must continue to improve. To provide quality care, healthcare organizations must be able to provide services, supplies, and staffing without the risk of profit loss.

Staffing is the biggest expense that healthcare organizations are challenged with. Post COVID, it has been difficult to hire and staff sufficiently due to a lack of applicants. Many financial incentives have been implemented to attract staff and encourage overtime. Although it has brought in some staff, healthcare facilities continue to struggle to hire and maintain staff.

Other expenses that affect healthcare facilities negatively are the waste of products. Nurse aides are frequently hoarding supplies by hiding them in patient rooms, leaving others with insufficient supplies resulting in the need to stock more. When nursing supervisors inspect rooms and discover the nurse aide hidden stash of supplies, often it must be thrown away, leading to the disposal of many unused products such as incontinent supplies and personal care products. Although it is necessary to have supplies readily available, healthcare facilities must ensure that the supplies are used effectively and efficiently.

In conclusion, managing the supply chain in healthcare is crucial to ensure the quality of care provided to patients. Healthcare facilities need to focus on boosting productivity and reducing costs associated with the supply chain to improve efficiency and achieve cost savings. Managing expenses needs to be closely monitored and managed by an organized person. Healthcare facilities need to find creative solutions to retain staff beyond financial compensation, reduce waste of products, and improve customer service to attract and retain

References
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