Sep
16
Written by:
Karen Conway
9/16/2009 9:22 AM
Welcome to The Healthcare Hub, a new blog focused on the opportunities that can be created through greater collaboration and visibility in the healthcare supply chain. When I started working at GHX in 2000, the healthcare supply chain, for the most part, was viewed as a highly manual, error-ridden process and credited with doing little more than processing orders and moving boxes. Today, more and more hospital executives appreciate the role the supply chain can play in improving both business and clinical performance. Suppliers, meanwhile, see supply chain optimization as a way to create competitive advantage, improve customer satisfaction, meet regulatory requirements and control costs. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of working at GHX has been the opportunity to watch the community that has grown up around a common interest in improving operational efficiencies through eBusiness. A lot has changed since the first hospital successfully sent an order electronically to a supplier through the exchange nearly nine years ago. I’m really proud of the software and technology platform we’ve built at GHX, but that’s nothing compared to what it’s been like to work with an ever-increasing number of individuals and organizations who are truly making a difference in the lives of patients – and the financial health of their organizations –through their commitment to supply chain excellence.
Ten years ago, the majority of discussions between hospitals and suppliers were about price. That’s still a hot topic, of course, but more and more, hospitals and suppliers are talking about how to improve how they work together for their mutual benefit. And those discussions are the ones that can really make a difference when it comes to the overall cost of healthcare.
We’ve created The Healthcare Hub to provide even more opportunities for those kinds of discussions. I hope you will become an active participant in the conversation, as we share the perspectives and insights gained from working with some of the most innovative and progressive leaders in the healthcare supply chain from around the world. What changes have you made in your organization that you’d like to share with others?