The Healthcare Hub
You have probably heard it said, “You had to be there,” meaning that the retelling of the story probably doesn’t do justice to the actual experience. There are many such instances at the GHX Supply Chain Summit where over 800 healthcare supply chain professionals gather each year for insightful and thought provoking presentations and conversations. So, while there are many experiences at the Summit that you have to “be there” for, here are some thoughts, ideas and statements heard at the 2017 Supply Chain Summit that pack a punch even in the retelling.
On the role of UDI:
“Are you done with UDI? Are you done drawing lines on packages and stripes on boxes? That seems to be the focus for many UDI initiatives but we’ve just reached the end of the beginning.”
“UDI enables a paradigm shift from a reactive to a proactive approach.”
On supply chain management:
“Twenty years ago if a supply chain team member asked a surgeon to switch to a cheaper (prosthesis, etc.) — how would that go? Now physicians are learning in medical school the need to control costs of care.”
“Supply chain is at the tip of the spear. When it’s not right it will impact everything downstream.”
“The role of supply chain is to integrate siloed groups within organizations and build relationships that contribute to solving for the best outcomes.”
On data in healthcare:
“We need to unlock data so it can be used in a scientific way to improve care and make the lives of patients and practitioners better.”
“We take better care of our cars than we do of ourselves. The UDI has to happen. This is not a supply chain issue; this is a health issue.”
“Health IT sometimes gets glazed over but it is the essential infrastructure to change how care is delivered and paid for.”
From the Learning Pavilion:
“The new My Exchange is going to make me look forward to coming to work everyday!”
In general:
“88% of senior finance executives in healthcare say pressure on finance to improve their cash and working capital will increase in the coming year.”
“Suppliers bringing products into hospitals that have not gone through the proper approval channels? If you sold soup to Walmart, you wouldn’t just walk in the store and put a can on the shelf – you would go through the proper channels.”
“It’s becoming more important to be easy to do business with in order to stay competitive.”
And finally:
“When it comes to courage – there are long term guts and short term guts. They both take courage but long term guts impacts real change.”
The annual GHX Supply Chain Summit brings together healthcare providers and suppliers for 2 ½ days of learning, sharing and networking. We hope to see you next year at Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.