Supply Chain Disruption in Healthcare

COVID-19 showed healthcare providers that anything can happen. Prepare for the future with healthcare supply chain management and preparation services offered by ECRI.

As Marcus Schabacker, MD, Ph.D, president, and CEO of ECRI, states:

“The healthcare supply chain has faced incredible challenges and undergone transformational changes during the pandemic. We understand these challenges and are designing improved solutions to help health systems, aging services, and ambulatory care make transparent, evidence-based technology decisions that will reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.”

Healthcare leaders are struggling with clinical staff and supply shortages, as well as with increasingly complex patient care needs. As healthcare organizations strive to maintain a high-reliability organization (HRO) model, leaders need tools and expert advice right now. Ongoing shortages of critical medical devices highlight problems with the current “just in time” global supply chain model and the impact of local inventory on patient care. Building a resilient supply chain addresses these issues. To be successful, leaders need expert advice on how to navigate out-of-stock situations, evaluate and minimize category risk, and diversify for resiliency, which will ultimately drive an HRO model.

If you're looking to build a resilient supply chain, ECRI is here to support your journey.

ECRI helps you navigate shortages caused by disruptions

Here at ECRI, no one understands better than us all of the supply chain challenges that occurred in recent years and continue to occur today. Supply chain disruptions and out-of-stock supplies have become the norm. Fortunately, you don't have to continue trying to provide quality healthcare in these conditions. ECRI is ready to help you build a more resilient supply chain with technology solutions that help you address product shortages, find alternative products, maintain the right levels of patient care, and control costs. We empower you with the tools you need to make smart and informed product decisions.

Working with ECRI to address global supply chain problems means tapping into:

  • The industry's largest GPO-agnostic price database, which provides a national view of pricing
  • Robust alternative product data
  • Unbiased product information from independent device tests performed in our in-house lab
  • Clinical evidence assessments to help you make informed decisions
  • Safety and recall alert information on products to facilitate safe use

If you're ready to make a change that greatly impacts the quality of care you can provide to your patients, we're ready to supply you with the insights and tools needed to make your vision a reality.

Developing supply chain resiliency in an ever-changing world

What few healthcare organizations realize is that preparing for supply chain disruptions means more than just stocking up on the products they believe they need. Effective supply chain processes take a comprehensive approach, helping you develop protocols, search for new suppliers, and even focus on lower costs while still receiving the high-quality products your organization needs to function optimally.

“While some value analysis teams are just starting to adopt more automated and streamlined processes, others are already high performers focused on reducing waste and variability through standardization and clinically driven decision-making,” says Stuart Morris-Hipkins, chief solutions officer at ECRI. “The beauty of our new workflow tool is that it can be scaled to meet our members’ specific needs right now and in the future as they grow and mature their value analysis process.”

Don't let your supply chain approach cause issues in the future. Develop supply chain resilience at every step of the process with our expert supply chain team here at ECRI.

Supply chain solutions that address patient and healthcare personnel needs

Navigating healthcare industry supply chain issues goes beyond patient care. Healthcare providers are impacted by major issues in the supply chain as well. Take, for example, the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) that healthcare personnel faced during the COVID-19 pandemic (and the subsequent overload of PPE that is causing some organizations to offload critical supplies rather than continue building their stock). This resulted in greater infection of providers and patients, labor shortages that put COVID-19 patients and providers at risk, and many more problems. By leveraging the support of ECRI, you can address patient and healthcare personnel needs that are currently being affected by supply chain issues. We can help you make sure that patients and healthcare workers have everything they need to stay safe and healthy, including ventilators, gowns, and beyond.

Medical supply chain management and services that protect your most vulnerable populations

Are you a healthcare provider that operates facilities like assisted living facilities or beyond? Vulnerable populations can be especially at risk of being affected by supply chain issues. Older populations need high-quality patient care, and we provide years of experience and solutions not only in supply chain management but in aging services as well. Proper healthcare is a network that focuses on multiple aspects of care. As such, you need to develop a strategic plan that helps you address every aspect of healthcare, prepare accordingly, and safeguard your patients against potential emergencies. ECRI not only offers unique tools like spending management solutions and laboratory testing but provides you with comprehensive support in other areas that matter to supply chain excellence as well.

Predictive replacement planning

Healthcare institutions have to manage their inventory carefully. Not only will they need to follow best practices in order to regularly replace capital equipment over time but they'll also be consistently making purchases for new items. ECRI offers support in predictive replacement planning, working with your healthcare facilities to develop a plan of action that streamlines the replacement of capital equipment. We focus on not only objective factors like recall data, part availability, and device utilization but also equipment age, maintenance history, and other key indicators to help you create an efficient system for replacements and purchases.

Investing in what matters most: finding the right solutions and healthcare systems

Reducing supply costs is a major focus for those operating in today's healthcare system. The problem? Those focused on financial performance as well as new technologies offering better outcomes may end up doing more harm than good to their systems. This is due to the fact that no two supply chain solutions are alike. Investing in the wrong technology can leave you without the operational performance your healthcare system needs to navigate supply chain issues. From ECRI's supply chain solutions to other technologies that you integrate into your organization, we help you invest in solutions that satisfy your cost reduction needs while still providing you with the comprehensive support your organization expects. Quality healthcare demands a fine balance of cost-efficiency and leveraging the proper tools for improved healthcare.

Leveraging clinical evidence to drive real results

The care that you provide is backed by research, and how you adjust patient care is backed by data. In health care, data is everything, so why wouldn't it have an impact on your supply chain? Trying to navigate modern supply chain issues without the proper data is taking a shot in the dark. It's not a risk that anyone operating health care facilities should be taking. Fortunately, ECRI not only helps you improve your supply chain management but also ensures that you have access to all the data you need to make effective changes.

ECRI has a unique combination of the largest GPO agnostic spend data sets and cross-reference analytics with the most rigorous evidence-based guidance and a diverse bench of subject matter experts. With our help, you can receive better insights into what's impacting your supply chain most, how you can properly adjust, and how you can support your facilities over time.

Creating transparency across the entire supply chain

A lack of transparency can be one of the most critical items that lend themselves to supply chain problems. When you don't know how much things cost at each link in the supply chain, what the different goals and objectives of each party are, or even certain aspects of your organization's approach to supply chain management, you put yourself at risk. The solution? ECRI works with you to foster greater transparency across the entire supply chain, helping you better understand how everything works and your place in the supply chain to plan ahead and ensure that everything moves smoothly for each link in the chain.

Receive the healthcare supply chain management support you deserve with ECRI