Data is the key to unlocking the supply chain challenges facing the industry, according to an article on the Supply Chain website.
The supply chain trends will continue including provider and supplier consolidation, patient care moving outside the acute care setting, reduced reimbursement levels, implementation of and integration with electronic health records (EHRs) and other healthcare business systems, the article said.
Quality data — accurate data for sourcing and procurement along with normalization of data for reporting and predictive analytics — is needed so that leaders can make informed decisions.
Once data is normalized, sharing data across hospital systems and their internal technology support systems will begin to be the norm. Healthcare providers must be able to understand the relationship between clinical and supply chain data.