Healthcare organizations generate a lot of “big data” from ongoing operations that is available to supply chain professionals to analyze if they have the right power tools, the right mindset, and the inclination to do so.
You see, supply chain leaders have figured out that they can leverage their healthcare organization’s “big data” and turn it into actionable information with predictive modeling and other analytical activities.
Healthcare Supply Chain Analytics Should be the Norm
This isn’t a new idea. Supply chain professionals from other industries have been following this path, which is less traveled by healthcare supply chain organizations, for years. It is now much easier to pursue this new pathway since internet-based cloud computing is considered a norm in every industry. These new analytical platforms are needed since transaction-based systems (e.g., ERP and MMIS systems) weren’t designed to do this analytical work for you. New tools are being developed every day for this purpose.
You must also have the right mindset for this work, since these new savings are no longer about price. This is one challenge we have when many of our perspective clients are viewing our Utilizer® Dashboard analytics for the first time. They think we are talking about price savings, when we are really talking about utilization savings for their hospital, system, or IDN.
Finally, you need to have the inclination to search out these new and better savings opportunities. If you believe that your price savings will last forever, then you are entirely missing our point in this article. Healthcare supply chain leaders are leveraging their “big data” because their price savings are disappearing.
Mining for Gold
Over the last several years, we haven’t heard anyone in our healthcare supply chain community tell us that their price savings are increasing. In fact, they have either leveled off or reduced to a trickle. It’s similar to a gold mine; when one vein runs dry, miners move to another vein. They don’t keep mining where there is little or no return-on-investment. You, too, should learn this lesson!
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