We have all heard the term “Clinical Supply Integration” used in healthcare supply chain circles to describe the linking of clinical activities with logistics to lower cost, improve quality, and enhance patient outcomes. But are you really performing clinical supply integration? Here is a test that can help you understand where you stand in meeting this objective:
Clinical Supply Integration Test
1. Are you providing analytics to your clinical staff so they can help manage their own supply chain expenses?
( ) Yes ( ) No
2. Are you engaging your clinical staff to save money and improve quality?
( ) Yes ( ) No
3. Does your clinical staff need more proof of cost overruns than total spend data?
( ) Yes ( ) No
4. Do you believe that your clinical staff is averse to saving money?
( ) Yes ( ) No
5. Do you believe that only your clinical departments can wring the towel dry on their supply savings?
( ) Yes ( ) No
6. Is it important to drill down to discover the exact product, service, or technology that is causing a clinical department’s cost or quality problems?
( ) Yes ( ) No
7. Are you guessing where your clinical supply utilization savings reside?
( ) Yes ( ) No
8. If a clinical department’s supplies are under budget, is there any opportunity for savings?
( ) Yes ( ) No
9. Do you generally experience pushback when you suggest changes to a clinical product, process, or procedure to your nursing staff?
( ) Yes ( ) No
10. Do you believe it is solely supply chain’s responsibility to save money?
( ) Yes ( ) No
Clinical supply integration is more than a buzzword. It is a system to involve clinicians in supply chain management, thereby giving them an opportunity to manage their own supply, purchased service, and technology purchases on a day-to-day basis without twisting their arms to do so. If you answered 80% of these questions correctly then you are on your way to clinical supply integration. If not, you have much more work to do to make it a reality at your healthcare organization!
Correct Test Answers: 1: Yes. 2: Yes. 3: Yes. 4: Yes. 5: Yes. 6: Yes. 7: Yes. 8: Yes. 9: Yes. 10: No.
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