and elevated standing to the field . The innovations that came about due to COVID are integral to evolution of healthcare and meeting clinical needs .
Clinically integrated supply chain Before COVID , relationships between clinicians and supply chain leaders were often fraught . Clinician preferences drove many supply chain decisions around product . The disruptions and allocation issues brought on as a result of the pandemic forced systems to find solutions that involved a more robust clinical and supply chain integration . The lack of availability or accessibility to certain products put pressure on clinical staff to look at their preferred vendors with a more critical eye and forced conversations on quality and rethink options . If something is not available , what is the workaround and what are the clinically equivalent substitutions ?
These conversations allowed an open door between administration , supply chain , and clinicians . Everyone was forced to examine the clinical quality and value analysis of their product preferences and forced the total team to evaluate and make decisions together . Instead of the relationship being more transactional and reactive , it has evolved to be more strategic and proactive .
As Webb-Hapgood notes , “ We need all three legs of the stool [ hospital administration , clinical leadership , and supply chain ] to provide the foundation : getting the best quality for patients with efficiency and savings for the organization . It ’ s been a nice balance and a healthier progression towards our collective goals .”
Lessons learned No one system or vendor gets everything right all the time . And so much of what has been learned through COVID is because of the tenacity of the hospital systems doing everything in their power to give the best care to so many people in need during a very difficult time . Healthcare supply chain is very different than other supply chains in this respect . The very ability to save
“ The things we used to do 10 , 15 , 20 years ago in supply chain have changed , and we need to be more creative . Everyone always says , ‘ think outside of the box .’ Well , no , we ’ re already outside the box , so now we need to survive and thrive outside of the box . I am pushing my team to be innovative .”
— Judy Webb-Hapgood , System Vice President of Supply Chain and Support Services , UW Health
lives was disrupted when hospitals were filled and overcapacity , caregivers were getting sick and supplies were not on hand . Hospitals and clinics become modernday MacGyvers and that commitment to innovation and care for both patients and staff has not abated .
What Webb-Hapgood and others want their vendor partners to understand is that partnership and communication is key to a successful relationship — in good times and bad , with good news and bad . The relationship with Medline started to get stronger because they could ask “ silly , weird , awkward questions .” This allowed for a comfort level and a real vulnerability that built true connection and trust . The hospitals face so many challenges every day in supply chain , and it can be impossible to stay on top of everything . Deliberate communication is critical . And having a relationship across the continuum of a system — from acute to post-acute and even home health initiatives — is a win-win for the system and for supply chain .
A look to the future When talking about innovation during COVID , it can sometimes feel a bit scrappy , but that doesn ’ t minimize the levels and extent of the innovation happening in healthcare . Specific to warehousing and inventory , many supply chain leaders are looking at drones and other technologies . UW Health hopes to test-partner with Medline on this and other initiatives . They also have a relationship with GE HealthCare and are currently involved in some trials . Given that they are in at a university hospital and part of an academic center , they welcome the opportunities to push the boundaries in supply chain . The University of Wisconsin , Madison , is a great size for pilot testing new innovations , and they are excited to be on the bleeding edge .
Bob Scheuer , Director of Materials Management at UW Health is now actively engaged with Medline , consulting on various optimization projects . Part of their arrangement is 200 hours of consulting services to review all internal processes , storage , inventory , etc . They are hoping to take advantage of the proximity of the new CSC to Medline ’ s headquarters in Chicago . Ultimately , Scheuer is looking to Medline to tell them how to become more efficient overall .
Webb-Hapgood often refers to a book by Michael Todd , Jr , which says , in essence , “… it may be a crazy idea until it actually happens ; then it ’ s not a crazy idea anymore .” 2 So she challenges her team and pushes herself to think , “ Wow , this is a crazy idea , but what if we did this ? And then let someone tell you that you can ’ t do it and find out why .”
Another area UW Health hopes to continue to engage and have an impact revolves around community . A system is never its own entity — it is part of the larger community it serves . And the communities have been pushing for that recognition and support as well . When a health system is face to face with neighbors and those whose kids attend the same school , pick up their dry cleaning in the same place , worship in the same , and all of them are affected by a pandemic like COVID and may need care at UW Health , there is no escaping how clinical and supply chain decisions leave a mark . The good thing is with UW Health ’ s initiative to train supply chain leaders from within its own university and regional area — they are one step closer to a truly positive impact on their community , for the better . ■
References 1 . Harapko , S . ( 2023 , January 6 .) How COVID-19 impacted supply chains and what comes net . EY https :// www . ey . com / en _ us / supply-chain / how-covid-19-impactedsupply-chains-and-what-comes-next 2 . Todd , M . ( 2021 ). Crazy Faith : It ’ s Only Crazy Until It Happens . WaterBrook .
12 SUPPLY CHAIN OPTIMIZATION Issue 6 / 2023