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Increasing Capacity. Building Infrastructure. Investing in Technology and Innovation
Canada’s healthcare system is both complex and interdependent where hospitals, provincial agencies, long term healthcare, public health and primary care all play a critical role. The last two years have witnessed some significant challenges in the supply chain infrastructure as it relates to healthcare. While innovations and automations in supply chain are commonplace in the private sector, the supply chain ecosystem in healthcare needs to build more capacity for an optimally functioning Canadian health system.
Data and resource centralization
The role of supply chain has been strategic and pivotal in ensuring the timely procurement and distribution of essential equipment and medication to healthcare workers, so that patient care can be optimized. The crisis in the last 2 years have truly demonstrated the gaps that need to be addressed in healthcare. The creation of Supply Ontario in 2021 aimed at alleviating the pressures of the inadequate capacity and decentralized supply chain. While that is a continual process, much of those concerns exist as infrastructure continues to be a limitation. As mentioned by Frank Rochon, CEO of Supply Ontario at the SCMAO Leadership Series last year, finding values and efficiencies through integration with the SSOs was one of the paths forward for Supply Ontario in 2021, when the economy was just making a transition back to normal from the pandemic crisis.
Across Canada, the goal of healthcare supply chain has been to look at data across the healthcare ecosystem and learn from the crisis to ensure that the Canadian healthcare infrastructure can build the capacity to serve Canadian citizens, as was concurred by Scott MacNair of Provincial Health Services Authority, BC and Dov Klein of Ontario Health at the Leadership Series: Healthcare Supply Chain last year.
Disruption & Change in Healthcare Supply Chains
The fact remains that no other industry has seen a bigger disruption in the delivery of products and services than healthcare. Whether we look at PPE, test kits and vaccines or we look at cleaning supplies and respirators, supply chains have had to rebuild from scratch and procurement strategies have had to change. Therefore, strategically it’s now more important than ever to realign critical functions in order to help internal staff focus on patient care.
Collaboration to Expand Infrastructure
Hospitals and healthcare systems continue to make facility adjustments and advancements to meet the needs of patients. At the same time, ensuring construction procurement processes that are efficient, effective, and flexible to meet their needs, is also an imperative. Managing the project to be on time and within budget requires collaboration and teamwork. More and more supply chain experts have corroborated the need for a robust and diverse supplier base, effective relation building and collaboration, to make an impact.
Advancing Supply Chain Resilience
The Covid19 pandemic has shone a very bright light on the capacity and agility of Canadian healthcare supply chain to manage the unprecedented demands to support the health and wellness of Canadians and the health workforce. A National supply chain study by Dr. Anne Snowdon, Scientific Director & CEO at SCAN Health and Professor, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Odette School of Business, University of Windsor presents the key findings of a national study of supply chain across Canada, profiling the lessons learned, evidence of fragility, and opportunities to strengthen supply chain resilience and also the strategy for the nearly $2.5 million new project that will help seek solutions to improve Canada’s healthcare supply chain to ensure Canada is well prepared for disruptions or pandemic events in future.
Moving Supply Chain from Operations to Strategic
Lastly, supply chain is an often overlooked strategic asset. Not only can a successfully-functioning, clinically integrated supply chain improve patient outcomes but it can also deliver better financial performance. Randy Bradley of University of Tennessee shares insights at the Leadership Series 3.0: Healthcare Supply Chain & Procurement on September 15, 2022 on how to move your supply chain to the status of a strategic asset within the organization for optimal and integrated patient care.
There have been various factors that have led to the fragility of supply chain in healthcare. However, the last few years have been a learning curve and organizations have acknowledged the need for infrastructure in digital needs, resources, centralizations, suppliers and more. It is now really important more than ever to understand the how-to’s and the starting points, so that the path to optimal patient care is achieved.
Please attend the Leadership Series 3.0: Healthcare Supply Chain & Procurement on September 15, 2022 to learn more -> https://scmao.ca/mpower/event/landing?id=1294
