Supply Chain Management in the Operating Room

Hospital supply chain management particularly in the Operating Room involves obtaining supplies, managing the inventory, and delivering goods to the surgeons, nurses, and patients. Throughout the process, physical goods are usually processed from manufacturers to hospitals providers even insurance companies and regulatory agencies. Managing this process has become instrumental for healthcare facilities as they try to cut costs and reduce waste. By improving operating room efficiency through supply chain management, hospitals can find substantial cost-reducing opportunities for their entire facility.

What is hospital supply chain management?

Employees involved in hospital supply chain management are responsible for stocking resources that hospital staff need to effectively perform their jobs and care for their patients. Obtaining the supplies is not all, maintaining the appropriate levels of inventory is also critical to the process. They must ensure that they are aligned with the hospital’s daily operations particularly the procedures happening in the Operating Room. Whether the procedures are planned or emergency, ensuring the appropriate resources are available during the operating room setup are critical to offering the patient the best outcome.

The supply chain starts at the medical product manufacturer where items are produced and sent to a distribution center. Depending on the type of product, hospitals can either purchase inventory directly through the manufacturer, or the transaction can be conducted through a purchasing organization, which establishes a purchasing contract with the manufacturer on behalf of the hospital.

Medical instruments and supplies are then sent to the hospital, where the goods are stocked into inventory for use. The organization ensures that providers are not left without essential medical products and patients have access to potentially life-saving tools.

Another aspect of healthcare supply chain management involves the participation of regulatory agencies and healthcare payers who determine if a medical resource is fit for consumer use and whether providers will be reimbursed for using it on specific patients.

What makes this process so intricate?

Hospital supply chain management is unique because each stakeholder has their own interests to protect. Different stages in the supply chain flow may be focused on a different goal. Surgeons may want to use a specific product because they were trained with it, whereas a hospital purchasers’ goal is to purchase the best quality item for the lowest cost. Inefficiency in the supply chain process is often caused by these misaligned goals between the parties involved. All of the specific requests and opinions must by considered by hospitals when making supply chain decisions.

Patients also have an interest in the hospital supply chain management process. Hospitals regularly order and stock standard sizes of gloves and gowns. However, some patients may need specializes products based on their current health status being particularly sensitive to patient’s allergies.

Similarly, surgeons may prefer a specific brand or type of medical product, which could lead to cost concerns. Their preferences are often times not aligned with the hospital’s budget for specific products. Typically, they want the products they want when they want them. Poor training of the staff responsible for operating room setup can also cause additional cost and waste. Operating room management from a supply chain perspective is important for any cost savings measure. If the proper supplies are not available for the surgeon during a procedure, time and money is also wasted in trying to find the products and delivering them to the operating room. These invisible costs tend to increase waste, procedure time, and operating room turnover. These costs can be avoided with efficient operating room and supply chain management.

By aligning the goals of the stakeholders and streamlining the supply chain management process, hospitals can decrease costs and increase the efficiency of their facility.

Independent Healthcare Consultant and Clinical Educator at Surgical Solutions.