Clinical Supply Chain Manager-remote Job Description

Healthcare Supply Chain Management: The Role of Suppliers, Customers and Partners

Hospitals and physician practices are trying to cut healthcare costs as payers start to tie claims reimbursement amounts to quality and cost performance. Many organizations have looked at the billing and services portion of the revenue cycle for budget decreases, but others have begun to examine their healthcare supply chain management The supply chain is a collection of resources needed to deliver goods or services.

In healthcare, the supply chain is often very complex and fragmented. Supply chain management in the healthcare industry involves getting resources, managing supplies and delivering goods and services. The physical goods and information about medical products and services are usually passed on to a number of independent stakeholders.

Think about what providers use to treat patients. Providers use a lot of items, such as needles, drugs, gloves, and computers. The employees in healthcare supply chain management are responsible for stocking and managing products.

James Spann, Practice Leader of Supply Chain & Logistics at Simpler healthcare, said in a 2015 interview that supply chain is the management of upstream and downstream relationships with suppliers and customers to deliver superior customer value at less cost to the supply chain as a whole. The healthcare supply chain begins at the medical product manufacturer where items are produced and sent to a distribution center. Hospitals can either purchase inventory directly from the manufacturer or through a group purchasing organization, which establishes a purchasing contract with the manufacturer on behalf of the hospital, or they can purchase inventory through the manufacturer or distributor.

The Federal Drug Administration and healthcare payers are examples of regulatory agencies involved in healthcare supply chain management. If a medical resource is fit for consumer use and if it will be reimbursed for specific patients, it is determined by regulatory agencies and payers. Each stakeholder has their own interests in mind.