The Capstone Forum 2022 returned in-person this month for the first time since 2019. Meetings like these are an opportunity to learn healthcare supply chain lessons as attendees gather to share information, meet vendors and evaluate products. While there is tremendous value in speaking with vendors in the Expo Hall to learn about products and gather samples, the educational sessions also help build critical skills. Below are three lessons from Capstone Forum 2022.
Information Sharing Critical in Supply Chain, Natural Disasters and Mental Health
During her keynote presentation Ginger Zee, ABC News Chief Meteorologist, showed how sharing information was applicable beyond healthcare, from natural disasters to mental health.
While chronicling her own mental health journey, Zee shared interactions she observed while covering major storms. The community often comes together after a major weather event. Neighbors ask each other what their insurance company is doing or where they got water. Zee said mental health is a natural disaster. She encouraged the audience to make it visible, process the trauma and create a community to rebuild together.
Like neighbors after a storm, Capstone Forum brought supply chain professionals together to talk about the challenges of the pandemic. It was a safe space to discuss how peers overcame supply chain shortages and disruptions. Talking about mental health, Zee said storms don’t last forever. You can apply the same thought to the supply chain. Attending an in-person event is one way to help move past the challenges of the last couple years.
Self-Evaluation Critical to Becoming More Well-Rounded
The Enneagram breaks people into one of nine different personality types. As a certified Enneagram coach, Libby Cole works with individuals, couples, groups and businesses to achieve success. According to Cole, archetypes are typically set by the time we are five years old. These nine personality types help explain why we do the things we do.
“The goal is to be well-rounded,” Cole said. “We all have all the numbers inside us. We live 50 to 80 percent of our lives on autopilot.” Cole encouraged attendees to be present and live with intent.
On the show floor, Lobel Lurie DNP, RN, NPD-BC, CVAHP, manager, clinical value analysis strategic sourcing & supply chain at Cone Health, echoed the need to be present. When asked how a supplier like Caresfield can help supply chain professionals empower clinicians, Lurie said patience and clear communication were key.
“For our vendor partners, please don’t feel bad if we cannot meet with you right now,” Lurie said. “If we say we can talk to you by January, that’s gold. Take it. We did not say no. That just meant that we are busy right now.”
Cole encouraged attendees to take a short online assessment before the session, with the hour-long presentation summarizing the nine archetypes. Cole provided each group with growth tips. For supply chain professionals, self-evaluation can be a tool to help understand where clinicians and suppliers are coming from, to empower the entire supply chain to improve clinical outcomes.
Thinking Inside the Boxes to Make Supply Chain a Strategic Asset
Randy V Bradley, PhD, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, associate professor of information systems and supply chain management at University of Tennessee, delivered a session on transforming supply chain into a strategic asset for your organization.
A disciple of Vijay “VG” Govindarajan’s three box solution, Dr. Bradley challenged attendees to think about the past, present and future. From the past, he encouraged attendees to hold on to things that work but let go of values and practices that don’t drive the business forward. For the present, he encouraged supply chain professionals to evaluate what they do and what they want to do. For the future, he tasked the audience with planning for what they will need and having it ready before it’s needed.
“Are you willing to sacrifice what we’ve always done to do what needs to be done?” Dr. Bradley asked.
Dr. Bradley noted one of the biggest challenges in healthcare is that average indirect spend as a percentage of revenue was a whopping 25 percent. To help supply chain pros gain respect as a strategic asset, he encouraged attendees to:
- Focus on what matters beyond the supply chain – clinical outcomes are the most important goal for the organization.
- Strive for overall excellence and constant improvement – supply chain is about much more than cost savings.
- Tell the story – no one in the organization truly cares about supply chain metrics, focus on the people.
- Lead supply chain disruptions through the norm.
Partnering with Capstone Members in 2022
We hope these healthcare supply chain lessons help you empower your clinicians to deliver outstanding care. Caresfield is the Capstone Health Alliance contracted vendor of disposable tourniquets. We also supply labels, patient identification bands, exam gloves, specimen cups, biohazard bags and other specimen collection products to members through Premier. To learn more, check out our GPO contracts, or browse our online catalog.
