CEVA identifies improvements for public healthcare supply chains

Research conducted on behalf of CEVA Logistics has identified opportunities to improve supply chain management in the public healthcare sector.

Logistics in the public healthcare sector is often considered a non-strategic activity, leading to it being managed in a traditional manner. The results of the research demonstrate that efficient and advanced logistics can tangibly improve the management of Public Healthcare organisations:

• Processes become more aligned with the needs of hospital wards

• The optimisation of inventories and lower inventory of drugs and medical devices allows financial savings

• Innovative logistics can support optimised human resources management, leading to a reduction in related costs and a switch of resources to higher added value activities

The research was based on the development of a specific framework to assess supply chain innovation impacts in the Public Healthcare sector such as:

• Reduced operational costs related to the use of technologies, warehouse management, human resources and outsourced services

• Organisational benefits linked to quality, security, correctness and standardisation of services, optimisation of human resources management and supplier management

• Financial benefits through improved inventory management

The framework was then applied to national and international case studies, successful in managing similar operations. This led to the identification of three main areas for improvement in public healthcare logistics; the outsourcing of logistics and transport, centralisation of warehousing activity and the personalisation and traceability of drug therapies.

When local public healthcare organisation (AUSL – Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale) in Forlì, Italy outsourced the transportation of medical devices and patients, it resulted in a reduction in management costs of €950,000 per year. ULSS 8 of Asolo, Italy achieved a 25% reduction in inventory by outsourcing its warehouse management, which corresponds to savings of approximately €1million per year.

ESTAV, a technical & administrative services agency set up specifically to manage the wide geographical area in the region of Tuscany, has centralised the supply chain management for all its healthcare entities in the region. The move has resulted in savings of €5.3 million per year in management costs and a 50% inventory reduction, totalling €30.5 million per year.

The Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, Spain, has achieved a 50% error reduction in administering medicines. Moreover, integrated logistics management, computerisation and the implementation of automated solutions have led to an inventory reduction of 35%, delivering savings of approximately €2 million per year. The improved inventory management has also reduced the need to dispose out-of-date drugs, saving €200,000 per year, with a total reduction in pharmaceutical expenditure of 2%.

This research demonstrates that, if managed by an excellent and expert partner able to support the reorganisation of the supply chain, logistics can add strategic value to a company, through lower cost, improved performance and enhanced service quality.

Quelle: eyefortransport
Portal: www.logistik-express.com