In theory, supply chain and IT professionals should be on the same team. Both groups work hard to keep costs down and improve workflows, and yet they often find themselves at odds. That’s in part due to having different perspectives on what is possible with their current ERP or EMR systems. 

As a result, supply chain is expected to work with an enterprise platform that’s great for purchasing but ill-suited for managing inventory once it’s in the hospital. That makes it difficult to reduce and handle inventory, and it’s a big part of the reason a typical hospital misses up to 30% of charge capture. 

There are solutions, of course. Education is one. Once the IT department understands supply chain’s needs and the limitations of existing systems, they can become valuable partners. That partnership often leads to the second answer: specialized technology. When IT teams are open to integrating third-party solutions into existing EMR and ERP systems they can give hospitals tools to more easily manage how much inventory should be on shelves, manage physician preference items, and drive standardization by eliminating clinical and operational variances, while reducing the amount of time nurses spend documenting cases. 

In order for that integration to work, third-party solutions need to integrate seamlessly – without creating a burden for IT. As an example, consider Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO. When supply chain realized in 2016 that they needed a solution that would reduce inventory without adding tasks to nursing, Jump Technologies worked with the IT and supply chain teams at Children’s to enhance the hospital’s existing Lawson platform to create a demand-driven supply chain. That has resulted in time savings, improved workflows, lower supply spend, and reduced stock outs, among other benefits. 

Supply chain and IT professionals can be powerful partners in improving hospital operations. And if they are on the same page, everyone benefits. Read more about supply chain and IT collaboration, featuring Jump Technologies CEO John Freund, in Healthcare Purchasing News.