Every year, the AHRMM Annual Conference and Exhibition presents one
of healthcare’s best opportunities to learn from and network with
leading supply chain executives and materials managers from across the
country. Countless examples of providers and suppliers teaming up to
achieve various aspects of the triple aim – reducing costs, improving
patient care quality, and improving population health outcomes – are
occurring every day in our industry, and the event provides attendees
focused glimpses into these relationships.
Case Study Yields Unexpected Benefit
I was fascinated by a joint presentation given by Chris Toomes,
Acting Vice President of Supply Chain and Sterile Processing Operations,
Memorial Hermann Healthcare Systems (MHHS), and Dennis Black, Director
of e-Business, BD. The basis of their case study described how MHHS
installed BD’s automated, closed inventory management systems for its
surgical supply chain in an effort to track and standardize inventory
processes across 11 of its locations. This program reduced excess
inventory carrying costs, limited returned or “round tripped” supplies,
and increased caregiver satisfaction due to ease of using the system and
reducing instances of stockouts.
On its own, this success story might easily warrant inclusion on a
conference agenda or further examination within this column. But that’s
not what interested me so much about the session. Rather, it was the
hidden – or at the very least unintended – benefit of MHHS’s ability to
have fuller surveillance over its inventory and product barcode data,
and how this fits into BD’s ongoing efforts to educate industry partners
on complying with the FDA’s Unique Device Identification (UDI)
regulation. In fact, Memorial Hermann is now succeeding in leveraging
UDI, according to Black.
UDI Ruling
The UDI rule intends to adequately identify medical devices through
their distribution and use throughout the supply chain. Medical devices
are incredibly diverse and the healthcare supply chain is very complex.
Manufacturers and distributors have learned that products deployed
through low-unit-of-measure (LUM) or just-in-time (JIT) inventory
programs sometimes get removed from UDI-compliant packaging in order to
be delivered in smaller quantities. As a result, some products no longer
have a full UDI label on the primary packaging for the “each” level and
therefore would no longer fully comply with the UDI rule’s intended
purpose.
Staying Compliant
It was interesting to note that Memorial Hermann is exploring
processes using BD’s inventory management system to enable them to track
UDI, even when a portion of the UDI information has been removed due to
LUM distribution practices. Manufacturers need a better understanding
of LUM/JIT to determine best practices for further UDI implementation
that safely supports these programs and the products that will
eventually get used on patients. HIDA is working closely with its
members, device manufacturers, and the AHRMM UDI Learning Community to
collaborate on solutions to further enable UDI for LUM inventory
programs.
Collected Data
By going through its conversion, MHHS now has a significant role to
play in UDI implementation as the direct contributor toward patient
care. Using collected data around specific product characteristics and
usage frequency in its JIT program, Toomes and his team can provide
their suppliers better insight into the impact that complying with UDI
requirements has on patient care. Additionally, their input and
reimbursement requirements can help trading partners identify why a
certain product rather than another typically gets distributed via
LUM/JIT programs.
Black emphasized to attendees that harnessing UDI and data standards
can help achieve supply chain efficiencies and clinical improvements
beyond the triple aim. For providers looking to further integrate or
automate their supply chains, much more value can be realized both
internally and for trading partners participating in these initiatives.
From:
http://www.jhconline.com/viewing-costs-and-care-through-a-udi-lens.html