As health systems look to trim costs in 2015 to address the impact of the Affordable Care Act, they'll want to look at the supply chain. And mHealth could come in handy.
That's the opinion of Jump Technologies, an Eagan, Minn.-based developer of cloud-based inventory management solutions, which recently issued its list of predictions for the coming year.
The company sees mobile supply chain management solutions as an important part of the healthcare budget – especially as health system administrators focus on more important matters like EMRs, meaningful use, ICD-10 and regulatory issues. It references a 2014 survey by Jamie C. Kowalski Consulting, which found that nine out of every 10 hospital C-level executives and supply chain adminstrators see supply chain management as one of the top three areas for reducing expenses.
"(I)n 2015 Information Technology (IT) leaders in hospitals will turn to mobile- and cloud-based solutions to free internal IT resources to manage their highest priority projects," the company wrote in its report. "For example, hospitals will adopt mobile- and cloud-based supply chain and inventory management technology solutions, so in turn, IT staff can focus on completing key projects such as implementing electronic medical records and meeting regulatory requirements."
"More progressive organizations will make mobile business intelligence their users’ primary experience, not just an occasional convenience," the report also said. "Business users will demand access to information throughout the natural flow of their day, not waiting until they are back at their desks. In healthcare, access and adoption of mobile technology has grown significantly but has not yet begun to deliver high value. In 2015, more adoption of mobile will enable users to access intelligence about their business while they go about performing tasks around the hospital."
According to the report, health systems "have been overcharged for inventory management solutions that have not proved their value," and will be focusing on less costly solutions that are quick to implement and scale. Administrators are also facing pressure to generate data and analyses on cost, quality and outcomes (CQO), and will be looking to technology that provides a clear audit trail of supply chain management costs and effectiveness.
“Hospital supply chain leaders are well-positioned to drive change and financial stability in the industry," Jump Technologies CEO John Freund said in the report. "Today, we see growing acceptance of best practices that have been proven in other industries. Great change has occurred in recent years, both inside hospitals and with available technology solutions, but even more is needed to deliver real value. New technology is going to help healthcare provider organizations increase the momentum of cost-effective change.”
