Specialized function can integrate with function of
specialists
When two persons perform the same or similar functions in
two different areas or departments, process efficiency experts recruited by
hospital administration logically call for standardization and perhaps a
merger.
For many healthcare organizations, pharmacy and supply chain
operations largely claim exception and immunity to the suggestion.
Arguably, either department can learn a great deal from the
other. Pharmacy taps into the clinical realm more deeply and typically gains
more acceptance by doctors and surgeons. In addition, pharmacy has a reputation
for inventory management expertise, aided in part by formularies, P & T
committees, drug data standardization and facilitated by direct supplier involvement
in data management.
Meanwhile, supply chain oversees a breadth of product that
far surpasses pharmacy’s, even though pharmacy may represent the larger dollar
volume of annual purchases. Supply chain has developing ties with clinicians
and the C-suite with direct links to an organization’s operating budget. In
short, pharmacy may be responsible for one area, but supply chain reaches
everywhere else, earning a prominent spot on CEO and CFO radar screens.
More than a few healthcare organizations recognize the value
that a symbiotic relationship between pharmacy and supply chain can generate.
In fact, a number of hospitals and healthcare systems have merged the two areas
so that both operate under a single leader – either from pharmacy or supply
chain.
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