Creating a Supply Chain Assessment and Identifying Shared Best Practices for Children's Hospitals Across the Eastern Great Lakes Region

Purpose/Objectives: To provide an overview of supply chain management best practices, as identified by the Eastern Great Lakes Pediatric Consortium for Disaster Response (EGLPCDR). EGLPCDR is comprised of six children’s hospitals within Michigan and Ohio, and brings together private and public entities to provide a multi-pronged approach to address gaps across the disaster cycle spectrum of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Design/Methods: Task 1 – Identified critical supplies required for response to common hazards by conducting outreach to hospitals to better understand supply needs and past ordering history for, or during emergencies. Developed a comprehensive critical supplies list with three sections to serve as a reference: Medical-Surgical, Pharmaceuticals, and NICU/PICU supplies.

Task 2 – Interviewed supply chain managers to determine key characteristics of the regional pediatric supply chain to assess capabilities regionally, as well as potential vulnerabilities. Discussed hazards of concern, supply resilience, business continuity plans, best practices, and coordination with coalitions.

Task 3 – Conducted analysis of data and information from Tasks 1-2, to include identification of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT), to help improve supply chain operations for pediatric needs. Gathered and analyzed information from disaster preparedness documents, including business continuity plans, hazard vulnerability assessments, and substitution management standard operating procedures.

Results: Supply chain management and coordination predictably varied by hospital, with differences in the existence and use of critical supplies lists and substitution processes. The assessment noted hybrid distribution systems and processes in place across hospitals including Just-In-Time ordering and Self-Distribution. Noted best practices showed coordination between supply chain, pharmacy, and clinical teams to determine substitution processes. While resources that aim to strengthen disaster-readiness varied across the hospitals, all Business Continuity Plans and Hazard Vulnerability Analyses addressed different types of hazards, aiming to strengthen the ability to prepare for and respond to an event.

Conclusion/Discussion: There is opportunity for health systems to engage with supply chain and disaster readiness coordination bodies at the regional and national levels. Improved collaboration between these entities can strengthen supply chain resilience. The assessment identified associations dedicated to strengthening supply chain in Eastern Great Lakes including the Children’s Hospital Association, the Health Collaborative, and the Healthcare Industry Resilience Collaborative. Benefits to joining include information and data sharing across participating organizations to promote common situational awareness, facilitating resource support through mutual aid processes or other resource sharing arrangements and/or agreements among members, and facilitating coordination of actions so strategies are consistent across health care organizations. Hospitals are encouraged to implement surveillance and data capabilities for monitoring trends in purchasing and inventory levels. These data systems can be optimized to provide timely information and strengthen the understanding of demand signals. This can prove invaluable during times of strain to mitigate risks of potential supply chain interruptions.