Sustainability in the Healthcare Supply Chain

2011 was a landmark year in healthcare sustainability. We’ve seen our hospital partners achieve record results, saving tens of millions of dollars in supply costs and avoiding thousands of tons of medical waste from entering landfills in their local communities. But as medical device manufacturers, distributors, and reprocessors continue to bring new products to market, the supply chain has become increasingly complex; leading to a need for more advanced tracking of devices to better safeguard patients.

The infrastructure exists today to achieve this vision – GS1 standards have enabled us, as a reprocessor, to assign Global Location Numbers (GLNs) and Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) to some single-use devices. Similar to a barcode scanned in a supermarket checkout line, GTIN barcodes can be scanned at each point in the supply chain and visibility of every device can be retained until clinical use.

Imagine the following scenario: Manufacturers and distributors could feed reports to a central data repository. Healthcare providers would integrate their patient rooms, operating rooms, supply chains, billing and medical records systems, so when a clinician scans a product at the point of use on a patient, the information on the product can be transmitted automatically to each of these systems. This process would update the healthcare provider’s device inventory as well as record the exact device in the patient’s electronic medical record.

By scanning and automatically documenting every product used on the patient, we can reduce the amount of manual labor currently required for these tasks, thus allowing clinicians to focus more attention on the patient. We can also increase patient safety by ensuring the correct products are used on patients, and by helping suppliers better manage product recalls.

However, we’re still a long way from widespread adoption, even within our own business. The healthcare supply chain has a complex series of nodes – from facility, to department, to patient, along with the myriad of software platforms that preclude swift progress. Vendors participating in every node will need consensus on a solution that will benefit the industry as a whole. But we fully understand, and are committed to helping ourselves and our customers accomplish this vision.

As healthcare vendors, we have an inherent responsibility to continuously improve products and processes that impact patient safety. An integrated network of systems to track products and patient outcomes will increase operational efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve care.

At Stryker Sustainability Solutions, we are focused on becoming a healthier supplier. We should remember – sustainability in healthcare isn’t only about the environment – it’s also about ensuring that we offer patients and healthcare providers long-term solutions to challenges we all face as an industry.