HFMA VIEWS

Dan DeLay
Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Analytics, VHA Inc.

Although I stared at my cards intensely for several seconds, I couldn't seem to change the 6 of clubs into the ace of hearts. So I rolled the dice--well, not literally, since I was playing blackjack--and stayed on 16. Dealer busted and I doubled my $10 bet. Ok, so I'm not a high roller, but does the casino know that? Short answer, yes.

What happens in Vegas does indeed stay in Vegas--for a lot longer than most people realize. An article in the Washington Post caught my eye; it provided insight into the operations behind the scenes of the world's most prestigious casinos. The eye in the sky is always at work, with experts behind closed doors analyzing information about players and employees. In fact, not only do they share data with other casinos (even using facial recognition software), but they track players' wagers as well as wins and losses, so they know who is a high roller and should get special treatment.

Should the approach to health care be different? Except instead of applying analytics to tracking people/players, it's using technology, data and expertise to track products/supplies. The goal is to learn as much about the product as possible to ensure that it is correctly utilized throughout the supply chain. From evaluation to purchase to receiving to utilization–-it’s important to keep tabs on your operational efficiency because it has a tremendous impact to your bottom line. 

Once you have this practice in place, you can determine important information such as if your purchases are on contract and if you qualify for the right tier. Or if purchases are being influenced by factors outside of the materials department. Bottom line, the more information you have about your supply chain, the more you take the gambling out of making strategic business decisions. Insight into your supply chain is important as ever and thanks to technology, data and expertise, it is more possible today, than ever before. So don't roll the dice when it comes to making decisions about the health care supply chain, because using an analytical approach to understanding how it operates is as good as betting on a sure thing.