Consultant Proposes Revamping Of Health-Care Supply Chain

The health-care supply chain won't reap optimum efficiency as long as buyers, sellers, and group purchasing organizations work at odds, putting patient care at risk. So says a new white paper -- "Blueprint for an Efficient Health Care Supply Chain" by consultant and former health care materials manager Lynn James Everard -- available through Medical Distribution Solutions Inc. (MDSI). Industry players have missed the boat, Everard says, by championing lower prices to the detriment of efficiency, long-term planning, and value. In his blueprint for an optimized chain, products will make fewer stops, prices will be a function of products' value to customers, and the ultimate value will be cost-effective positive patient outcome. Norcross, Ga.-based MDSI provides market information to medical care distribution, sales, and marketing industries.