The supply chain issues of the last couple years show little signs of improving. Production slowdowns or stoppages, worker shortages, escalating costs, transportation issues, war, weather and other difficulties will continue. But what is improving is the ability of those in the healthcare sector to better plan for expected and unexpected challenges.
Buzz words such as cross functional integration in supply chain management and equipment equivalency guidelines or functional equivalence examples, are now part of the vernacular. And that’s a good thing; it means we’ve learned from the challenging experiences of the pandemic, and we are now better prepared to continue to navigate COVID-19, Monkey-pox, natural disasters, or whatever other hardships come our way.
A key trait shared by the healthcare facilities that have best learned how to navigate today’s supply chain is a willingness to do things differently, to partner with supply chain leaders, such as ECRI, or with “sister facilities” and even competitors. These partnerships have led to greater knowledge, insights, resource sharing, and support than ever before. And, organizations are refining and formalizing guidance.
ECRI, in particular, has rolled out a new report called the Functional Equivalent Category Cross Reference Report, which builds on that knowledge, so you can quickly address critical situations; it is generally available within minutes (but could take an hour or two if it is a larger category). ECRI’s new members-only cross reference report can be instrumental in helping supply chain leaders quickly address disruptions. Here are some uses that can have big impact:
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Value Analysis and New Product Requests: As you work through your Value Analysis process, this report will provide insight into the landscape of products to help you gain clarity about which ones meet your needs and standards
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Quickly Navigate And Get Ahead Of Supply Shortages And Disruptions: By quickly identifying equivalent and alternative products across an entire category, this tool saves you time and money and leaves you better prepared for disruptions
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Key Performance Indicators: As you research alternatives, this report provides insight to ECRI’s rigorous methodology utilized for identifying product alternatives on over 340-plus critical product categories.
With these key features, ECRI’s new Functional Equivalent Category Cross Reference Report will provide help you can trust. These reports save time as most reports are delivered within a few hours, so you can take the guess work out of identifying and locating functional equivalents in the moment of need. You’ll also save money because ECRI’s unbiased, evidenced-based knowledge facilitates better fiscal management by identifying quality products that meet your needs and standards. You’ll drive positive outcomes as you achieve better results in clinical care and performance by using this actionable intelligence to shape decision making. Finally, you can increase physician and stakeholder engagement using the report to provide unbiased guidance that facilitates understanding and collaboration.