During the past year, we were reminded of the critical role that supply chain plays in clinical care and overall operations. While our industry has adapted and grown to weather the COVID crisis, now is no time to return to business as usual. The roller coaster ride has slowed, but not stopped; supply chain still faces tremendous challenges such as product shortages, geo-political implications, increased costs, longer delivery times, worker shortages, lack of transparency, and other inventory challenges. Consider the following:

• The American Hospital Association estimated that last year, hospitals faced a 14.5 percent increase in total hospital expenses compared to 2019.
• Major U.S. news outlets have reported that the Delta variant is renewing fears, filling ICUs, and once again, straining healthcare systems.
• Supply chain spend accounts for about one-third of hospital spending, with some of the largest hospital systems annually spending between $4 million and $14 million on linens alone, not to mention PPE, surgical supplies, and other critical items.

With so much volume, so many moving parts, and so many different products you need a partner who can help you make smart decisions. ECRI's Technology Decision Assurance suite of tools and services helps you manage costs, ensure quality, and enhance patient outcomes.

ECRI can partner with your organization to provide an entire integrated supply chain solution so you will be better positioned to successfully manage your budget while maintaining a high standard of patient care and safety.

In a time where more information doesn’t always equate to better information, ECRI helps you compare equivalent items—apples to apples. ECRI can help you reduce operational cost, improve supply chain resiliency, and drive system-wide efficiency to achieve cost, quality, and outcomes goals by empowering you with a workflow platform that seamlessly incorporates a robust supplies and capital spend database, a comprehensive functional equivalent data set with KPIs, and unbiased clinical evidence.

ECRI clients know they can trust our information because it’s backed by unbiased clinical evidence. Our subject matter experts help you interpret data and work through challenges so you can improve your supply chain process with integrated, unbiased, evidence-based information and strong support Read our case study about how ECRI’s integrated solutions helped a hospital partner make cost effective, informed decisions on medical supplies, capital, and new technologies.

Ready for more information? Contact us today.